Which First

[Danworth]

I have been learning Kanji but I just read I should learn Hiragana first so what is it



P.S. So do I even need to learn Katakana?

[Mariya]

Yes. Both these are essential, and much easier to learn than Kanji. Try looking for an introduction to the language, since it is basic knowledge that these two should come first.
Try the Hiragana & Katanaka link to the left.

[Danworth]

thank you

i though you had to know kanji to read but now everyone i see typeing types and something different i am guessing hiragana

thank you!

[Danworth]

ok wait i am looking at it and am confused lol kanji is easier i think i messed up trying to learn kanji first.

So there are only like 12 different hiragana i clicked on there link and looked at the lessons and am alittle lost

[Supergrunch]

Actually, there are 46, and I can't see how you'd think Kanji would be easier (not to put you off learning them).

[mandolin]

hiragana and katakana are phonetic, like alphabet letters in english and other roman-based languages. This is why hiragana and katakana are easier to learn than kanji.

Kanji will take a lot longer to learn because there are so many. That's the 'hard' part in my opinion, the sheer number of them (1945 -essential- kanji, 3000+ in mostly every day use, and even more than that if you count ALL the possible kanji).

Reading japanese consists of using all 3, kanji, hiragana, and katakana. Kanji is like... a picture-word. But they can be written out in kana (hiragana/katakana) as well. Sort of like showing a picture of a dog and writing d-o-g under it.

But... yeah. Tackle the Hiragana and Katakana first. It'll help you get to know basic japanese sounds.

[Danworth]

Ok thank yall..

Sorry but.... One more thing when saying hiragana do we pronounce it like english example. no do we say it like english n-o are do they pronounce the letter different because what i have learned i can say it but when i hear other people (Japanese people) say it i can't reconize(sorry if mispelled) it.

And thanks once more.

[Danworth]

ok i gave a bad example what about hito would i say that as he-to or hi-to i don't know if that helps you understand what i am asking.

Thanks

[mandolin]

unlike in english, the japanese vowel sounds are always the same.

Actually, there's sort of an exception but you don't need to know that quite yet.

The vowel order in japanese is a-i-u-e-o.

They are pronounced ahh-ee-oooh-eh-oh

so, hito would be like hee-toe (except lots shorter than you might pronounce that in english

I'd practice saying the vowels over and over till it feels natural, and also in the typical order. It just helps with the memorization and separating it from english vowel sounds. aeiou is english, aiueo is japanese.

ah-ee-oo-eh-oh.... ah-ee-oo-eh-oh... :p

As for japanese 'no' it sounds exactly the same as english. It was the first hiragana I could recognize on the spot thanks to a manga called "Usagi no Jimbo".

[Harisenbon]

Usually the front of dictionaries of phrase books will have a pronunciation guide (not just romaji). I recommend picking up a dictionary of some sort if you're looking to really get into Japanese.

I got this explanation from a random site I found on google. I'm editing their explanation of u, because I think it sucks.

http://www.cs.mun.ca/~anime/afs/kana.html

Each symbol is a syllable, and each syllable in a word is given equal time (roughly). Thus "okii" ("big") is three syllables o-ki-i.

One major difference is 'r'. The sound written in romaji as 'r' is actually about halfway between 'r' and 'l'.

For vowels
'a' is like 'a' in 'father'
'i' is like 'ee' in 'keep' or 'geek', but a little shorter
'u' is like 'oo' in poot, or the 'o' in who
'e' is like 'a' in 'say', or like 'e' in 'eh'
'o' is like 'o' in 'go', but shorter.

Actually, now that I look at the page, this is the only thing you should look at, as the rest of the page is riddled with mistakes.

[Danworth]

Thank you all for your help and one last question

I am learning to write with just a pencil but someone told me that most Japanese will not understand it because I’m not writing with one of those special pens, and I can't show or its really hard to write the letters with different thickness. Is this true or not?

P.S. I am sorry if I have just made a complete idiot of my self.

[Ongakuka]

No, as long as you write clearly, Japanese people will be able to understand, pen or pencil.

[Daichi]

Danworth wrote:
....someone told me that most Japanese will not understand it because I’m not writing with one of those special pens....

Who told you that? I think someone was someone was trying to wind you up!:D

[Supergrunch]

I find that most Japanese pronounciation guides on the web are orientated around American pronounciation, eg. "'a' is like 'a' in 'father'".

To someone who speaks with "BBC English", this is completely wrong.

[Danworth]

Thank you all you have been so kind to me .

*sniff* I told myself I wouldn't cry *sniff*

lol but really thanks.