Dear visitor, if you know the answer to this question, please post it. Thank you! Note that this thread has not been updated in a long time, and its content might not be up-to-date anymore.Katakana or Hiragana first?2012/5/6 15:12I understand Kanji should be learnt last. But what about Hiragana and Katakana? Always start with hiragana. It is the basic alphabet for japanese words, and will help you understand katakana, which is for western words, generally speaking. Without hiragana you won't understand kanji. For example �ɂق� (Japanese language) is the four hiragana (and four sounds) that make up the kanji, ���{��. by . (guest)rate this post as usefulRe: Katakana or Hiragana first?2012/5/6 16:39Thank you very much. "For example �ɂق� (Japanese language) is the four hiragana (and four sounds) that make up the kanji, ���{��." I don't fully understand what you mean by makes up the Kanji part though.. by DarkOpsDelta (guest)rate this post as usefulRe: Katakana or Hiragana first?2012/5/6 17:36Every kanji can be written in hiragana. So when you type ���{��@or �ɂق� you're typing the same thing. However, kanji is used as a way to first shorten the amount of text in sentences, and second as a method to distinguish the various homophones in japanese. by Ben (guest)rate this post as usefulRe: Katakana or Hiragana first?2012/5/6 17:39I don't fully understand what you mean by makes up the Kanji part though.. Both hiragana and katakana are Japanese syllabaries and the pronunciation of the written text is clear. �ɂق� is pronounced as ni.ho.n.go. However, if you look at the compound kanji ���{�� , the pronunciation isn't immediately clear: �� is sometimes pronounced as hi, ka, nichi, etc.; the same for �{ which is sometimes hon and sometimes moto, etc, and this is where the nightmare of kanji starts for the Japanese learner. :-) by Kalle (guest)rate this post as usefulRe: Katakana or Hiragana first?2012/5/6 18:06Just to follow up on your original question, as you are completely new to learning Japanese, I think the priority of study areas should be thus: kana, grammar (and lots of it), pronunciation, understanding, kanji. It is very temping to study the beautiful kanji, but IMO it is very important to form correct sentences and make yourself understood, and be able to understand people when they speak. Aim to learn as quickly as possible to form Japanese sentences in your mind without translating them from your mother tongue into Japanese and vice versa each time. Once you can do that, you'll start to enjoy yourself :-) by Kalle (guest)rate this post as usefulRe: Katakana or Hiragana first?2012/5/7 06:26Yepp all new to it. I mean, I know common phrases or Japanese Dramas and anime and such. I am a VERY VERY basic Japanese language learner: and VERY slow as well.... Nihongo quite simply is a bear to learn. And I was told by my University sensee that people "my age" have great difficulty learning new languages. That said, as poor as is my Japanese is, what I remembered from two semesters of beginning Japanese 113-114 level, was an absolute lifesaver when I was in Japan recently.The glass was only 1/10th full but 1/10 is infinitely better than zero. Knowing the kana scripts was the key to any understanding at all. Learn them by heart. by johnnymanrate this post as usefulRe: Katakana or Hiragana first?2012/5/12 06:30It doesn't really matter which kana you learn first, despite what others say. You'll need to learn them both if you want to achieve any sort of literacy, so the end result will be the same. If you've already started learning katakana, then finish learning it. When you're done, work on learning hiragana. Be sure you can both read and write all characters. I learned hiragana first. However, the last time I was in japan, I came across a guy from london who didn't know any japanese at all. I recommended he learn katakana (if nothing else). That way, at least, he could read "english" words written in japanese. I learned �� before �A, but �n before ��. And I learned �� and �j before I finished learning the numbers. *shrug* If you have an android phone, check out the "JA Sensei" and "Obenkyo" apps. I used JA Sensei to learn the kana, and practice writing them. I used Obenkyo to test myself. by seanpdxrate this post as usefulreply to this thread |