3 Writing Scripts

Japanese uses a unique writing system that blends three different scripts: Hiragana (ひらがな), Katakana (カタカナ), and Kanji (漢字).  Hiragana and Katakana are known as Kana (仮名). 

A typical Japanese sentence mixes all three :

• Hiragana :  

  • Nouns

  • Grammar endings or particles (の、に、を)

  • Verb conjugations (ます、ません)

• Katakana : 

  • Loanwords from other languages (コーヒー = “coffee”).

  • Foreign names (ジョン = John) 

  • Onomatopoeia (ドキドキ = “heartbeat sound”)

• Kanji : 

  • Most nouns (学校 = “school”).

  • Verb and adjective stems (食 in 食べる = “to eat”).

  • Names and places (東京 = Tōkyō).

KANA

Kana are syllabic characters, meaning each symbol represents a whole sound (syllable) rather than a single letter like in English. That means that they are always pronounced the same way. Together, Hiragana and Katakana cover the same set of 46 basic sounds, with a few variations for combined and modified syllables.

• • Hiragana (ひらがな): Curved, flowing characters mainly used for native Japanese words, grammar particles, verb endings, and function words.

  • Katakana (カタカナ): Angular, sharp characters used for foreign loanwords, names, onomatopoeia, and emphasis.

• Though they look different, both scripts represent the same sounds. 

  • • Hiragana / ひらがな / ヒラガナ. 

    • Katakana / かたかな / カタカナ.

How to learn Kana

Kana is relatively quick and straightforward to learn.

I won’t recommend a specific resource here — almost any will get the job done.

• Apps: Just search in your app store; you’ll find plenty of free options.

• YouTube: Great for hearing correct pronunciation from native speakers. You’ll also find mnemonic videos that make memorization easier.

Take a look at the chart below (adapted from Wikipedia). It shows both hiragana and katakana together, since they represent the same set of sounds. The rows and columns might sometimes be flipped in different charts, but what matters is recognizing how the sounds are organized. This layout will become especially useful later when you study conjugation, since Japanese verbs often shift their final kana from one vowel sound to another.

• Example: 書く (kaku = to write)

  • Dictionary form: 書く (kaku) → ends in ku.

  • Negative: 書かない (kakanai) → ku → ka.

  • Polite: 書きます (kakimasu) → ku → ki.

Rōmaji

Rōmaji means "Roman letters." It is the system of writing Japanese using the Latin alphabet (A–Z). Rōmaji was developed to help non-native speakers read and pronounce Japanese without needing to learn new characters. It’s especially useful in textbooks, signage, or when typing Japanese on a keyboard.

For example:

• こんにちは → konnichiwa

• さくら → sakura

• 東京 → Tōkyō