Japanese has three ways to write characters that make up their written language.. It is a good idea to learn Hiragana as it is probably the most useful and easiest to learn. To understand why, you need to understand how the three Japanese alphabets are used in the Japanese language. The three scripts are hiragana, katakana and kanji. The Katakana script is used for words that have originally come from other languages, but have been adapted for use in Japanese. One example of a word being adapted is the English word ‘bus’ which has become ‘basu’ in Japanese with a different pronunciation. Kanji is used for words and concepts and has been adapted long ago from chinese characters. There are several thousand kanji characters used in the Japanese language so usually you will only attempt to learn kanji when you reach a more intermediate and advanced level.

Hiragana is the final Japanese alphabet we’ll look at. Hiragana is made up of 46 basic characters, so it is not overwhelming. It can actually be learnt quite quickly and even in a few hours if you are really motivated. Any Japanese words can be written in Hiragana so it is very useful to learn. The first alphabet that kids in Japan learn is Hiragana and it is used in childrens books. Hiragana is also used to write the readings above kanji, so even if you don’t know how to read the kanji chinese characters, if you know hiragana, you will be able to read the pronunication.

One of the best ways to study Hiragana is with a hiragana chart. A chart is extremely helpful as all of the characters are displayed in front of you. With the chart on the wall around you, you will easily be able to check and test yourself. With a chart on your wall it won’t take much time at all to learn all the characters. Seeing the chart regularly will help you remember the characters and serve as a continuing reminder. Get a hiragana chart stuck up on your wall and you will have learn Hiragana in no time at all.

Related posts:

1. Japanese Writing Systems – Kanji, Katakana And Hiragana
2. What Should I Study – Japanese Or Korean?

Tags: Hiragana, hiragana chart, learn hiragana

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