Hiragana and katakana

1. Know the two kana scripts and what each one is for

   Japanese mixes three scripts in one sentence. Hiragana writes grammar endings, particles and many everyday words (です, は, おいしい), while katakana writes words borrowed from other languages and foreign names (テレビ, ロンドン). Kanji carry the meaning of most nouns and verbs. The two kana share the same 46 basic sounds, so once you know one, the other comes much faster.

2. Read and write the basic sounds

   Each kana is one beat of sound, usually a consonant and a vowel together. The five vowels come first: あ like the a in father, い like the ee in see, う like the oo in food said with flat lips, え like the e in egg and お like the o in hot. Every other row adds a consonant to those vowels, from か, き, く, け, こ to わ and を, and ん is the one basic kana with no vowel at all.

3. Change a sound with the two dots and the small circle

   Two small dots, てんてん, change the consonant: a k sound becomes g (か, が), s becomes z (さ, ざ), t becomes d (た, だ) and h becomes b (は, ば). A small circle, まる, turns the は row into a p sound: ぱ, ぴ, ぷ, ぺ, ぽ. The marks change the word, so かき is a persimmon and かぎ is a key.

4. Join a small ゃ, ゅ or ょ to make one sound

   A kana that ends in an い sound, followed by a small ゃ, ゅ or ょ, makes a single beat: き and a small ゃ give きゃ, and し with a small ょ gives しょ. Size matters. びょういん, with a small ょ, is a hospital, but びよういん, with a full-size よ, is a hairdresser's.

5. Use the small っ for a short pause

   A small っ has no sound of its own. It makes a tiny pause that doubles the next consonant, like the stop between the two k sounds in bookcase. きって is a stamp, while きて is a form of the verb to come. You will see it in many everyday words, such as がっこう, ざっし and いっしょに.

6. Write long vowels in hiragana

   Some vowels are held for two beats, and the length changes the meaning: おばさん is an aunt, but おばあさん is a grandmother. Hiragana shows a long vowel by adding a vowel kana: おかあさん, おにいさん, くうき. A long e is usually written えい, as in せんせい, and a long o is usually おう, as in ありがとう, though a few words such as おおきい use お.

7. Write loanwords and foreign names in katakana, with ー for a long vowel

   Words from other languages go in katakana, whether they come from English (テレビ), Portuguese (パン) or German (アルバイト). In katakana a long vowel is shown with a bar, ー: コーヒー, ケーキ, サッカー. Your own name goes into katakana by its sound, so Emma is エマ and Ben is ベン.

8. Say the particles は, へ and を correctly

   As particles, は is said like わ and へ like え: わたしは, にほんへ. Inside other words they keep their usual sounds, as in はな and へや. を is only ever used as a particle and sounds just like お, but you still write を: みずを のみます.

Hiragana

The rounded script for grammar endings, particles and Japanese words without kanji: です, ます, は, おいしい.

Katakana

The angular script for loanwords and foreign names: テレビ, イギリス, サラ. A loanword written in hiragana counts as a spelling error.

Kana

Hiragana and katakana together. Each kana stands for a sound, while a kanji stands for a meaning.

てんてん

The two small dots that change a consonant: か to が, さ to ざ, た to だ and は to ば.

まる

The small circle that turns the は row into a p sound: ぱ, ぴ, ぷ, ぺ, ぽ.

Small っ

A half-size つ that makes a short pause before the next sound, as in がっこう. It is never said as a sound of its own.

Long-vowel bar ー

The bar katakana uses to hold a vowel for two beats, as in ケーキ. Hiragana adds a vowel kana instead: おかあさん.

Loanword

A word taken from another language, such as ピザ or コンピューター. Japanese writes loanwords in katakana.

Romaji

Japanese written in the English alphabet. Anything written in romaji is never credited in the writing paper, so write every Japanese answer in kana or kanji.

• Writing a loanword in hiragana, such as てれび for テレビ.

  Words from other languages always go in katakana: テレビ, ホテル, レストラン. Examiners count a loanword in hiragana as a misspelling.

• Leaving out the small っ, or writing it full size, so がっこう becomes がこう or がつこう.

  Listen for the short pause and show it with a small っ in its own space: がっこう, きって, ざっし. A full-size つ is a separate sound.

• Dropping a long vowel, so おばあさん (grandmother) becomes おばさん (aunt), or ビール (beer) becomes ビル (a building).

  Hold a long vowel for two beats and write it: an extra vowel kana in hiragana, the bar ー in katakana.

• Using the katakana bar in a hiragana word, as in おかーさん.

  The bar belongs to katakana. In hiragana, add the vowel instead: おかあさん, おにいさん, せんせい.

• Mixing up kana that look alike, such as シ and ツ, ソ and ン, or ぬ and め.

  Learn the stroke that tells them apart. In シ and ン the long stroke sweeps up from the bottom left, while in ツ and ソ it falls from the top right. ぬ ends in a small loop and め does not.

More Kana and kanji topics

• The Foundation kanji
• The Higher kanji
• Desu and da
• The core particles
• Adjectives and adverbs
• Asking questions

Keep reading

• What are the GCSE Japanese grade boundaries?
• The GCSE Japanese syllabus, explained