Japanese Writing System

There are three kinds of characters in Japanese: hiragana, katakana, and

kanji. All three characters can be seen in a single sentence.

I watch television. hiragana

Hiragana and katakana, like the alphabet, represent sounds. As you can see in
the above example, hiragana has a roundish shape and is used for conjugation
endings, function words, and native Japanese words not covered by kanji.
Katakana, which has rather straight lines, is normally used for writing
loanwords and foreign names. For example, the Japanese word for "television"
is written in katakana as i l/ E (terebi). Kanji, or Chinese characters, represent
not just sounds but also meanings. Mostly, kanji are used for nouns and the
stems of verbs and adjectives.

1 . Basic Hiragana Syllables

There are forty-six basic hiragana syllables, which are listed below. Once you
memorize this chart, you will have the skill to transcribe all of the Japanese
sounds.

The 46 Basic Characters

あ い う え お
vowels
a i u e o
か き く け こ
k-line
ka ki ku ke ko
さ し す せ そ
s-line
sa shi su se so
た ち つ て と
t-line
ta chi tsu te to
な に ぬ ね の
n-line
na ni nu ne no
 は ひ ふ へ ほ
h-line
ha hi fu he ho
ま み む め も
m-line
ma mi mu me mo
や ゆ よ
y-line
ya yu yo
ら り る れ ろ
r-line
ra ri ru re ro
わ を
w-line
wa wo
ん
n
The above hiragana chart is also called 五十音図 (gojuuonzu), which means diagram of 50
sounds in Japanese, though it only has 46 sounds.

The syllables し , ち, つ, and ふ are romanized as shi, chi, tsu, and fu, respectively, to
closely resemble English pronunciation.

をis also pronounced as “wo."

2. Hiragana with Diacritical Marks

You can transcribe 23 additional sounds by adding diacritic marks. With a pair of short
diagonal strokes ( ), the unvoiced consonants k, s, t, and h become voiced consonants g, z,
d, and b, respectively. The consonant h changes to p with the addition of a small circle (°)

濁音 (dakuon) and 半濁音 (handakuon)

Additional hiragana are formed by adding double dots ( ゛) and circle ( ゜) to
the upper right hand corner of certain hiragana.

By adding double dots or 濁点 (dakuten) to k-line, s-line, t-line and h-line, we

will get the additional hiragana of g-line, z-line, d-line and b-line respectively.
And by adding circle or 半濁点 (handakuten) to the h-line, the p-line is formed.
See the additional hirigana chart below.
 が ぎ ぐ げ ご
g-line
ga gi gu ge go
ざ じ ず ぜ ぞ
z-line
za ji zu ze zo
だ ぢ づ で ど
d-line
da ji zu de do
ば び ぶ べ ぼ
b-line
ba bi bu be bo
ぱ ぴ ぷ ぺ ぽ
p-line
pa pi pu pe po
Note: ぢ & づ in the d-line are less commonly used as compared to じ & ず

3. Transcribing Contracted Sounds

Small -P, O, and follow after letters in the second column (i-vowel hiragana,
except and are used to transcribe contracted sounds. The contracted sound
represents a single syllable.

拗音 (youon)
Another group of additional Japanese hiragana called 拗音 (youon) is formed by
adding smaller version of ya, yu or yo (ゃ, ゅ or ょ) to hiragana ending in vowel i.
See the hiragana chart below.

きゃ きゅ きょ
k-line
kya kyu kyo
しゃ しゅ しょ
s-line
sha shu sho
ちゃ ちゅ ちょ
t-line
cha chu cho
にゃ にゅ にょ
n-line
nya nyu nyo
ひゃ ひゅ ひょ
h-line
hya hyu hyo
 みゃ みゅ みょ
m-line
mya myu myo
りゃ りゅ りょ
r-line
rya ryu ryo
Below shows the additional hiragana chart of 拗音 (youon) with 濁点 (dakuten)
and 半濁点 (handakuten).

ぎゃ ぎゅ ぎょ
g-line
gya gyu gyo
じゃ じゅ じょ
z-line
ja ju jo
びゃ びゅ びょ
b-line
bya byu byo
ぴゃ ぴゅ ぴょ
p-line
pya pyu pyo

4. Transcribing Double Consonants

rlhereis another small letter, つ, which is used when transcribing double
consonants such as tt and pp.

Examples: o katta (won) cf. kata (shoulder)

sakka (writer) happa (leaf) zasshi
(magazine)

Note double consonant n's as in sannen (three years) are written with L +
a hiragana with an initial n sound (tc, t: , h, and T)).

