2.2. Japanese alphabet: Hiragana: Katakana

The study of the Japanese language begins with familiarization with the Japanese alphabets: Hiragana and Katakana. Both are phonetic systems that have 46 basic characters and 25 derived characters. They are used in different contexts and are essential for reading and writing Japanese.

Hiragana

Hiragana is the most basic Japanese alphabet, and it is often the first that students learn. Each Hiragana character represents a specific syllable. For example, "あ" is "a", "い" is "i", "う" is "u", "え" is "e", and "お" is "o". In addition, there are characters that represent syllables with consonants, such as "か" (ka), "き" (ki), "く" (ku), "け" (ke), and "こ" (ko).

It is important to note that in Hiragana, there are no characters to represent single consonants (except "ん", which represents "n"), all other letters are syllables. Hiragana is used to write native Japanese words, grammatical particles, and also to add verbal and adjectival inflections.

Writing in Hiragana is very fluid and curved, which makes it distinct from other Japanese writing systems. Constant practice is required to master writing and reading Hiragana, and it is recommended to start learning from "あいうえお" (a, i, u, e, o) and continue from there.

Katakana

Katakana, on the other hand, is mostly used to represent foreign words, proper nouns, technical or scientific words, and onomatopoeia. Katakana characters are more angular than Hiragana characters. For example, "ア" is "a", "イ" is "i", "ウ" is "u", "エ" is "e", and "オ" is "o". Like Hiragana, Katakana also has characters for syllables with consonants, such as "カ" (ka), "キ" (ki), "ク" (ku), "ケ" (ke) and "コ" (ko) .

Katakana is often considered slightly more difficult to learn than Hiragana due to its angular and less distinctive appearance. However, it is just as important and useful, especially when it comes to reading and writing words of foreign origin, which are common in modern Japanese.

Like Hiragana, Katakana also has no characters for single consonants, with the exception of "ン" which stands for "n". Furthermore, Katakana has a set of characters called "dakuten" and "handakuten" that change the sound of syllables.

In summary, both Hiragana and Katakana are fundamental to reading and writing Japanese. They are the foundation of the Japanese writing system and are the gateway to understanding and appreciating the rich and complex Japanese language. Therefore, mastering these two alphabets is the first step for anyone wanting to learn Japanese.

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5Japanese Alphabet: Hiragana: Kanji

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