Learn Hiragana or Katakana?
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- 18 Responses
- Mojo
Learning Japanese, not sure what writing system to learn.
- shinpo0
Both and you have to mix some Kanji (Chinese symbols) in there since they use all three in their writings.
- Mojo0
I understand that they use all three, but I don't know what to start on. I'm also interested in what context each system is used in.
What's most useful as a european who will occasionally visited japan?
- jonturi0
start with hiragana & katakana then slowly delve into the Kanji characters. hiragana & katakana are similar and are all syllabic representations. i think katakana is used for newer words than hiragana...
- ninjasavant0
hiragana is for words that originated in japanese language. Katakana is for borrowed words from other languages. Kanji is for Kanji.
- shinpo0
yeah both are used and both are forms of the " kana " so you will see both
- Mojo0
I think I'll start learning Katakana, is the forms look easier to learn, recall, and write. Then pick up hiragana, and eventually Kanji ..
- shinpo0
Hiragana is probably considered the language, but they use Katakana for words that don't appear in their original language. Kanji is also used regularly.
I agree with ismith learn Hiragana first and Kanji and Katakana you will understand.
- Mojo0
Is 'Shinpo' a verb?
- eating_tv0
What the hell is with all the Japanese learning today? I just thought about it and now topics start to appear about it - wtf!
- Mojo0
If you are reading this and interested in learning Japanese, I've been bookmarking Japanese bookmarks here: http://delicious.com/replete/jap…
- version30
信奉
新報
or
新法
?
- shinpo0
shinpo means progress, development and even sympathetic - I didn't start using that name b/c of the translation, but from a not hearing a word correctly like 5 years ago so it has kinda become a joke and learning experience.
- DrBombay0
Hiragana is your best bet for starters. It will help you much more than anything else when traveling there.
- Amicus0
katakana is much more limited in its use than hiragana or kanji, so it really isn't that useful to learn it first.
When I was learning in high school we created pictures and meaning out of the symbol and it's sound.
http://www.yosida.com/en/hiragan…
If you have an iPhone you might find this little app useful: