Introduction of Japanese Language

Japanese has three different sets of characters:

- Hiragana
- Katakana
- Kanji

HIRAGANA

Hiragana is the basic of all the Japanese writing systems one must master to learn the
language, consists of forty-six (46) characters originally based on Kanji. These
characters represent every sound of the Japanese language, are syllabic with the basic
vowels a, i, u, e, o except for the character that stands for ‘n’.
Some of the characters look similar, especially to the foreign eye, with just a difference
of a line or a curve (i.e. the characters さ-sa and き-ki, は-ha and ほ-ho, ぬ-nu and め-
me). And if you miss to write two small strokes or a small circle, the sound will change
completely (i.e. は-ha, ぱ-pa and ば-ba). Also be careful with は, read both as ha and
wa.

Once mastered, a learner can basically speak, read (provided there is Furigana) and
write all Japanese words by using Hiragana. It is called Furigana if used to represent
the sound of a kanji character. Take note, however, that “Hiragana Only” in writing is
normally only used when a word has no kanji equivalent.

KATAKANA

The same with Hiragana, Katakana also has 46 characters representing the same set of
syllabic sounds. They differ in shape with Katakana and are more angular and straight
while Hiragana is more cursive.

Foreigners must learn Katakana because this is the characters used to write their
names in Japanese. Basically, Katakana is used for foreign and borrowed words. Few
examples are as follows:

レストラン – resutoran- restaurant

サラリーマン-sarariman- salary man (office worker)
マックドナルド- makudonarudo- Mc Donald

However, even some Japanese words which are not foreign or borrowed, are
purposely written in Katakana to stand out and catch the attention of readers or
viewers. This mostly can be seen in TV programs and cartoons. With Japan slowly
moving towards globalization, many words which originally have Japanese equivalent
are being ‘katakanized’ so that the old generation of Japanese sometimes cannot even
comprehend it.
KANJI

The most complicated and most challenging part of learning the Japanese language is
learning Kanji. Originally from China, there are thousands of Kanji, too many that no
one can tell how many Kanji are there in all (Normally around 3000 are used in daily
life). Unlike Hiragana and Katakana, Kanji represents the meaning rather than sound.
Take for example 木(ki) which means tree and 車(kuruma) which means car. What
makes it more complicated is that it has two(sometimes more) kinds of reading, the
Chinese reading ‘onyomi’ and Japanese reading ‘kunyomi’. To add to the difficulty, a
single kanji can have more than two readings. Three, four, five or sometimes even six
or worse, more than that. Not only the reading but also the meaning is multiple. Let’s
take a look at the kanji 生. It means life, birth, raw, pure. It is read as sei, shou, nama,
umareru, ikeru, ikasu… (but there is normally hiragana added to kanji if used as a verb,
giving you a hint how to read it).

Kanji is synonymous to hard work in studies. Why? Because every Japanese starts to
become a hardworker by learning Kanji at a young age. From first grade elementary up
to high school, Japanese students write many pages of Kanji as their homework almost
everyday.

JLPT

The Japanese-Language Proficiency Test (日本語能力試験, Nihongo Nōryoku Shiken),

or JLPT, is a standardized criterion-referenced test to evaluate and certify Japanese
language proficiency for non-native speakers, covering language knowledge, reading
ability, and listening ability. The JLPT consists of five levels to check the Japanese
Language capability.

N5 Basic Level The ability to understand some basic Japanese.

N4 Elementary Level The ability to understand basic Japanese.

N3 Intermediate Level The ability to understand Japanese used in

everyday situations to a certain degree.

N2 Pre-Advanced Level The ability to understand Japanese used in

everyday situations, and in a variety of
circumstances to a certain degree.

N1 Advanced Level The ability to understand Japanese used in a variety

of circumstances.