over 125 million Β· 3 writing systems
Language of Japan
Let's explore the amazing language of Japan: Japanese! It's spoken by millions of people and has a rich history and culture. Japanese uses unique writing systems and contains lots of phrases that help people communicate politely. Get ready to learn and have fun with Japanese words and phrases!
About the Script
Japanese is written using three different scripts: Hiragana and Katakana for sounds, and Kanji for meanings. Hiragana and Katakana look simple. Kanji are like pictures that tell a story.
Script Explorer
Hiragana
A syllabary used for native Japanese words.
Katakana
A syllabary used for foreign words and names.
Kanji
Symbols used to represent full words or parts of words. 20 most common of 2,000+
Phrase Cards
Fun Fact
Japanese is one of the fastest languages to speak! People say about 7.84 syllables each second.
Fun Fact
Some of the world's oldest books using Kanji are from Japan!
Cultural Note
In Japan, how you speak can change depending on who you're talking to. There are special ways to show respect.
Vocabulary
In Japanese, you learn Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji to read and write instead of just one alphabet like in English.
Explore more topics in Japan
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