こんばんわ (hello)

[AetherDream]

Japanese has a lot of letters from the Chinese writing system thus a kanji you see in Chinese might exist in Japanese xb They tend to mean the same thing but are pronounced differently cause it's different languages.

Let's try and clear up this explanation for Gwazi. Japanese has three writing systems which are used in combination to make up the standard Japanese written language: Kanji (the writing system borrowed from the Chinese), Hiragana (the writing system used for syllables, words, conjugations and particles) and Katakana (the writing system used dominantly for borrowed words, and names of certain things.). When writing in Japanese, you use a combination of these systems and typically, upwards of 2000-2,500 kanji must be known to be considered educated.

Kanji was originally taken up by the high and ruling class and not taught to women or the lower classes. Hiragana was later introduced to make women and lower classes literate. Katakana was later introduced when the Japanese began making use of foreign, borrowed words. All three, as said above, are now used in concert with one another.

It is important to note, that even if you can read and write in contemporary Japanese, the writing systems have developed over a long and rich history. The further you go back, the less you are likely to understand until you finally cannot read a darn thing.

Hope that helps, Gwazi

 

[Nathchi]

Everything is so complicated! D: couldn't they have done something to make it all easier? Nooo! It have to be 3 different writing systems for different things! And then this with on'yomi and kun'yomi :c

Nu är jag ledsen...
(Now I'm sad...)

 

[AetherDream]

Everything is so complicated! D: couldn't they have done something to make it all easier? Nooo! It have to be 3 different writing systems for different things! And then this with on'yomi and kun'yomi :c

Nu är jag ledsen...
(Now I'm sad...)

Things do seem a bit complicated don't they? Try not to worry about it too much and approach things one step at a time. Now, you can try and do both some basic Kanji and Hiragana to get started, but if you are really daunted, start with Hiragana. Just go row by row and practice until you feel that you've got a hold on it. Then try and write words using Hiragana so that you can get used to producing them in proper sequence. It's all about practice! Don't give up!

Here are two charts. I recommend you print them out for your personal reference and study. Keep in mind, these are all characters used to represent syllables. Have fun!

Hiragana Chart Link:
http://japanese-tutor.co.za/mydata/Hiragana_Chart_2014.png

Katakana Chart Link:
http://garrulousgaijin.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/katakana.gif

 

[Nathchi]

Things do seem a bit complicated don't they? Try not to worry about it too much and approach things one step at a time. Now, you can try and do both some basic Kanji and Hiragana to get started, but if you are really daunted, start with Hiragana. Just go row by row and practice until you feel that you've got a hold on it. Then try and write words using Hiragana so that you can get used to producing them in proper sequence. It's all about practice! Don't give up!

Here are two charts. I recommend you print them out for your personal reference and study. Keep in mind, these are all characters used to represent syllables. Have fun!

Hiragana Chart Link:
http://japanese-tutor.co.za/mydata/Hiragana_Chart_2014.png

Katakana Chart Link:
http://garrulousgaijin.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/katakana.gif

I've already trained Hiragana so it's alright with that and I've started somewhat with Kanji... though it's not much, just Watashi, Kokoro, Ai, Sekai, simple words like that ._. But thanks for the links :D I feel I need to train my Katakana because some looks the same so I tend to get confused sometimes

 

[AetherDream]

Ah I see I see. Hrmmm, you should try and pick up a textbook so that you can learn Kanji with some sort of structure and context. Learning Kanji randomly won't be of too much help because it'll be so disjointed. Are there any shops around you that might have some beginner text books?

 

[Nathchi]

Ah I see I see. Hrmmm, you should try and pick up a textbook so that you can learn Kanji with some sort of structure and context. Learning Kanji randomly won't be of too much help because it'll be so disjointed. Are there any shops around you that might have some beginner text books?

I have just learned them because I recognize them everywhere but... They don't have books just like that but I can probably find something in a library or so. By the way, do you have any tips about Japanese that I should think about?

Hrrmm.. It's just that I don't need japanese right now so I also tend to focus on my studies and it's also hard when I don't have anyone I can talk or train with.

 

[AetherDream]

That's a good question. If there is no one around to speak with and no lessons that you can take. I would suggest that you do a lot of listening to Japanese (anime not so much) . Training your ear to hear it properly is a very valuable skill. But, in terms of hard and fast learning, I would suggest that you search online for textbooks that you can order, preferably ones that come with a CD that have listening exercises. Like anything, it's all about dedication and practice. There is no magic behind it, just gotta set aside an hour or two every day (if you can) and commit to a lesson plan. This is what makes textbooks very good to have, they allow you to create some structure around your learning.

 

[Nathchi]

That's a good question. If there is no one around to speak with and no lessons that you can take. I would suggest that you do a lot of listening to Japanese (anime not so much) . Training your ear to hear it properly is a very valuable skill. But, in terms of hard and fast learning, I would suggest that you search online for textbooks that you can order, preferably ones that come with a CD that have listening exercises. Like anything, it's all about dedication and practice. There is no magic behind it, just gotta set aside an hour or two every day (if you can) and commit to a lesson plan. This is what makes textbooks very good to have, they allow you to create some structure around your learning.

Alright, thanks for the tip. I'll have to see what to do and what sort of "lesson" works for me. ^_^

 

[Tensa Hiruma]

I know this clever pun.

It's not really Japanese, cause it's a pun on the English translation though... :(

He Just... commited Sudoku!