Japanese
Notes on Japanese, the national language of Japan, including a kana cheatsheet and a rough plan for learning kanji.
Writing system
Japanese writing mostly consists of a combination of logographic characters, called kanji (漢字), and syllabic characters, called kana (仮名). There are two sets of kana: hiragana (ひらがな) and katakana (カタカナ).
Kana
あ ア a | い イ i | う ウ u | え エ e | お オ o |
か カ ka | き キ ki | く ク ku | け ケ ke | こ コ ko |
さ サ sa | し シ shi | す ス su | せ セ se | そ ソ so |
た タ ta | ち チ chi | つ ツ tsu | て テ te | と ト to |
な ナ na | に ニ ni | ぬ ヌ nu | ね ネ ne | の ノ no |
は ハ ha | ひ ヒ hi | ふ フ fu | へ ヘ he | ほ ホ ho |
ま マ ma | み ミ mi | む ム mu | め メ me | も モ mo |
や ヤ ya | ゆ ユ yu | よ ヨ yo | ||
ら ラ ra | り リ ri | る ル ru | れ レ re | ろ ロ ro |
わ ワ wa | を ヲ wo | |||
ん ン n |
Mnemonic phrases:
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For the order of the vowels:
Ah, we soon get old -
For the order of the rows:
Ah, Kana Sounds – Take Note How Many You Read Well
Kanji
Learning kanji:
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Consider learning the kanji radicals first. Study them in order of stroke count, and associate them with mnemonic meanings.1
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Study kanji in order of increasing written complexity. Contrast this approach with how Japanese children learn: they learn kanji with simple meanings first, e.g. learning 曜 (weekday) before 勺 (ladle).2
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Consider the 80/20 rule. Study kanji on the jōyō kanji (commonly used kanji) list.3
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For pronunciation, focus on being able to read words aloud in context. Don’t try to memorise all of the on and kun readings.4
Kanji lists:
- Jōyō kanji (2,136) – the official list of commonly used kanji.
- 1,026 kanji taught in primary school (kyōiku kanji, “education kanji”).
- 1,110 additional kanji taught in secondary school.
- Jinmeiyō kanji (863) – additional “name kanji”.
Vocab
Interesting words
- 凸凹
- Unevenness, roughness, ruggedness, bumpiness.
- 積ん読
- Stockpiling books.
- Books bought but not read.