Brenton
Philip SharpTypes of Kana
April 2nd 2008 13:15
かな (Kana) is a generic term denoting a Japanese letter. There are three sets of Kana in Japanese.
The first set is ひらがな (Hiragana). These letters are used for a majority of Japanese words, unless they are better expressed with かんじ(Kanji).
Example – りんご – Ringo – Apple.
かたかな (Katakana) is a Japanese Kana set used for new and foreign words. New words generally include Brand Names or new products. Foreign words may include obvious English Words; eg, アメリカ (Amerika/America), as well as older words adopted form other languages (the Japanese word for bread is パン (Pan)which comes from the French word pane. It is also used for Onomatopoeia.
Kanji, finally, are Japanese picture character that tend to encompass words or ideas. These are borrowed from Chinese, although a few exist that are uniquely Japanese. For example the following Kanji – 行 means to go.
Kanji may also utilise a ‘fourth script’ called Furigana, which is essentially tiny Hiragana character written above Kanji to enhance the readability of difficult Kanji.
The first set is ひらがな (Hiragana). These letters are used for a majority of Japanese words, unless they are better expressed with かんじ(Kanji).
Example – りんご – Ringo – Apple.
かたかな (Katakana) is a Japanese Kana set used for new and foreign words. New words generally include Brand Names or new products. Foreign words may include obvious English Words; eg, アメリカ (Amerika/America), as well as older words adopted form other languages (the Japanese word for bread is パン (Pan)which comes from the French word pane. It is also used for Onomatopoeia.
Kanji, finally, are Japanese picture character that tend to encompass words or ideas. These are borrowed from Chinese, although a few exist that are uniquely Japanese. For example the following Kanji – 行 means to go.
Kanji may also utilise a ‘fourth script’ called Furigana, which is essentially tiny Hiragana character written above Kanji to enhance the readability of difficult Kanji.
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