Examples: sannen (three years) b

annai (guide)
5. Other Issues Relating to Transcription and Pronunciation
A. Long Vowels
When the same vowel is placed one right after the other, the pronunciation of
the vowel becomes about twice as long as the single vowel. Be sure to hold the
sound long enough, because the length of the vowel can change one word to
another.

促音 (sokuon)
When a small tsu (っ) called 促音 (sokuon) is added, it means the following
consonant is geminated or doubled (double consonants). This small (っ) forms the
double consonants with the following character.

This also means after we pronounce the previous consonant, we pause for the
same amount of time used to pronounce the consonant, then continue to
pronounce the following consonant.

For example, when "と" in おと (oto which means "sound") is geminated, it becomes
おっと (otto which means "husband"), with a pause in between お and と when
pronounced.

• おと (oto) → おっと (otto)

However, hiragana from the n-line cannot be geminated, unless the singular
consonant ん (n) is added in front.

Long Vowels 長音 (chouon)

For long vowels, we normally add a second vowel following the first vowel. See the
examples below:

Hiragana Romaji Meaning

1. おば あ さん o ba a san grandmother/old woman
2. おじ い さん o ji i san grandfather/old man
3. すうじ su u ji numeral/figure
4. おね え さん o ne e san elder sister
5. えいが e i ga movie
6. こおり ko o ri ice
7. ほ う りつ ho u ri tsu law

Although both sokuon and chouon are not in the hiragana charts, they are
important in helping to pronounce Japanese correctly.

Take some time to memorize the above hiragana charts. It really helps when you
start to learn kanji.

B. Pronunciation of ん

ん "n" is treated like a full syllable, in terms of length. Its pronunciation varies,
however, depending on the sound that follows it. Japanese speakers are
normally not aware of the different sound values of ん. Therefore, you do not
need to worry too much about its pronunciation.
C. Vowels to Be Dropped
The vowels i and u are sometimes dropped when placed between voiceless
consonants (k, s, t, p, and h), or at the end of an utterance preceded by
voiceless consonants.
Example: s(u)kides(u) (I like it.)
D. Accent in the Japanese Language
Japanese has pitch accent: all syllables are pronounced basically either in high
or low pitch. Unlike English stress accent in which stressed syllables tend to be
pronounced longer and louder, in Japanese each syllable is pronounced
approximately in equal length and stress. The pitch patterns in Japanese vary
greatly, depending on the region of the country.

2. Katakana
Japanese katakana are mainly used for expressing loanwords (words "loaned"
from foreign languages) and foreign names.
However nowadays young people in Japanese like to use katakana more often
for normal word expression. Check out the katakana chart for all the katakana
characters.

Examples of Katakana

アメリカ (a me ri ka) which means "America"

カナダ (ka na da) which means "Canada"

レストラン (re su to ran) which means "Restaurant"

Basic Katakana Chart and Additionals

Similar to the hiragana chart, the katakana chart below shows the 46 basic
characters together with their romaji.

The pronunciation of each katakana character is exactly the same as the

equivalent hiragana character. However, katakana have more additional
readings because they are used to read foreign words.

It's likely that you may get confused with the hiragana characters when
learning the katakana characters. Don't worry, take your time to memorize the
46 basic characters and then continue with the 拗音 (youon).

The 46 Basic Characters

ア イ ウ エ オ
vowels
a i u e o
カ キ ク ケ コ
k-line
ka ki ku ke ko
サ シ ス セ ソ
s-line
sa shi su se so
 タ チ ツ テ ト
t-line
ta chi tsu te to
ナ ニ ヌ ネ ノ
n-line
na ni nu ne no
ハ ヒ フ ヘ ホ
h-line
ha hi fu he ho
マ ミ ム メ モ
m-line
ma mi mu me mo
ヤ ユ ヨ
y-line
ya yu yo
ラ リ ル レ ロ
r-line
ra ri ru re ro
ワ ヲ
w-line
wa wo
ン
n

濁音 (dakuon) and 半濁音 (handakuon)

Similarly, the additional katakana chart below shows those with 濁音 (dakuon) and
半濁音 (handakuon).

ガ ギ グ ゲ ゴ
g-line
ga gi gu ge go
ザ ジ ズ ゼ ゾ
z-line
za ji zu ze zo
ダ ヂ ヅ デ ド
d-line
da ji zu de do
バ ビ ブ ベ ボ
b-line
ba bi bu be bo
パ ピ プ ペ ポ
p-line
pa pi pu pe po
拗音 (youon)
Adding smaller version of ya, yu or yo (ャ, ュ, or ョ) to katakana ending in vowel
i form the additional katakana chart below.

