Basic Course
Free
- 14 lessons
- 0 quizzes
- 96 week duration
Japanese Writing System Introduction
Before we officially dive into the gojūon (the Japanese syllabary), let’s take a quick look at how modern Japanese writing works.
Modern Japanese uses a mix of the following components: ✨
| Component | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Kanji | Chinese characters used to represent words and concepts. |
| Gojūon | The Gojūon includes: Hiragana – Used for native Japanese words, grammar, and word endings. Katakana– Used for foreign words, names, sound effects, and technical terms. Extended Syllabary – Extra sounds built from the basic gojūon, including marks like dakuten and combined sounds. |
| Romaji | Romaji is the Latin alphabet used to write Japanese sounds. It’s mainly used for signs, advertisements, and typing Japanese on computers, and it’s rarely used in regular articles. In Japan, you’ll often see Romaji written under place names and station names — super helpful for people who can’t read Japanese yet! 😊 |
Examples:
| Kanji | 私 | 金魚 | 車 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hiragana | わたし | きんぎょ | くるま |
| Katakana | ワタシ | キンギョ | クルマ |
| Romaji | watashi | kingyo | kuruma |
| Meaning | I | goldfish | car |
| To help you learn step by step, the Gojūon course is divided into three parts: – Hiragana Course – Katakana Course – Extended Syllabary Course After finishing these three courses, you’ll be able to read all Hiragana and Katakana with ease! (Tip: You can click the button below to jump to the next lesson!)  |
This is the Hiragana Course — your very first step into Japanese.
Let’s get started! ✨
395+
Next
Hiragana Song
