Hello there.
In this lesson, I'm introducing general concepts of Nihongo letters. If you are get bored to read this (I'm quite sure most of you get bored...), keep this as a reference and start to learn from Lesoon 1. No worries. You don't need to go through this.
3 types of Japanese Alphabets
The Japanese language havs not one set but three different sets of alphabets, Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji, which are differentiated both by their distinct appearances and what they are used for.
The three kinds of alphabets can all be considered integral components of a single Japanese writing system. They complement one another in necessary ways.
Kanji - They have meanings and sounds
Kanji is the major alphabet of the Japanese language, consisting of more than 8,000 characters. These are Chinese characters Japan had imported thousands of years ago as their first writing system, as time passed by, Japanese had been developping modern Japanese kanji from the imported Chinese Kanji, too.
Each Kanji can have multiple pronunciations.
And,
each Kanji can have multiple meanings, too. Readers must rely on the context and familiarity with the language to determine which meaning is the intended one.
By combining individual kanji characters, it’s possible to create phrases in the sense that English language speakers would.
Kanamoji - Hiragana & Katakana - They have sounds
During the Heian Period (794 - 1192), Japanese was believed to created their own script from the imported Chinese Kanji. The Japanese script was partly syllabic (characters based on sounds; hiragana and katakana) and partly logographic (characters based on concepts; kanji).
Hiragana and Katakana, collectively referred to by the generic term "Kanamoji", are both syllabic alphabets of 47 characters. They are developped from Kanji charactors.
Origin of Hiragana
Origin of Katakana
Each of them represents a sound, vowel or combination of consonants and a vowel.
The major difference between hiragana and katakana is the fact that
Hiragana is primarily used to represent Japanese words
Katakana represents foreign words.
Since, Japanese is a language with many borrowed words originated from foreign language, and katakana immediately alerts the reader to the fact that the word is an imported one.
In some cases, syllabic Hiragana and/or Katakana characters are placed above Kanji in order to indicate their pronunciation. When used toward this purpose, Hiragana and Katakana is referred to as "furigana."
SHODO skills & techniques
Ancient Japanese had used brush and charcoal ink for writing. Now the way is saved as Shodo, which means Japanese calligraphy.Shodo is famous as Japanese art,too. Some of the Shodo skills and techniques will help you to learn writing Japanese charactors.
The important 5 are
MAGARU / SORU ; Shape of the line. To change direction of the line with curve. If Magaru, the line is curving outword, while it's curving inword if Soru.
ORERU ; Shape of the line. To change direction of the line with certain angle.
TOMERU ; The way to end the stroke. To stop the brush for a moment, making for a blunt, rounded terminator;
HARAU ; The way to end the stroke. To sweep or “release” the brush, lifting it progressively, making a sharp point
HANERU ; The way to end the stroke. To Jump （Haneru）, a combination of both movements, first pausing and then lifting firmly, changing the direction to the next stroke. This movement produces a “hook” or “barb", which is called "Hane(The noun of Haneru)"
The image below contains some Hiragana & the Shodo skills & techniques applied.
When you practice to write Japanese charactors, it is helpful for you to know about these Shodo skills & techniques.
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PR
