Three scripts, one language
Japanese is written using three distinct scripts that appear simultaneously in the same text, often in the same sentence. Understanding what each script does — and why the system developed this way — is the foundation for learning to read Japanese.
A typical Japanese sentence might look like: 私はコーヒーが好きです. It contains kanji (私, 好), hiragana (は, が, き, で, す), and katakana (コーヒー). Each script is doing a specific job.
Kanji: meaning-bearing characters
Kanji (漢字 — Chinese characters) are logographic: each character carries meaning. 山 means mountain. 愛 means love. 食 means eat. Kanji form the semantic core of Japanese words — they tell you what something means before you even know how to pronounce it. About 2,136 kanji are in everyday use.
Hiragana: the native phonetic syllabary
Hiragana (平仮名) is a syllabic alphabet of 46 characters, each representing one sound syllable (あ = a, き = ki, む = mu). It is used for native Japanese words that have no kanji, for verb and adjective endings, and for grammatical particles. Hiragana is the first script Japanese children learn — and the first script recommended for language learners.
Hiragana was historically considered a "women's script" in the Heian period (794–1185), while kanji were associated with formal male scholarship. This is why Heian-era literature by women — including The Tale of Genji — was written primarily in hiragana. The script that helped produce some of Japan's greatest literature was once considered informal.
Katakana: foreign words and emphasis
Katakana (片仮名) has the same 46 sounds as hiragana but uses angular, simplified forms. Its primary use is writing foreign loanwords (gairaigo): coffee becomes コーヒー, television becomes テレビ, bread becomes パン. Katakana is also used for scientific names, onomatopoeia, and for emphasis (similar to italics in English). Modern Japanese has absorbed thousands of English words through katakana.
Practice the scripts
Our free trainers cover all 46 hiragana and katakana characters.