Japanese language (日本語, Nihongo) , like any other language, is easy to learn as far as speaking is concerned. But most of the beginners finds it complex at the beginning of learning as japanese language consists of three scripts: Kanji, Hiragana and Katagana.
Kanji :
Kanji scripts are derived from Chinese scripts. Kanji is a pictorial script and is primarily used for symantics. One kanji can have different meaning depending on the context it is used. There are thousands of Kanji and even a Japanese Literature teacher can know as much as around 7000 Kanji.
Hiragana :
Hiragana is what one can call the Japenese alphabet. There are 46 basic forms. Basically hiragana is used in where there are no kanji, such as in verb inflections, particles. The list of Hiragana characters is available here.
Katagana :
Katakana is similar to Hiragana as it is a kind of Japanese alphabet too and for each Hiragana, there is Katagana . Nevertheless, Katakana is used in completely different situations. The main role of katakana is for writing out foreign-derived words. Secondly, Katakana is used to put emphasis on words, similar to the western use of italics, underlines. The list of Katagana characters is available here.
No comments:
Post a Comment