Why do Japanese people use symbols?

Men were required to use kanji for formal writing, such as official government documents, and would make notations in the borders to help them remember how to read certain words. These katakana characters were a simplified version of the kanji symbols themselves, and were pronounced in the same way.

Do Japanese use letters or characters?

Yes, it’s true. Japanese has three completely separate sets of characters, called kanji, hiragana, and katakana, that are used in reading and writing. That first rendering of “Tokyo” is in kanji, with the hiragana version next, and the katakana one at the bottom.

Why does Japan still use kanji?

Because it makes written communication easier for Japanese people. Sure, it’s difficult for foreigners to learn, and Japanese kids also need to make an effort. But as has been mentioned, Japanese has many homonyms, and kanji helps to distinguish meaning clearly and efficiently.

Why did Japan use Chinese characters for their writing system?

Prior to this time, Japanese was only a spoken language. Then the Japanese began using Chinese characters to transliterate their own spoken tongue. Eventually they adapted Chinese written characters to create a set of syllables, called kana, that would fit the Japanese language.

Can you write Japanese with only kanji?

No. It is not possible to write standard Modern Japanese in kanji only. You may see newspaper headlines without kana particles but that is an artificial use of orthography to save space on the page. Headlines do not reflect grammatical or syntactic norms within the language itself.

What is the Japanese writing system and Japanese alphabet?

That being said, let’s dive in and discover the complex beauty of the Japanese writing system and the Japanese alphabet. There’s a good reason why learning Japanese should be considered a personal triumph. While English uses only one script – the Latin script – the Japanese language uses three scripts: hiragana, katakana, and kanji.

How did Japan get the Chinese characters?

It’s been said that Japan may have had the first encounter with Chinese characters sometime around the 1st century AD when Emperor Guangwu of Han gave a Japanese emissary the King of Na gold seal – a solid gold seal inscribed with 5 Chinese characters that is now designated as a National Treasure of Japan.

Why does Japan have a third writing system?

Like hiragana, Japan’s third writing system, katakana, is a native alphabet based on sounds. But why did Japan have need for yet another writing system? The reason goes back, again, to the fact that reading kanji is difficult – and not just for non-Japanese people and women.

Why do the Chinese use kanji instead of Japanese for writing?

Also the Chinese language is tonal, and has sounds not found in Japanese. Basically, it was an awkward fit. So people started using kanji phonetically to write out Japanese sentences. This was called Manyougana, after the Manyoushu, an anthology of poetry written in this style.