Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji

To read Japanese, we need to learn three types of characters: kanji, hiragana and katakana. For example, the sentence above contains all three elements. It means “I'm buying a TV”.

Hiragana vs Katakana

There are 46 hiragana-katakana pairs. These two types of characters are counterparts to one another. Each pair shares the same sound. You will learn to read them in the following lessons.
A hiragana character can be used to write a Japanese word or spell the pronunciation of kanji. Katakana characters are usually used for writing foreign words and loanwords.

What is Kanji?

Kanji characters originate from the Chinese language. Most kanji have more than one pronunciation. Some have more than one meaning.

The spelling of a kanji in hiragana, placed either above or next to the kanji, is called Furigana.

Now, enough preface. Let’s start our first hiragana lesson!