LESSON NOTES · レッスンノート

N5Start here · Sep 15, 2026

Japanese writing systems: why three scripts, and what each one is telling you

Japanese uses hiragana, katakana, and kanji together because each script handles a different part of the job: kana spell sounds and grammatical endings, and kanji carry the written cores of many words. Those roles are conventions rather than laws, so a perfectly ordinary sentence does not have to contain all three. Learn the two kana sets alongside useful words, then let kanji arrive inside words you already understand.

Seeing three scripts on one page can make Japanese look like three separate languages stacked on top of each other. It is one language written with several complementary tools, and you can understand how those tools divide the work long before you recognise every character. This guide explains what to notice in an ordinary sentence, where the simple rules stop being reliable, and how to practise without treating each unfamiliar symbol as an isolated memorisation task.

The basics

Three scripts, three usual roles

Hiragana and katakana together are called kana. Each set has 46 basic characters in the modern teaching charts, with further sounds written through diacritic marks and combinations. The two sets represent the same basic sound system: か and カ both represent ka. They are usually described as syllabaries, although the more precise unit for Japanese timing is the mora, or rhythmic beat.

Kanji are characters tied to meaningful elements of words and to readings. Calling them pictures of ideas is misleading. A character has conventional pronunciations, and many characters contain components that historically supplied clues to sound. Your goal is to read actual words, not to swap a symbol for an English gloss.

Script Japanese name Typical uses Examples from this article
Hiragana ひらがな Particles, inflectional endings, many whole words は, を, ます, ありがとう
Katakana カタカナ Many loanwords, foreign names, sound effects, emphasis コーヒー, ペン, ドキドキ
Kanji 漢字かんじ Many nouns, and the written stems of verbs and adjectives 山やま, 日本語にほんご, 飲いん

These are starting points, not permanent assignments. A writer can choose hiragana for a word that also has a common kanji spelling, and katakana can represent a native Japanese word purely for visual effect. The Japan Foundation publishes free hiragana and katakana practice resources for learning the shapes and then reading them inside words.

Read one sentence in layers

私わたしは毎日まいにちコーヒーを飲のみます。 — I drink coffee every day.

Here 私わたし means “I” and 毎日まいにち means “every day,” both written in kanji. コーヒー is “coffee,” written in katakana because it is a loanword. The hiragana は and を are particles, and 飲のみます combines the kanji 飲いん with the hiragana みます to write one polite verb form.

Notice that み belongs to the written verb stem; it is not a separate particle floating between words. The useful beginner observation is that a single word can mix kanji and kana freely, so you should never assume that a change of script marks the start of a new word.

これはペンです。 — This is a pen.

This sentence uses hiragana and katakana with no kanji at all, and it is completely ordinary. The demonstrative これ and the polite ending です are normally written in hiragana, while ペン is a loanword in katakana.

ありがとう。 — Thank you.

A complete, natural expression can use hiragana alone. The three scripts are available resources, not a checklist that every sentence has to satisfy.

Why is Japanese written without spaces?

Conventional Japanese prose does not separate every word with a space. Familiar vocabulary, particles, endings, punctuation, and script changes all help readers find the structure. Mixed scripts give useful visual clues, but script boundaries are not an exact replacement for English spaces.

今日きょうは日本語にほんごを勉強べんきょうします。 — I will study Japanese today.

今日きょう, 日本語にほんご, and 勉強べんきょう are recognisable units for a reader who already knows them, and the particles は and を show how those units relate. However, consecutive kanji can form one compound or several separate words, so vocabulary and grammar remain essential to segmentation.

Beginner materials sometimes insert spaces to make this easier. An all-hiragana passage can actually be harder to segment than a mixed one, which is why a children's book is not automatically easier than a newspaper article. Subject matter, sentence length, vocabulary, and reading support all affect difficulty.

Beyond the basics

Kana spell sound, including timing

Learning the basic chart is only the beginning. You also need voiced forms such as が and ガ, combined sounds such as きゃ and キャ, and the small っ or ッ. In きゃ, the small ゃ merges with き into a single beat. The small っ marks a consonant hold before the next consonant.

Written form Reading Beats What to notice
きや きや 2 Full-size や is its own beat
きゃ きゃ 1 Small ゃ merges into one beat
きて きて 2 No consonant hold
きって きって 3 Small っ adds a held beat
コヒ コヒ 2 No long vowels written
コーヒー コーヒー 4 Each ー extends the vowel before it

切手きってを買かいます。 — I will buy a postage stamp.

切手きって is read きって, with the held consonant that the small っ writes in kana. Kana spelling also has its own conventions worth learning early: the particles は, へ, and を are pronounced wa, e, and o, rather than following their chart labels. Vowel length is equally decisive, and my guide to long vowels and the ningyo problem shows how much a single extra beat can change.

Kanji readings belong to words

Two useful terms are 音読おんよみ, a Chinese-derived reading, and 訓読くんよみ, a native Japanese reading. A single kanji may carry several of each. These labels describe broad patterns, but they are not a dependable formula for pronouncing an unfamiliar word.

あの山やまは高たかいです。 — That mountain is tall.

Here 山やま is read やま, a native reading. In 火山かざん, meaning “volcano,” the same character is read さん. Learn 山やま with やま and 火山かざん with かざん as separate vocabulary items rather than trying to recite every possible reading first. Some words go further and attach a reading to a whole compound, a pattern explained in jukujikun and irregular kanji readings.

The hiragana attached to a kanji in an inflected word are called okurigana, written 送り仮名おくりがな. Compare 高たかい, “tall,” with 高たかかった, “was tall”: the kanji stays put while the trailing kana change. The verb 飲のむ, “to drink,” behaves the same way when it becomes 飲のみます.

Katakana does more than mark loanwords

Many familiar examples are loanwords, or 外来語がいらいご: コーヒー, ペン, and テレビ. A katakana word is not necessarily English, though, and even a word borrowed from English may have shifted in meaning or pronunciation. Read it as a Japanese word first, as wasei-eigo and other made-in-Japan English demonstrates repeatedly.

ドキドキします。 — My heart is pounding.

ドキドキ represents a pounding-heart sensation, and you may also see どきどき in hiragana. Neither spelling turns it into a foreign word. For many more of these, see Japanese onomatopoeia.

ここはダメです。 — This place will not do.

ダメ may also appear as だめ or 駄目だめ. Katakana makes the spelling visually distinctive, but only the situation tells you whether the speaker is rejecting a location, refusing permission, or judging suitability. Script choice alone never supplies the full meaning.

Furigana helps with pronunciation, not meaning

Furigana, or 振り仮名ふりがな, are small kana printed above horizontal text or beside vertical text to indicate a reading. They are usually hiragana. Books for younger readers, learning materials, and some manga use furigana generously, while other texts add it only for names or unusual words.

Furigana supplies a reading, not an English definition and not a grammar explanation. When a word carries furigana, read it aloud, check its meaning in context, and then look back at the main characters. That sequence connects sound, spelling, and meaning without demanding instant memorisation.

How many kanji, and what about romaji?

The 常用漢字じょうようかんじ list contains 2,136 characters and serves as a general-use writing guideline. It is neither a complete inventory of Japanese characters nor a guarantee of comprehension, since newspapers also contain names, specialist vocabulary, and idiom. The Agency for Cultural Affairs account of the list revision explains the change to that figure.

Romaji writes Japanese in Latin letters. It helps with initial pronunciation guidance and with keyboard input, and it is genuinely useful support. If reading Japanese is your goal, though, reading kana directly needs to become part of your routine. There is no universal deadline after which using romaji makes you a bad learner.

For a practical sequence, start with hiragana, add katakana, and meet kanji inside words you already understand, revisiting all three in short sentences. My guide to the order for learning hiragana, katakana, and kanji develops that study plan, and extensive reading with tadoku covers what to read once the kana feel steady.

Common mistakes

  • Giving each script one rigid job. “Hiragana is grammar, kanji is meaning” is a rough memory aid. Hiragana writes plenty of content words, and kanji appear inside words with grammatical functions.
  • Guessing a reading from a character you recognise. Knowing 山やま does not tell you how 火山かざん is read. Confirm the whole word, and record its spelling, reading, and meaning together.
  • Ignoring small kana and long vowels. Full-size や and small ゃ are not interchangeable, and neither are つ and っ. Similar katakana such as シ and ツ also need deliberate comparison.
  • Treating handwriting and recognition as one skill. Reading, typing, and handwriting make different demands. Typing still requires choosing the right conversion among similar-sounding candidates.
  • Choosing reading material by script alone. A page of hiragana is not automatically easy, and a page with kanji is not automatically advanced.
  • Expecting script changes to act as word boundaries. 飲のみます contains a script change inside a single word, so segmentation always needs vocabulary too.

Practice

Work through these ten questions before opening the answers. Focus on what the spelling tells you and what still depends on vocabulary or context.

1. In 私わたしは毎日まいにちコーヒーを飲のみます。, identify the kanji, hiragana, and katakana portions.

Show answer

Kanji: 私わたし, 毎日まいにち, 飲いん. Hiragana: は, を, みます. Katakana: コーヒー. — The verb 飲のみます combines kanji and hiragana inside one word.

2. Does これはペンです。 need a kanji to count as a valid Japanese sentence?

Show answer

No. — It is an ordinary sentence written with hiragana and katakana. Nothing requires a sentence to use every script.

3. What changes between 高たかい and 高たかかった, and what are the attached kana called?

Show answer

The kana change from い to かった, and they are okurigana, 送り仮名おくりがな. — The meaning moves from “tall” to “was tall” while the kanji stays the same.

4. How is 山やま read as the standalone word for “mountain,” and how is 火山かざん read?

Show answer

やま, and かざん. — Inside 火山かざん the character 山やま is read さん, so learn the full word rather than applying one reading everywhere.

