Learning Japanese has three sections. In the first, we learn hieroglyphs, which mean whole words. They are borrowed mainly from Chinese letters, but slightly modified. This section is called "kanji". Then the Japanese alphabet is studied - hiragana and katakana. These two writing systems are composed of syllables that give the Japanese language its identity and uniqueness. Well, let's consider in order what the Japanese alphabet is in general, how to learn it and what it is based on.
Kana
This is a generalized name for the Japanese writing and reading system, which covers both hiragana and katakana. Kana consists of graphic records - that is, hieroglyphs that have a certain sequence of writing lines and a certain appearance. For example, hiragana syllables have rounded shapes and abrupt endings. In katakana, characters are more angular and precise in writing. Modern Japanese rarely use kana as an independent system of writing or sayings. howthis native Japanese alphabet usually plays a supporting role when explanations are needed for certain kanji characters, or other languages.
Recording kana
Unlike kanji, where characters can be written in any way, in native Japanese, the sequence of drawing lines plays a very important role. The way a hieroglyph is written can help determine its author, establish, so to speak, the handwriting of the owner, and sometimes even influence its meaning. In addition, the Japanese alphabet has such strict rules for writing hieroglyphs, not only for the sake of unification. By adhering to them, you will be able to draw the sign you need in the shortest possible time, and neglecting the rules will delay the writing process.
Hiragana and its description
This type of writing is used to write down words that are not in kanji. This is necessary in cases where the writer does not know certain hieroglyphs or does not fully understand their meaning. In this writing system, one character stands for one mora (that is, a Japanese syllable). Therefore, to write a word, you need to use two or more hieroglyphs. This Japanese alphabet can convey three types of sounds. The first is any vowel; the second is a combination of a consonant and a vowel that follows it; the third is a nasal sonant. It is noteworthy here that the last category of sounds in Japanese can sound both very harsh (Russian "n", "m"), and have a certain "French" accent.
Origin of writing
The Japanese hiragana alphabet was born around the 5th century. Its ancestor is considered to be the man'egan. This compound word refers to the writing system that was in use in Japan until the advent of hiragana. With its help, hieroglyphs were recorded that sounded about the same as Chinese, but were written in a completely different way. In fairness, it should be noted that later, when the man'yegana was transformed, the influence of the Chinese language on it became even greater. Hiragana originated by writing these ancient characters in the caoshu style that was inherent in Chinese calligraphy. Such a metamorphosis forced many written signs to change their forms beyond recognition. And perhaps only a professional whose native language is Japanese can find a similarity between the ancient language and the modern writing system.
How to learn hiragana fast
This Japanese alphabet, oddly enough, contains very few hieroglyphs that are easy to remember. For this, there is a unique rhyme - Iroha, which translates as "song of flowers." it was written in the 10th century, and since then the sound of many written characters has changed, as a result of which the rhyme has also been lost. However, you can learn it, which will help you quickly memorize the entire hiragana alphabet. In the pictures, the poem is given in the original, in Japanese, and next to it there is a transcription in Latin.
Katakana description
This writing system cannot exist autonomously, at least in modern Japaneselanguage. The Japanese katakana alphabet is used to describe phenomena, objects or names that are of foreign, including Russian or European origin. Also, the hieroglyphs of this group are often found in paintings, in poetry and prose. This is necessary in order to give the work a special, unique color. Also, very often katakana catches our eye in the correspondence of people, in their colloquial speech (mainly in the regions of Japan), in foreign posters and slogans.
Hieroglyphs and their pronunciation
Katakana, like the Japanese syllabary, fully complies with all the canons of kana. It contains only vowels and consonant combinations followed by open vowels. Very rare are nasal sonants, which are predominantly softly pronounced. There are few hieroglyphs in the alphabet: nine vowels, 36 open mora (syllables) and one nasal ‘n, which is indicated by the sign ン. It is also important to note that in katakana all hieroglyphs have precise and strict outlines. Their lines are straight, the endings are clear, the intersections are always made in the same places.
Learning Katakana
Unfortunately, in this writing system, no one has compiled a simple poem that would help us learn all the characters at once, using a rhyme that is pleasant to the ear. Therefore, you can thoroughly learn katakana by studying the colloquial speech of the Japanese. Very often, to convey any phenomena, names, names of animals and plants and other borrowed words, hieroglyphs are used precisely from thisalphabet. However, it is worth remembering that, unlike hiragana, katakana does not combine with kanji and, in principle, has nothing to do with Chinese writing and pronunciation.
Conclusion
There are still a number of alphabets in the Japanese language, many of which are already considered dead. The inhabitants of the Land of the Rising Sun use only three of them today - these are kanji (based on Chinese), hiragana and katakana. It is important to note that there is another writing system that is used in Japan - this is romaji. It consists of Latin letters, but the spelling conveys the sound of hieroglyphs. This writing system was designed to make it easier to communicate with the inhabitants of the Western world.
