Japanese Language Course for Beginners — Learn Hiragana, Katakana, Kanji, Grammar & Basic Japanese

🇯🇵 CHAPTER 2

📚 Japanese Writing Systems

Japanese uses several writing systems that work together. To read and write Japanese naturally, you need to understand the role of Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji.

This section is a complete reference library. We will gradually explore Japanese characters, their readings, pronunciation, uses, and many examples of real Japanese words.

🗾 1. The Three Main Writing Systems

Modern Japanese mainly uses three writing systems:

あ

Hiragana — ひらがな

Hiragana is used for Japanese words, grammatical endings, particles, and many verb and adjective forms.

たべます
Tabemasu
→ I eat / will eat

ア

Katakana — カタカナ

Katakana is mainly used for words of foreign origin, many foreign names, sounds, and a large number of modern words.

ホテル
Hoteru
→ Hotel

漢

Kanji — 漢字

Kanji generally represent an idea, a concept, or an important part of a word's meaning.

山
Yama
→ Mountain

💡 One Japanese Sentence Can Use Several Writing Systems

私は日本語を勉強します。

Romaji: Watashi wa nihongo o benkyō shimasu.

English: I study Japanese.

• 私 → Kanji
• は → Hiragana
• 日本語 → Kanji
• を → Hiragana
• 勉強 → Kanji
• します → Hiragana

So it is completely normal to see several types of Japanese writing in a single sentence.

2. Complete Hiragana — ひらがな

Hiragana is one of the first writing systems that every beginner should learn.

Each character generally represents a mora, a basic Japanese sound unit. Unlike the English alphabet, Japanese characters do not simply represent one consonant or one vowel. Many characters represent a consonant-and-vowel sound together.

🔤 The Five Japanese Vowels

あasimilar to the “a” in father

いisimilar to the “ee” in see

うusimilar to “oo,” but usually shorter and less rounded

えesimilar to the “e” in get

おoa clear Japanese “o” sound

🎯 Important Rule

Japanese vowels are generally pronounced clearly and consistently. They do not change as much as English vowels.

At the beginning, try to pronounce each sound simply and clearly:

あ い う え お
a · i · u · e · o

🔹 The K Row

かka

きki

くku

けke

こko

🔹 The S Row

さsa

しshi

すsu

せse

そso

🔹 The T Row

たta

ちchi

つtsu

てte

とto

🔹 The N Row

なna

にni

ぬnu

ねne

のno

🔹 The H Row

はha

ひhi

ふfu

へhe

ほho

🔹 The M Row

まma

みmi

むmu

めme

もmo

🔹 The Y Row

やya

ゆyu

よyo

🔹 The R Row

らra

りri

るru

れre

ろro

🔹 The W Row and the Character ん

わwa

をwousually pronounced “o” when used as a particle

んn

📖 10 Examples to Start Reading Hiragana

あさAsa→ Morning

いえIe→ House / home

うみUmi→ Sea

えきEki→ Train station

おかしOkashi→ Sweets / snack

かさKasa→ Umbrella

ねこNeko→ Cat

いぬInu→ Dog

やまYama→ Mountain

さくらSakura→ Cherry blossom

3. Dakuten and Handakuten

Some Japanese characters change their sound with the help of small marks.

゛

Dakuten

Dakuten changes certain sounds. For example:

か → が
ka → ga

さ → ざ
sa → za

゜

Handakuten

Handakuten is mainly used with the H row to produce P sounds.

は → ぱ
ha → pa

🔤 Hiragana with Dakuten

が ぎ ぐ げ ご
ga · gi · gu · ge · go

ざ じ ず ぜ ぞ
za · ji · zu · ze · zo

だ ぢ づ で ど
da · ji · zu · de · do

ば び ぶ べ ぼ
ba · bi · bu · be · bo

🔤 Hiragana with Handakuten

ぱ ぴ ぷ ぺ ぽ
pa · pi · pu · pe · po

📖 10 Examples

がくせいGakusei→ Student

ぎんこうGinkō→ Bank

ぐんGun→ Group / army, depending on context

げんきGenki→ Well / healthy / energetic

ごはんGohan→ Rice / meal

ざっしZasshi→ Magazine

じかんJikan→ Time / hour

でんしゃDensha→ Electric train / train

ぱんPan→ Bread

ぺんPen→ Pen

4. Combined Sounds — Yōon

Combined sounds are created when a character combines with a small ゃ, ゅ, or ょ.

Look carefully at the difference:

きや = ki + ya

きゃ = kya

The second character is smaller, so the sounds combine into one unit.

📖 10 Examples of Combined Sounds

5. Small Japanese Characters

Some Japanese characters can be written in a smaller form. Their size changes their role inside a word.

Small Vowels in Hiragana

ぁ ぃ ぅ ぇ ぉ

Small Y Characters

ゃ ゅ ょ

Small Vowels in Katakana

ァ ィ ゥ ェ ォ

Small Y Characters in Katakana

ャ ュ ョ

The Small っ and Small ッ

っ and ッ are extremely important.

They create a short pause before the following consonant. This pause can completely change the meaning of a word.

📖 10 Examples with the Small っ

6. Long Vowel Sounds

In Japanese, vowel length is important. A longer vowel can change the word and its meaning.

ああ · いい · うう · えい · おう

In Katakana, the following symbol is very often used:

ー

This symbol lengthens the vowel that comes before it.

おばさんObasan
→ Aunt / middle-aged woman

おばあさんObāsan
→ Grandmother

ビルBiru
→ Building

ビールBīru
→ Beer

📖 10 Examples of Long Vowel Sounds

きょうKyō→ Today

がっこうGakkō→ School

とうきょうTōkyō→ Tokyo

せんせいSensei→ Teacher

おとうさんOtōsan→ Father

おかあさんOkāsan→ Mother

コーヒーKōhī→ Coffee

ケーキKēki→ Cake

パーティーPātī→ Party

タクシーTakushī→ Taxi

7. Complete Katakana — カタカナ

Katakana represents almost the same basic sounds as Hiragana, but the characters themselves are different.

It is especially used for foreign words, foreign names, modern vocabulary, certain sound effects, and other stylistic purposes.

🔤 The Vowels

ア イ ウ エ オ
a · i · u · e · o

🔤 The Main Katakana Rows

カ キ ク ケ コ
ka · ki · ku · ke · ko

サ シ ス セ ソ
sa · shi · su · se · so

タ チ ツ テ ト
ta · chi · tsu · te · to

ナ ニ ヌ ネ ノ
na · ni · nu · ne · no

ハ ヒ フ ヘ ホ
ha · hi · fu · he · ho

マ ミ ム メ モ
ma · mi · mu · me · mo

ヤ ユ ヨ
ya · yu · yo

ラ リ ル レ ロ
ra · ri · ru · re · ro

ワ ヲ
wa · wo

ン
n

📖 10 Real Katakana Examples

コーヒーKōhī→ Coffee

テレビTerebi→ Television

ホテルHoteru→ Hotel

タクシーTakushī→ Taxi

バスBasu→ Bus

レストランResutoran→ Restaurant

コンピューターKonpyūtā→ Computer

スマートフォンSumātofon→ Smartphone

チョコレートChokorēto→ Chocolate

パンPan→ Bread

8. Modified Katakana and Foreign Sounds

Modern Japanese also uses special combinations to represent sounds found in foreign languages.

ファ
fa

フィ
fi

フェ
fe

フォ
fo

ティ
ti

ディ
di

ウィ
wi

ウェ
we

ウォ
wo

チェ
che

シェ
she

ジェ
je

📖 10 Examples of Modern Japanese

ファッションFasshon→ Fashion

ファイルFairu→ File

フィルムFirumu→ Film

フェスティバルFesutibaru→ Festival

フォークFōku→ Fork

パーティーPātī→ Party

ディナーDinā→ Dinner

ウェブWebu→ Web

チェスChesu→ Chess

ジェットJetto→ Jet