Yes, it’s true. Japanese has three completely separate sets of characters, called kanji, hiragana, and katakana, that are used in reading and writing. That first rendering of “Tokyo” is in kanji, with ...
Learning kanji doesn’t have to take a decade—modern methods can cut it down to just a year or two. By combining spaced repetition, mnemonic stories, radical analysis, and handwriting practice, ...
Learning Japanese grammar is the key to unlocking fluency and passing the JLPT with confidence. By mastering particles, sentence structure, and kana, you’ll build a strong foundation for all levels of ...
Japan Today: Why does Japanese writing need three different sets of characters?
Q&A for students, teachers, and linguists wanting to discuss the finer points of the Japanese language
I am interested in Japanese culture and the symbolism used in Japan, specifically I'd like to know what the triangle, circle, ╳ cross and square mean to a Japanese person. How are those shapes
This sign is named chōonpu and it is used to denote a long vowel sound marker. In addition to that, about long vowels according to this article on wikipedia, when writing in hiragana, it is more common to use a second vowel character rather than the chōonpu. Hiragana usually spells long vowels with the addition of a second vowel kana; for example, おかあさん (o-ka-a-sa-n, "mother"). The ...
Meaning of "ー" at the end of a sentence in written Japanese?
While trying to write a plugin to (unofficially fan-)translate this website to Japanese, I've been noticing that "all" has multiple different translations. What exactly is the difference between ...