_The Japanese Writing System
_Important!!!
Please learn Pronunciation and Romaji, Hiragana and Katagana first before tackle the Kanji like what Japanese school kids do.
The Japanese language is written with a combination of three scripts (or writing systems): Chinese characters called kanji (漢字), and two syllabic (or moraic) scripts, Kana (仮名) -- Hiragana (ひらがな or 平仮名) and Katakana (カタカナ or 片仮名). The Latin alphabet, Romaji (ローマ字), is also often used in modern Japanese, especially for company names and logos, advertising, and when entering Japanese text into a computer. Arabic numerals are generally used for numbers, but traditional Sino-Japanese numerals are also commonplace.
Direction of writing
Traditionally, Japanese is written in a format called tategaki (縦書き), which copies the traditional Chinese system. In this format, the characters are written in columns going from top to bottom, with columns ordered from right to left. After reaching the bottom of each column, the reader continues at the top of the column to the left of the current one. Modern Japanese also uses another writing format, called yokogaki (横書き). This writing format is horizontal and reads from left to right, just like English.
Here is an example of a typical Japanese sentence.
Please learn Pronunciation and Romaji, Hiragana and Katagana first before tackle the Kanji like what Japanese school kids do.
The Japanese language is written with a combination of three scripts (or writing systems): Chinese characters called kanji (漢字), and two syllabic (or moraic) scripts, Kana (仮名) -- Hiragana (ひらがな or 平仮名) and Katakana (カタカナ or 片仮名). The Latin alphabet, Romaji (ローマ字), is also often used in modern Japanese, especially for company names and logos, advertising, and when entering Japanese text into a computer. Arabic numerals are generally used for numbers, but traditional Sino-Japanese numerals are also commonplace.
Direction of writing
Traditionally, Japanese is written in a format called tategaki (縦書き), which copies the traditional Chinese system. In this format, the characters are written in columns going from top to bottom, with columns ordered from right to left. After reaching the bottom of each column, the reader continues at the top of the column to the left of the current one. Modern Japanese also uses another writing format, called yokogaki (横書き). This writing format is horizontal and reads from left to right, just like English.
Here is an example of a typical Japanese sentence.
_"When do use Hiragana, Katagana and Kanji, when writing a
Japanese sentence?", is a question many people learning Japanese asked.
I think the best answer for this question is as the following.
Make a sentence in Hiragana. And change words in Hiragana to words in Kanji.
わたしは、はながすきです。>私は花が好きです。
Watashi wa hana ga suki desu.
hana = a nose, a flower. 花 is a flower. By writing hana in Kanji, hana means a flower.
So this means " I like a flower."
Kanji will show the meaning at sight.
Knowing as many as Kanji will make a good and clear sentence.
This is my understanding of how to use three characters.
P.S. There are some rules though. Some words MUST be in Hiragana or some are ALWAYS read in Kanji. There's a lot of those words and you just have to make mistakes to figure it out.
Make a sentence in Hiragana. And change words in Hiragana to words in Kanji.
わたしは、はながすきです。>私は花が好きです。
Watashi wa hana ga suki desu.
hana = a nose, a flower. 花 is a flower. By writing hana in Kanji, hana means a flower.
So this means " I like a flower."
Kanji will show the meaning at sight.
Knowing as many as Kanji will make a good and clear sentence.
This is my understanding of how to use three characters.
P.S. There are some rules though. Some words MUST be in Hiragana or some are ALWAYS read in Kanji. There's a lot of those words and you just have to make mistakes to figure it out.