キャ キュ キョ
k-line
kya kyu kyo
シャ シュ ショ
s-line
sha shu sho
チャ チュ チョ
t-line
cha chu cho
ニャ ニュ ニョ
n-line
nya nyu nyo
ヒャ ヒュ ヒョ
h-line
hya hyu hyo
ミャ ミュ ミョ
m-line
mya myu myo
リャ リュ リョ
r-line
rya ryu ryo
Below shows the additional katakana chart of 拗音 (youon) with 濁点 (dakuten) and 半濁点
(handakuten).

ギャ ギュ ギョ
g-line
gya gyu gyo
ジャ ジュ ジョ
z-line
ja ju jo
ビャ ビュ ビョ
b-line
bya byu byo
ピャ ピュ ピョ
p-line
pya pyu pyo
促音 (sokuon)
Similar to hiragana, when a small tsu (ッ) called 促音 (sokuon) is added, it means the
following consonant is geminated or doubled. In romaji, this is represented by
doubling the consonant that follows the small tsu.

For example, pet is represented in katakana as ペット (petto). The pronunciation is

the same as in hiragana, after the first consonant is pronounced, pause for the
amount time to pronounce the consonant, then continue to pronounce the
following consonant.

Long Vowels 長音 (chouon)

For long vowels, instead of adding a second vowel as in hiragana, katakana usually
uses a short line (ー) to represent the second vowel. See some examples below..

Katakana Romaji Meaning

1. セーター se- ta- sweater
2. メニュー me nyu- menu
3. シャワー sha wa- shower
4. ロビー ro bi- lobby
5. タクシー ta ku shi- taxi
6. マレーシア ma re- shi a Malaysia
7. カレー ka re- curry

Note that long vowels in romaji is represented by a horizontal bar on top of the first
vowel, just like "ō" in rōmaji. However, it is usually omitted nowadays.

For example, the correct way for Japan capital in romaji is Tōkyō, but we always
write it as Tokyo. The city Kyōto is also written as Kyoto. I will not add the horizontal
bar on top of the first vowel unless necessary.
3. Kanji
Kanji characters are basically Chinese characters, and some of them were slightly
modified. Japanese have also created their own kanji characters.

Examples of Kanji

• 日本語 (ni hon go) which means "Japanese language"

• 簡単 (kan tan) which means "Simple"

Kanji Characters -
Essential in Mastering Japanese
Kanji (漢字) are Chinese characters imported from China. Some of
the kanji characters have been modified to fit the Japanese language, while some
of them are totally new characters created by the Japanese.

There are around 2500 Japanese kanji that are used in daily life, and high school
students in Japan are required to master 1945 kanji, known as the jouyou kanji (常
用漢字), which means commonly used kanji.

Most of the time, there are several onyomi or kunyomi for one kanji (character).
The context and meaning will determine which reading is used.

Some Kanji Examples

Below are examples of some kanji (characters)...

Kanji Onyomi Kunyomi Meaning

1. 川 sen ka wa River
2. 心 shin ko ko ro Mind/Heart
3. 月 ge tsu/ga tsu tsu ki Moon/Month
4. 今 kin/kon i ma Now
5. 空 kou/kuu so ra/ka ra Sky/Empty
6. 人 jin/nin hi to Person/People
7. 時 ji to ki Time/Hour
8. 間 kan/ken a i da/ma Time/Interval
9. 形 kei ka ta/ka ta chi Shape/Form

It is essential for you to know kanji because they are used in everyday life in Japan
such as newspapers, signboards, etc.

If everything is written in only hiragana or katakana, it will be very difficult to

understand the meanings of the words or sentences.

4. Romaji
Romaji are roman letters, normally used to help foreign Japanese learners in the
pronunciation.

My Japanese teacher used them to help us to pronounce the Japanese words

correctly in the first few lessons. However, she stopped using them when we got
familiarized with the hiragana.

Most of the time Japanese articles are written in a combination of hiragana,

katakana and kanji, it would seem like it is useless to learn romaji.

However, for foreigners who don't know Japanese, romaji can help to give correct
pronunciation. For example when singing a Japanese song in the Karaoke, you can
sing with the romaji lyrics if you can't read the other characters.

Besides, when I am using the Japanese electronic dictionary or typing Japanese

words in computer, I use romaji to input the Japanese characters. Therefore if you
know romaji, it will definitely help when keying characters in those devices.

Examples of Romaji

Did you see the roman letters I used besides the examples of hiragana, katakana
and kanji? Those are actually the romaji.
• wa ta shi (I)
• a na ta (You)
• a me ri ka (America)
• ka na da (Canada)
• re su to ran (Restaurant)
• ni hon go (Japanese language)
• kan tan (Simple)