In order to learn the Japanese language, you will need to understand the different writing systems and aspects of the language. Due to these factors, it can be difficult to determine how and where to begin learning a new language.
The Japanese language uses three different writing systems – hiragana, kanji, and katakana. This is often confusing as many new learners struggle to understand when and how to use each of these sets of characters. However, you just need to understand how hiragana and kanji work to determine when to use them.
Basically, kanji contains lots of complex characters that are used for representing different ideas. On the other hand, hiragana characters have easier function and form. Hiragana contains fewer strokes and is for phonetics.
So, whenever it comes to grammatical particles and modifiers in your writing, you have to utilize hiragana. When you want to write a verb, a kanji character should be used for the base concept whereas you can change the pronunciation with hiragana. Similarly, hiragana can be used for adding more meanings to a character. Also, you can use kanji to different some homonyms written in hiragana.
In addition, you can use hiragana for representing a Japanese word that doesn’t have a kanji equivalent. If you don’t know the kanji for a particular expression, you can also use hiragana for it. Overall, you should consider context and situation if you are confused about when to use kanji or hiragana.
Should I start with hiragana or kanji?
In summary, learning Japanese requires a systematic approach. To learn Japanese, you should start with the most common and popular writing system, hiragana. Once you learn katakana and kanji, you can proceed to learning kanji. After practicing pronunciation and vocabulary, you can move on to learning kanji. Study a few key phrases and words to make things easier for yourself. You will be able to have a great grasp of the language if you follow this tried and true method of learning Japanese.
You have come to the right place if you’ve been looking for answers to these questions, since this article will shed more light on the order in which you should learn Japanese as well as why you should study it in that particular order. Let’s get started.
Start learning with hiragana
Although there are a few controversies about some particular areas of the order of learning Japanese, many Japanese tutors and experts agree that you should start learning with hiragana. Without a doubt, hiragana is the simplest and most basic writing system of Japanese. Therefore, you should start your learning process with this awesome writing system.
Perhaps you are thinking about why you should start learning with hiragana; we will show you some reasons for this:
It is simple to read and understand
Since hiragana is phonetic, it is quite easy to learn for every learner. If you are a speaker of western languages such as English and French, learning may look difficult at the beginning. However, it is not difficult to learn.
Basically, every hiragana letter is used for representing a specific sound. Hence, as you are learning this writing system, it becomes easy for you to read Japanese. Besides, learning hiragana is usually fun-filled and easy to monitor. As a consequence, you can track your progress and get the motivation you need to continue learning at a fast pace.
It consists of only 46 letters
Another reason why you should start with hiragana is that this writing system features only 46 letters. Therefore, you only need to master 46 things before you can start using it. This is significantly different from kanji where you need to learn over 2,000 characters. Imagine how overwhelmed you would be to start learning 2,000 different characters. So, you should avoid such demotivating problems by starting your learning process with hiragana. After understanding hiragana, you can move to other writing systems.
It enhances your listening and speaking skills
As indicated earlier, every hiragana character refers to one sound (phoneme). Resultantly, every letter gives you a visual clue of a phoneme. With the aid of hearing and seeing, you can master every sound without much hassle.
Therefore, having a good mastery of hiragana can go a long way in enhancing your listening and speaking skills. It will be easier for you to have an understanding of the Japanese words better when the language is being spoken to you. This is because your ears have mastered Japanese during your hiragana classes.
It aids Japanese reading
When they are learning how to read Japanese, Japanese kids are usually first introduced to hiragana. Why is this so? This is because hiragana is the most important aspect of mastering reading skills. In fact, learning hiragana will play a key role in assisting you to read kanji. When learning kanji, a few hiragana characters will be placed around kanji to ease the process of pronouncing the words. Therefore, hiragana is fundamental to learning other parts of the language.
It doesn’t take too long to learn
If you put your mind into what you are learning, it doesn’t take a long period to study and understand hiragana. Actually, lots of people have mastered hiragana within 1 or 2 weeks of learning it. So, it is a good way to start learning the Japanese language and getting the inspiration you need to take your learning to the next level.
When you consider the various benefits of starting your Japanese learning journey with hiragana, you will agree that it is truly the right place to start learning the language. Once you have mastered hiragana, you can then move forward to other aspects of the language.
