Why does japanese use katakana and hiragana

Kanji did not disappear after kana was invented because the Japanese language has a very limited number of sounds. If there were no kanji, there would be too many homonyms for readers to understand the text.

The answer is that you should master both of them within a short period of time. So, starting with either one is OK! Once you have learned one system, you can start remembering another one immediately after. Learning the corresponding columns within a short time may help you associate them more strongly with each other. In fact, kana is not as difficult as you think; you could learn both syllabaries within a couple of days. Therefore, the sequence does not really matter.

Click here to find out. If you want to find more useful tips on how to get from an absolute beginner level to advanced level, check out this essential guide from another fellow learner!

Have fun! Table of Contents. Back2School Sale Ends in. Author Recent Posts. Cindy Fan. Hi, I am Cindy Fan. I majored in Japanese for four years in undergraduate school and spent 7 months in Tokyo as an exchange student. There, I fell in love with Japanese culture. Latest posts by Cindy Fan see all. Answered by a Fellow Learner. What is Romaji? Everything you need to know about Romaji. It is not practical to memorize or attempt to logically create rules for pitches, especially since it can change depending on the context or the dialect.

The only practical approach is to get the general sense of pitches by mimicking native Japanese speakers with careful listening and practice. Skip to content Contents 1 The Scripts 2 Intonation. Previous Post Previous Introduction. Next Post Next Hiragana. I'm not sure on the validity of this, as it seems to be a hot topic with Japanese scholars.

As far as I'm aware, the Kana where both developed to aid in the study of Kanji. Since most kanji have multiple readings, it would make it easier for novice learners to remember the phonetic pronunciations of Kanji using a simple key. I feel as though Hiragana uses shapes that are very similar to some elementary Kanji. Since Kunyomi readings seem to be the simpler ones to remember your experience may differ , I'd say that shapes resembling the kanji where chosen for Hiragana for that purpose.

This might be why most systems use Katakan for onyomi readings and Hiragana for kunyomi readings - at least, that's how I view it. The other thing to remember - as with most cultures - the skill of reading was usually taught to those who had the ability to pay to be taught it was, usually seen as more of a privilege than a right, as it is these days. Thus, children who were born to families with the means to educate them, and the desire for them to reach high standing would pay for their children to study.

The consensus back then was that women had no place in the court, and the only place for someone who was educated was - you guessed it - at court. So, men would have be taught Kanji as part of their education in Chinese classics, Confucianism, Buddhism and history; whereas Women would have not have been taught such things. I've no idea when, but at some point someone decided to invent a written script so that they could communicate - which is where the theory that it was a woman comes in.

This implies that the person or people who invented the Kana where of high standing otherwise they'd have to toil all day , and that they needed to communicate, in writing, with someone who was educated - probably a Husband or Father, due to the history of "Kidnapping" one's opponent's family members again, this is speculation on my part. I realise this answer is a little ramble-o-matic in nature, that I may have skated around the topic, and that I haven't quoted any sources I'm at work at the minute, but I'll edit later on as and when I find evidence ; so I apologise if this isn't of a high enough standard to answer the original question.

I think it is largely a myth that women invented hiragana. We see many documents written by men at the time that mix kanji , katakana , and hiragana , so hiragana was not only used by women, but women only knew how to use hiragana.

While we know this isn't true, and that the creation of hiragana was a gradual process, he greatly sped up the process of making kana by introducing the first purely phonetic script, Siddham still used in some Buddhist temples in Japan today. Sign up to join this community.

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