Japanese alphabet Hiragana and Katakana

When you start studying the Japanese alphabet, you will learn about Hiragana and Katakana, as well as Kanji. The shapes are different, and even if you somehow know the difference, if you don't know the difference in the way they are used, you will have trouble when you write or read a sentence.

Words used in Hiragana will have different meanings sometimes when used in Katakana, so please be sure to master the differences. Let's learn the differences in this article.

Japanese Hiragana's role

First, let's look at Hiragana, which would be the first alphabet you will learn in Japanese.

Hiragana is the most basic of the Japanese language. Words of Japanese origin are written in Hiragana. Hiragana is used for parts of speech, greetings, Japanese cuisine, and many other things. Hiragana is also very important, as furigana and okurigana for kanji.

Examples of Hiragana words

Here are some basic characters and how Hiragana is used. The words introduced here are usually expressed in Hiragana without using Kanji.

• Greetings

• Food

• Adverbs

Another important role of hiragana is furigana/okurigana of Kanji characters.

Furigana shows how to pronounce the Kanji. And okurigana is a supplement of words of Kanji.

Japanese Katakana's role

The role of Katakana is totally different from that of Hiragana.

Katakana is basically used for foreign words from Japan. Foreign country names, people's names, etc. are shown in Katakana. Katakana tends to be used more due to globalization recently.

It is also used for computer terms and onomatopoeia. And for native Japanese speakers, Katakana is more emphatic than Hiragana.

Examples of Katakana words

• Foreign Names

• Foreign people's name

• Foreign origin words

• Computer terminology

• Onomatopoeia

These words are often pronounced far from English. This is because when English is translated into Japanese, it changes to the Japanese pronunciation. This is also known as Katakana English or wasei eigo(Japanese English).

What is the difference between Hiragana and Katakana?

We have listed example words in Hiragana and Katakana, but are there other differences? This information is important for both those who are going to study and those who want to communicate in Japanese.

Shapes of Hiragana and Katakana

Hiragana shapes are roundish. Katakana, on the other hand, is angular. Comparing the number of strokes, some Hiragana characters have more strokes than Katakana characters.

Numbers of Hiragana and Katakana

Hiragana and Katakana have the same number of 46 characters. In addition to that, both also have voiced sounds, P-sounds and contracted sounds.

Pronunciation of Hiragana and Katakana

The pronunciation of Hiragana and Katakana is exactly the same.

Japanese has five vowels and approximately 14 consonants.

Which one should I learn?

Both Hiragana and Katakana are important. Some people say that katakana does not need to be studied very much, but globalization has increased the number of Katakana words a lot.

Both Hiragana and Katakana are used a lot on the streets of Japan. Kanji is also often used. So, there is no option not to learn one of them.

How to learn faster?

The best way to learn a language is from a native teacher with full experience. I have taught over 100 students so far, and I have a textbook for beginners. In our ebook, you can learn Japanese from the very basics. Of course, you can also learn how to write Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji.

In the community, you can study together with other Japanese language learners from all over the world. I also offer group lessons and one-on-one lessons in that community, so please join us.