Proceed to katakana
After completing hiragana, the next thing on the order is learning katakana. Basically, katakana refers to some characters that represent the same sounds you will come across in the hiragana alphabet. It is worthwhile to understand that katakana is not as common as hiragana, but it is also quite essential. You should learn katakana after hiragana because of three reasons:
It is used for representing foreign or borrowed words
Every language borrows certain words from other languages. Japanese is not different; hence, you can expect to see some words that are borrowed from Chinese and other common languages in Japanese. Of course, you need to learn these borrowed or foreign words too during your learning process. In the Japanese language, these foreign words are represented with katakana. So, if you want to understand the foreign words in Japanese, you must master katakana.
It helps the understanding of kanji readings
Kanji readings form an essential part of the Japanese language. However, these readings can be really difficult to understand for most Japanese learners. Luckily, you can make things a bit easier for yourself by mastering katakana. This is because katakana is important for anyone to have a good understanding of kanji readings.
Many kanji radicals are named after some katakana characters
In general, some kanji radicals resemble katakana characters. Such kanji radicals are named after such katakana characters that they look like. Therefore, if you want to have a quick and easy understanding of such kanji radicals, it will be helpful for you to learn katakana characters.
Another important reason why you should start learning katakana after hiragana is that there is some resemblance between hiragana and katakana characters. This shows that studying katakana doesn’t necessarily mean that you are learning a new writing system from the scratch.
Therefore, when you start learning katakana, you already have a good knowledge of hiragana. The learning process will be faster and easier than learning katakana before hiragana. You just have to breeze through the 46 characters of katana and then take the next step to learn other important aspects of the Japanese language.
Study kanji last
After you have gotten a grip of hiragana and katakana, you can start learning kanji. Kanji is believed by a lot of individuals to be the most tasking part of the Japanese language. Therefore, you should be prepared for what you are bound to deal with as you are trying to learn kanji.
Basically, kanji is a Japanese writing system that was adopted from some Chinese writing characters. It is often combined with hiragana and katakana whenever people are writing Japanese. Therefore, you need to know kanji to be able to read Japanese fluently.
Some people may tell you that learning kanji is not essential to speak Japanese. However, this is not entirely true as there are tons of things you can gain from studying kanji. Below are a few of the reasons why you should learn kanji:
It assists you to have a better understanding of the vocabulary of Japanese
With a good knowledge of kanji, you will be able to guess the meanings of new Japanese words that you have just learned. In general, kanji looks like the affixes that are found in the English language. Each kanji character has a particular meaning. If you understand the meaning of a character, it will be easier for you to understand any new words that have this character.
You should know that kanji characters often appear inside Japanese sentences. So, if you don’t know kanji, you will struggle with having a vivid knowledge of what some words mean.
It is fundamental for reading Japanese
If you are interested in reading Japanese, you cannot do without learning Japanese because it is the basis for it. It is noteworthy that you cannot boast of understanding a specific language if you cannot read it. Therefore, you can only rest assured that you know Japanese properly if you have learned kanji and can read it.
It is important if you want to enjoy Japan
If you have it in mind to learn Japanese and live in Japan, then it is crucial for you to learn kanji. Apart from the major cities such as Tokyo, most other cities and towns in Japan don’t often use romaji or English for signs. So, if you want to use a train station, bus park, restaurant, and so on, you may have a hard time reading descriptions and other things written on the signboards or posters. Therefore, if you want to stay in Japan and enjoy your stay, learning kanji is paramount.
To master kanji characters, you cannot afford to just learn them once and stop. There is a need for you to continue practicing characters that you have learned to ensure that you understand their meanings and also know the right way to write them.
Learn pronunciation
Once you have completed learning katakana, you should proceed to learn pronunciation. You should note that pronunciation is one of the most difficult aspects of Japanese for most foreigners. So, don’t waste time after mastering katakana, you should just proceed to pronunciation.
Finding motivation to learn Japanese or any other language is crucial. You can use hiragana, since it is easy to learn, to motivate you to continue learning the other parts of the language. Therefore, you will succeed in every aspect of your learning experience.