Kanji is the logographic writing system adopted in Japan over 1700 years ago from Chinese characters. Originally, the Japanese only used kanji to write sentences. However, this proved inefficient so kana systems were created - katakana derived from parts of kanji and hiragana derived from changing kanji shapes. Now the Japanese writing system combines kanji, hiragana, and katakana. Kanji represent both meaning and sound, while kana represent just sound. A single kanji often has multiple readings, including an onyomi Chinese-derived reading and kunyomi native Japanese reading.
Kanji is the logographic writing system adopted in Japan over 1700 years ago from Chinese characters. Originally, the Japanese only used kanji to write sentences. However, this proved inefficient so kana systems were created - katakana derived from parts of kanji and hiragana derived from changing kanji shapes. Now the Japanese writing system combines kanji, hiragana, and katakana. Kanji represent both meaning and sound, while kana represent just sound. A single kanji often has multiple readings, including an onyomi Chinese-derived reading and kunyomi native Japanese reading.
Kanji is the logographic writing system adopted in Japan over 1700 years ago from Chinese characters. Originally, the Japanese only used kanji to write sentences. However, this proved inefficient so kana systems were created - katakana derived from parts of kanji and hiragana derived from changing kanji shapes. Now the Japanese writing system combines kanji, hiragana, and katakana. Kanji represent both meaning and sound, while kana represent just sound. A single kanji often has multiple readings, including an onyomi Chinese-derived reading and kunyomi native Japanese reading.
Kanji is the logographic writing system adopted in Japan over 1700 years ago from Chinese characters. Originally, the Japanese only used kanji to write sentences. However, this proved inefficient so kana systems were created - katakana derived from parts of kanji and hiragana derived from changing kanji shapes. Now the Japanese writing system combines kanji, hiragana, and katakana. Kanji represent both meaning and sound, while kana represent just sound. A single kanji often has multiple readings, including an onyomi Chinese-derived reading and kunyomi native Japanese reading.
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Story of Kanji
Geetanjali Koranga( SLJ 1183)
The writing script which japanese people use daily are Kanji, Hiragana and Katakana. Romanized characters are also there but it is not used often in the sentences. Kana represents the sounds of the words. For example,the “ma”sound of the word “mado” is same as the “ma”sound of the word “mae”. However, kanji unlike kana also represents meaning. For example, the kanji 木 (ki) of the word tree has a sound of “ki” but it also has meaning called tree. The kanji 気 of the word feeling is also read as “ki” but its meaning is different.
Kanji is an old writing script invented in china. The japanese people came to know about kanji about 1700 years ago. Before knowing kanji there was no writing script in Japan. The japanese people read kanji by the reading close to Chinese language. For example, the kanji 水 of the word water was read as “sui”. However, the word “mizu” was also there in Japanese language which represented the same meaning. Now, there are two reading for the kanji 水 . There is a reading “sui” which is called onyomi* and a reading “mizu” called kunyomi**.
At first japanese people only wrote sentences with kanji. However, this method was not good enough that’s why after some time they created kana and used it .
Katakana was created using a part of kanji.
For example: 多一夕 知→チ 川→ツ 天→テ 八→ハ 万→マ 三→ミ
女→メ 良→ラ
Hiragana was created by changing the entire shape of kanji.
For example: 安→あ 左→さ 太→た 知→ち 川→つ 天→て
良→ら
After kana was invented it became a new method of writing in Japanese texts. And thus, kanji truly became a part of Japanese language.
Learning Japanese Kanji Practice Book Volume 2: (JLPT Level N4 & AP Exam) The Quick and Easy Way to Learn the Basic Japanese Kanji [Downloadable Material Included]
Reading & Writing Japanese: A Workbook for Self-Study: A Beginner's Guide to Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji (Free Online Audio and Printable Flash Cards)
