Kana 仮名

kana · from Japanese

What is kana?

Kana are the two Japanese syllabaries, hiragana and katakana, each with 46 basic characters representing the same set of sounds.

Both developed from simplified Chinese characters around the 9th century. Hiragana is used for grammar, native words and okurigana; katakana for loanwords, foreign names, emphasis and onomatopoeia. Most learners can read both within a few weeks.

Examples

あ a / ア a; か ka / カ ka; テレビ terebi (TV, katakana); ありがとう arigatō (thank you, hiragana)

Kungfucius says: Two complete alphabets for the same sounds. Japanese does not do minimalism in writing.