Saturday, October 13, 2012

Japanese Writing Systems

Japan has four main scripts that are used.

Kanji - Which was adopted from China over many centuries but first made its way into the country around 400AD. It was used for documentation of government documents and was considered sophisticated. 

Example:  来年 - Next year

Hiragana - Which was considered a common type of writing system and became popular after Murasaki Shikibu wrote The Tale of Genji in 1021. 

Example: らいねん - Next year

Katakana - Which is used for foreign words used in Japan.

Example:    ライネン- Next year

Romaji - Which is Japanese words written in roman script.

Example - Rainen (ie: rye nen)- Next year

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