At Sprachcaffe, we recommend starting by studying the Japanese alphabet, which is essential if your goal is to read and write fluently.
On this page, we'll provide you with some information about the Japanese writing system.
Continue reading to understand how the Japanese language is structured, its characteristics, how the alphabet works and how many characters it consists of, and what kanji, hiragana, and katakana are.
According to a recent study by Ethnologue, the leading global reference for language data, Japanese is currently spoken by over 125 million people worldwide. It's a language studied for a variety of reasons, from otaku enthusiasts and Japanese culture enthusiasts to language enthusiasts, and anyone seeking to achieve a high level of proficiency to broaden their cultural horizons or for professional reasons.
Learning a new language can be a daunting undertaking, whether you choose to take courses with qualified teachers or learn on your own. This is even more true if you're talking about a language completely different from our own, one that uses a different writing system than the one we're used to. Japanese is a complex language because it includes different types of characters that are chosen to compose words based on various parameters, and there is no exact correspondence between symbols and letters.
Furthermore, Japanese comprises numerous dialects and three different forms of politeness: informal, formal, and very formal. You should also remember that you must write from top to bottom and from right to left. The alphabet you use, or rather, the set of characters that form words, includes symbols that represent syllables and not individual letters, with the exception of vowels.
In the next section, we'll provide useful information about these characters, which make up the three main Japanese writing systems: hiragana, katakana, and kanji.
The Japanese alphabet is composed of three different writing systems: hiragana, katakana, and kanji. Learning this language typically begins with hiragana, even in the Japanese school system. The characters that make up the hiragana alphabet are those primarily used for Japanese words, and are therefore the most commonly used symbols in everyday life. Japanese children begin learning hiragana in elementary school and begin forming words using its 46 characters.
Katakana, on the other hand, is used primarily for words of foreign origin. One of the first exercises language teachers assign students is to write their own name, which must be composed using katakana symbols. Likewise, the names of foreign cities or countries are also written using this alphabet, as are onomatopoeic words. The katakana alphabet is made up of 46 characters, just like hiragana.
Finally, the Japanese writing system includes kanji. Kanji are logograms used to write nouns, verbs, adjectives, and personal names. Kanji derive from Chinese and represent concepts or even entire words, and there are over 50,000 of them. However, to read most Japanese words, you only need to know the 2,000 or 3,000 most common and widespread ones. They are divided into pictograms, ideograms, semantic compounds, semantic-phonetic compounds, derived characters, and loan kanji.
Finally, there is another alphabet, called Romaji, which uses Latin letters. This alphabet was created in the 16th century, when the Jesuits had to adapt Japanese to Portuguese orthography for religious reasons, and today it is used primarily in road signs, dictionaries, textbooks, and on some shop and restaurant signs.
Further down on this page, you will find the complete Japanese alphabet, with the characters and their respective syllable translations.
The complete Japanese alphabet , therefore, actually comprises three distinct alphabets. As for the hiragana and katakana characters, each corresponds to a syllable (such as mi, ne, ru, wo, pi, etc.), while the only letters that exist individually are the vowels: a, e, i, o, u. Keep in mind that you will have to learn to write the kana, the characters of the two Japanese syllabaries, following a precise order.
There is, in fact, a specific order in which to write the various strokes of the alphabet's characters, so it will be a good idea to get a table or infographic that shows it in detail, line by line.
As we've seen, there are thousands of kanji. To help your brain memorize them, you can associate them with something you know, like an object or an animal. This will help you remember how to write a particular symbol. Once you've mastered the various characters of the alphabet, you can then think about the sounds.
If you're an anime fan, help yourself by watching your favorite episodes in the original language to better assimilate pronunciation and intonation. Take your time and, above all, organize your work; otherwise, you'll end up getting discouraged and giving up on your studies.
In this section, you'll find the Japanese alphabet translated into Italian , that is, all the kana (hiragana and katakana) with their translations. Learn the syllables in Japanese and start forming words!
