If you plan to travel around Japan, to study abroad or to work in the country, or maybe you just want to be able to watch anime in Japanese, then learning Japanese should be one of the things on your to-do list. However, you might feel reluctant or anxious at the starting point given that the Japanese language looks so different from English or any other European language. Don’t worry! We’ll introduce the first 3 steps you should take to enter the world of this unique language!
Contents
Step 1: Master the Japanese Scripts
The biggest difference between Japanese and English is obviously the writing system (or characters). There are three scripts in the Japanese writing system: Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji. They all might look complex and hard to master, but with effective methods and tips you can surely enjoy the process of learning them!
Hiragana
Learning hiragana should be the very first thing you want to start off with. Although you find all three different scripts in most places where you find Japanese writing, all the words have hiragana sounds and you can easily look up the meaning of each word if you know the sounds (and sometimes kanji words are given with small hiragana above, called furigana to help you know the sounds).
46 Basic Characters
Hiragara consists of 46 basic characters (monographs) with 5 singular vowels ofあ(a), い(i), う(u), え(e), お(o) and 41 consonants. As a phonetic symbol, each hiragana has its own sound (representing one syllable/mora), whereas some of the English letters of the alphabet have multiple sounds. In other words, if you learn all hiragana sounds, you will basically be able to read any Japanese words!
- 46 Basic Hiragana Chart
Diacritics
Hiragana makes use of two diacritical marks: “゛(dakuten or ten-ten)” and “゜(han-dakuten or maru)”. Dakuten is added to 20 characters with unvoiced sounds to change them to characters with voiced sounds. For example, か(ka) turns が(ga) and さ(sa) turns ざ(za). Han-dakuten is added to only 5 characters beginning with an h sound to change the h sound to a p (semi-voiced) sound. For example, は(ha) turns ぱ(pa) and ほ(ho) turns ぽ(po).
- 25 Hiragana with Diacritics Chart
Diagraphs
Some hiragana characters combine with others to make a different character, called a diagraph. In Japanese, a small version of three Y sound characters や(ya), ゆ(yu), よ(yo) can be added to characters ending in I sound, like き(ki) and し(shi). There are 21 diagraphs and 15 diagraphs with diacritics.
- 21 Diagraphs Chart
- 15 Diagraphs with Diacritics Chart
Katakana
Katakana is also a phonetic script used for words adopted from other languages. For example, “コンピュータ(kon-pyū-ta)” means “computer” and sounds also similar to the English word. As the world gets more globalized, more foreign words are represented in a katakana form in Japanese. Indeed, it is often controversial among Japanese people themselves if some new foreign words should be written in katakana or translated into existing Japanese words. For now, mastering how to read and write katakana characters should be good enough to help begin your Japanese learning journey! (and don’t worry about the controversy)
The structure and variety of katakana characters follows those of hiragana.
- 46 Basic Katakana Chart
- 25 Katakana with Diacritics Chart
- 21 Diagraphs Chart
- 15 Diagraphs with Diacritics Chart
Kanji
Unlike hiragana and katakana, kanji are ideographic Chinese characters symbolizing ideas or things with meaning for each one. Because of the their origin, most kanji have two or more pronunciations (or readings), including some derived from the Chinese and some original Japanese ones. For example, a kanji “” (I think something is missing from the text here!)
Among the thousands of kanji that are to be found in Japanese (stretching back centuries), the Japanese government has selected 2,136 kanji as “常用漢字(joyo-kanji)” or “regular-use kanji” to be learned in Japanese schools and by Japanese students up to high school age. However, at the first stage, you don’t need to rush into the list and freak out. It is beneficial and effective to start by learning basic, useful words combining some kanji, like “電話(den-wa)” meaning “telephone” and “今日(kyou)” meaning “today”.
Study Tips
The best and only main tip to master the three Japanese scripts: “Practice makes perfect”! On top of a pile of well-designed textbooks, there are many apps that enable you to study whenever you get time on your PC or smartphone. Some of the apps even have a stroke recognition function, so you can practice writing all the Japanese scripts with this AI teacher. Check out our article below to find the best free apps!
- 10 Best Free Apps to Learn Japanese
Step 2: Learn Basic Phrases
When you feel more comfortable reading and writing most of hiragana (and later katakana and some basic kanji), it’s time to learn key phrases in Japanese! It’s particularly important to know some short, simple phrases before you dive deep into grammar. Just like dancing or cooking, the more naturally you understand the usage of words and phrases, the easier the grammar rule rules seems. Check out our article introducing basic phrases you can use in greeting situations.
Also, as mentioned above, there are apps that enable you to learn and practice basic words and phrases too. Most of them contain flashcards and quizzes with the sounds provided, and some have a dictionary function to let you study further!
Hello in Japanese：Common Formal and Casual Greetings You Should Know
Grammar is always the hardest part of learning a language. Especially if you’re an English speaker, you may feel confused and lost more than once before getting through a Japanese grammar book. But it can also be a fun part too, if you take small steps and understand a little bit of the history and culture behind each rule!
Step 3: Learn Basic Japanese Grammar
The biggest difference between English and Japanese lies in the structure of sentences. While many English sentences are mostly structed in the Subject – Verb – Object (SVO) form, Japanese sentences usually follow the Subject – Object – Verb (SOV) style. Take a look at one example.
- English Sentence: I gave her a flower.
- Translation (word to word): 私は あげました 彼女に 花を
- Japanese Sentence (correct order): 私は彼女に花をあげました。
- Pronunciation (correct order): watashi ha kanojo ni hana wo age mashi ta
“あげました” means “gave” in Japanese, so you can see the verb comes in at the end of the sentence.
Sentence Structure
Another key factor in Japanese grammar & usage is different levels of formality in the language. There is a very polite form named “敬語(kei–go)” to show respect to counterparts both in writing and speaking. The counterparts can could be your teacher, your boss, or your business partners etc. Let’s have a look at one example of changing the politeness to understand the delicately designed tone.
- English: Let’s have lunch together. / Shall we go to lunch together? (these don’t match the sentences below!)
- English: I will go to Tokyo tomorrow.
- Casual Form (普通体 fu-tsū-tai): 明日、東京に行く。
- Pronunciation: ashita tōkyō ni iku
- Polite Form (丁寧体 tei-nei-tai): 明日、東京に行きます。
- Pronunciation: ashita tōkyō ni iki masu
In most cases the verb in a the sentence is changed a bit, for example adding “ます(masu)” or “です(desu)” at the end. But the real “敬語(kei-go)” rules are more complex and even Japanese people sometimes mix them up. As a beginner, and if you plan to study or work in the country in the near future, it is safe to learn the regular polite form first.
Formality
To grasp the whole picture of Japanese grammar, it is always a good idea to have a textbook by your side, whether you finish it or not. Here are some recommendations for books especially well-designed for beginners:
Grammar Books
We have introduced the first three steps you should take to start your journey of learning Japanese. We hope this will ignite your motivation and get you to your goal as fast as possible!
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