5. A manga panel uses ドキドキ. Does the katakana prove that this is an English loanword?

Show answer

No. — ドキドキ describes a pounding heart. Katakana also writes sound effects, expressive words, and plenty of native vocabulary.

6. What does furigana above a word give you, and what does it leave unexplained?

Show answer

It gives a reading only. — It does not explain the meaning, the grammatical role, or the appropriate context of the word.

7. Why is “every script change marks a word boundary” unreliable?

Show answer

Because words such as 飲のみます contain a script change internally. — Word recognition, particles, endings, and context work together to segment a sentence.

8. You can already read き and や. What extra detail matters in きゃ, and what matters in コーヒー?

Show answer

Character size in きゃ, and vowel length in コーヒー. — Small ゃ makes one combined beat, while each ー extends the vowel before it.

9. How is 切手きって read, and which kana convention explains the pronunciation?

Show answer

きって, with a small っ. — The small っ writes a held consonant that occupies its own beat before the following consonant.

10. In 今日きょうは日本語にほんごを勉強べんきょうします。, what are は and を doing, and how are they pronounced?

Show answer

They are particles, pronounced wa and o. — Particle spelling follows its own convention rather than the ordinary chart readings of は and を.

FAQ

Are hiragana and katakana two different alphabets? They are two character sets for the same basic sound system, so か and カ represent the same syllable. “Syllabary” is the usual label, since most characters stand for more than a single consonant or vowel. Katakana additionally uses combinations to approximate sounds found in borrowed vocabulary. Learn both sets through real words; recognising one set does not teach you the other.

How soon should I finish learning kana? There is no fixed deadline. Your pace depends on study time, prior experience, and how you practise. Recognising a chart and reading connected text comfortably are two different milestones. Short, frequent sessions with audio and whole words work better than one long push, and you can start useful reading well before your recall is perfect.

Can furigana replace learning kanji? No. It is helpful support, but most everyday texts supply little or none, and even a supplied reading leaves vocabulary and grammar to you. Use furigana to reach material slightly above your level, then revisit repeated words so their kanji become familiar. Access to a pronunciation is not the same as understanding the sentence.

Do I need to handwrite every kanji I learn? No. You can read and recognise a word long before you can reproduce it unaided. Some handwriting practice does help you notice structure, especially with characters that look alike. If your goals include forms, examinations, or handwritten notes, give handwriting its own practice slot instead of expecting recognition alone to produce it.

Why is the same word sometimes written in different scripts? Writers make choices. ダメ, だめ, and 駄目だめ are all readable, and どきどき and ドキドキ both occur. Katakana can add visual emphasis, hiragana can feel softer or more approachable, and kanji can look more formal. The effect depends on the writer, the genre, and the surrounding text, so read the situation rather than assigning a fixed meaning to each script.

Vocabulary from this article

Every entry below appears earlier in the explanation or the examples. The readings given are the ones used here, not a list of every possible reading of each character.

Word Reading Meaning
漢字かんじ かんじ kanji; Chinese characters used in Japanese
山やま やま mountain
火山かざん かざん volcano
高たかい たかい tall, high, expensive
毎日まいにち まいにち every day
今日きょう きょう today
日本語にほんご にほんご Japanese language
勉強べんきょう べんきょう study
切手きって きって postage stamp
飲のむ のむ to drink
音読おんよみ おんよみ Chinese-derived kanji reading
訓読くんよみ くんよみ native Japanese kanji reading
送り仮名おくりがな おくりがな kana attached to a kanji in an inflected word
振り仮名ふりがな ふりがな kana showing a reading
外来語がいらいご がいらいご loanword

Tap the block to select all of it, then copy. In Anki: File → Import, note type Basic, separator Tab.

漢字	かんじ — kanji
山	やま — mountain
火山	かざん — volcano
高い	たかい — tall, high
毎日	まいにち — every day
今日	きょう — today
日本語	にほんご — Japanese language
勉強	べんきょう — study
切手	きって — postage stamp
飲む	のむ — to drink
音読み	おんよみ — Chinese-derived kanji reading
訓読み	くんよみ — native Japanese kanji reading
送り仮名	おくりがな — kana attached to a kanji
振り仮名	ふりがな — kana showing a reading
外来語	がいらいご — loanword

I'm Yuuki, a Japanese teacher based in Tokyo. I start beginners on kana with real words rather than isolated charts, so the first kanji you meet already belong to sentences you can say. To read short Japanese sentences together, see Japanese lessons explained in English or Book a trial lesson · $13.

Sources

  • The Japan Foundation, Irodori: Other Resources. Hiragana and katakana charts and word-level practice materials.
  • Agency for Cultural Affairs, feature on the revised Joyo Kanji Table (Japanese PDF). Background on the general-use list and its 2,136 characters.
  • Eri Banno et al., Genki: An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese I, third edition, The Japan Times Publishing. Reference for introductory writing conventions and elementary example patterns; the practice questions here are original.

More drills like the ones above, plus a timed JLPT-style mock test: Practice · N5

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