Hiragana and Pure Syllables
A - あ
Ka - か
Sa - さ
Ta - た
Na - な
Ha - は
But - ま
Ya - や
Ra - ら
Wa - わ
I - い
Ki - き
Shi - し
Who - ち
Ni - に
Hi - ひ
E - み
Ri - り
U - う
Ku - く
Up - す
Tsu - つ
Nu - ぬ
Fu - ふ
Mu - む
Yu - ゆ
Ru - る
Wo - を
E - え
Ke - け
If - せ
You - て
Ne - ね
He - へ
Me - め
King - れ
O - お
Ko - こ
I know - そ
To - と
No - の
I have - ほ
Mo - も
Yo - よ
Ro - ろ
N - ん
Impure syllables
Ga - が
Za - ざ
From - だ
Ba - ば
Gi - ぎ
Ji - じ
Dji - ぢ
Bi - び
Gu - ぐ
Zu - ず
Dzu - づ
Bu - ぶ
Ge - げ
Ze - ぜ
De - で
Well - べ
Go - ご
Zo - ぞ
C - ど
Bo - ぼ
Semi-pure syllables
Pa - ぱ
Pi - ぴ
Pu - ぷ
Pe - ぺ
Po - ぽ
Contracted syllables
Kya - きゃ
Sha - しゃ
Cha - ちゃ
Nya - にゃ
Hya - ひゃ
Mya - みゃ
Rya - りゃ
Gya - ぎゃ
Ja - じゃ
Dja - ぢゃ
Bya - びゃ
Pya - ぴゃ
Kyu - きゅ
Shu - しゅ
Chu - ちゅ
Nyu - にゅ
Hyu - ひゅ
Myu - みゅ
Ryu - りゅ
Gyu - ぎゅ
Ju - じゅ
Dju - ぢゅ
Byu - びゅ
Pyu - ぴゅ
Kyo - きょ
Sho - しょ
Cho - ちょ
Nyo - にょ
Hyo - ひょ
Myo - みょ
Ryo - りょ
Gyo - ぎょ
Jo - じょ
Djo - ぢょ
Byo - びょ
Pyo - ぴょ
Katakana and pure syllables
A - ア
Ka - カ
Sa - サ
Ta - タ
Na - ナ
Ha - ハ
But - マ
Ya - ヤ
Ra - ラ
Wa - ワ
I - イ
Ki - キ
Shi - シ
Who - チ
Ni - ニ
Hi - ヒ
Mi - ミ
Ri - リ
Wi - ヰ
U - ウ
Ku - ク
Su - ス
Tsu - ツ
Nu - ヌ
Fu - フ
Mu - ム
Yu - ユ
Ru - ル
E - エ
Ke - ケ
If - セ
You - テ
Ne - ネ
He - ヘ
Me - メ
King - レ
We - ヱ
O - オ
Ko - コ
I know - ソ
To - ト
No - ノ
I have - ホ
Mo - モ
Yo - ヨ
Ro - ロ
Wo - ヲ
Impure syllables
Ga - ガ
Za - ザ
From - ダ
Ba - バ
Gi - ギ
Ji - ジ
Dji - ヂ
Bi - ビ
Gu - グ
Zu - ズ
Dzu - ヅ
Bu - ブ
Ge - ゲ
Ze - ゼ
De - デ
Well - ベ
Go - ゴ
Zo - ゾ
C - ド
Bo - ボ
Semi-pure syllables
Pa - パ
Pi - ピ
Pu - プ
Pe - ペ
Po - ポ
Contracted syllables
Kya - キャ
Sha - シャ
Cha - チャ
Nya - ニャ
Hya - ヒャ
Mya - ミャ
Rya - リャ
Gya - ギャ
Ja - ジャ
Dja - ヂャ
Bya - ビャ
Pya - ピャ
Kyu - キュ
Shu - シュ
Chu - チュ
Nyu - ニュ
Hyu - ヒュ
Myu - ミュ
Ryu - リュ
Gyu - ギュ
Ju - ジュ
Dju - ヂュ
Byu - ビュ
Pyu - ピュ
Kyo - キョ
Sho - ショ
Cho - チョ
Nyo - ニョ
Hyo - ヒョ
Myo - ミョ
Ryo - リョ
Gyo - ギョ
Jo - ジョ
Djo - ヂョ
Byo - ビョ
Pyo - ピョ
Added syllables
Goes - (ヷ) ヴァ
Tsa - ツァ
Fa - ファ
Kwa - (クヮ) クァ
Gwa - (グヮ) グァ
Yi - イィ
Vi - (ヸ) ヴィ
Yes - スィ
Zi - ズィ
Ti - ティ
By - ディ
Tsi - ツィ
Fi - フィ
Wi - ウィ
Kwi - クィ
Gwi - グィ
Wu - (于) ウゥ
Vu - ヴ
You - トゥ
Du - ドゥ
Ye - イェ
Ve - (ヹ) ヴェ
Tse - ツェ
Fe - フェ
We - ウェ
Kwe - クェ
Gwe - グェ
Vo - (ヺ) ヴォ
Tso - ツォ
Fo - フォ
Wo - ウォ
Kwo - クォ
Gwo - グォ
Vya - ヴャ
Fya - フャ
Vyu - ヴュ
Tyu - テュ
Dyu - デュ
Fyu - フュ
Kye - キェ
She - シェ
Che - チェ
Nye - ニェ
Hye - ヒェ
Mye - ミェ
Rye - リェ
Gye - ギェ
Je - ジェ
Dje - ヂェ
Bye - ビェ
Pye - ピェ
Vye - ヴィェ
Fye - フィェ
Vyo - ヴョ
Fyo - フョ
