Prelude: The Japanese Writing System
Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji.
Japan's Writing Systems #
Japan has three (3) writing systems:
- Hiragana
- Katakana
- Kanji
Hiragana #
Hiragana is a phonetic lettering system. It contains scripts that describe the sounds used throughout all of Japanese conversation.
| - | k | s | t | n | h | m | y | r | w |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| あ(a) | か(ka) | さ(sa) | た(ta) | な(na) | は(ha) | ま(ma) | や(ya) | ら(ra) | わ(wa) |
| い(i) | き(ki) | し(shi) | ち(chi) | に(ni) | ひ(hi) | み(mi) | り(ri) | ||
| う(u) | く(ku) | す(su) | つ(tsu) | ぬ(nu) | ふ(hu) | む(mu) | ゆ(yu) | る(ru) | |
| え(e) | け(ke) | せ(se) | て(te) | ね(ne) | へ(he) | め(me) | れ(re) | ||
| お(o) | こ(ko) | そ(so) | と(to) | の(no) | ほ(ho) | も(mo) | よ(yo) | ろ(ro) | を(wo) |
| ん(n) |
Hiragana w/ Diacritical Marks #
An additional 23 sounds can be produced when diacritical marks are provided to the symbols. The consosants k, s, t, and h becomes g, z, d, and b respectively when given the (゛) diacritical mark.
The consonant h however becomes p when given the (゜) diacritical mark.
| k | s | t | h |
|---|---|---|---|
| が(ga) | ざ(za) | だ(da) | ば(ba) |
| ぎ(gi) | じ(ji) | ぢ(chi) | び(bi) |
| ぐ(gu) | ず(zu) | づ(zu) | ぶ(bu) |
| げ(ge) | ぜ(ze) | で(de) | べ(be) |
| ご(go) | ぞ(zo) | ど(do) | ぼ(bo) |
| ha | hi | hu | he | ho |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ぱ(pa) | ぴ(pi) | ぷ(pu) | ぺ(pe) | ぽ(po) |
Contracted Sounds #
The -i vowels can be followed and contracted by や,ゆ, and よ sounds.
| - | ki | shi | chi | ni | hi | mi | ri |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| や(ya) | きゃ(kya) | しゃ(sha) | ちゃ(cha) | にゃ(nya) | ひゃ(hya) | みゃ(mya) | りゃ(rya) |
| ゆ(yu) | きゅ(kyu) | しゅ(shu) | ちゅ(chu) | にゅ(nyu) | ひゅ(hyu) | みゅ(myu) | りゅ(ryu) |
| よ(yo) | きょ(kyo) | しょ(sho) | ちょ(cho) | にょ(nyo) | ひょ(hyo) | みょ(myo) | りょ(ryo) |
| - | gi | ji |
|---|---|---|
| や(ya) | ぎゃ(gya) | じゃ(ja) |
| ゆ(yu) | ぎゅ(gyu) | じゅ(ju) |
| よ(yo) | ぎょ(gyo) | じょ(jo) |
| - | bi | pi |
|---|---|---|
| や(ya) | びゃ(bya) | ぴゃ(pya) |
| ゆ(yu) | びゅ(byu) | ぴゅ(pyu) |
| よ(yo) | びょ(byo) | ぴょ(pyo) |
Katakana #
Is a set of symbols used for foreign or borrowed words.
Kanji #
Are logographic symbols adapted from Chinese script. These symbols describe nouns, adjective, verbs, adverbs, etc.