Hiragana: The Cursive Kanji

Hiragana is one of the two Japanese syllabaries, Katakana being the other, that along with Kanji make up the Japanese writing system. Originally cursive versions of Kanji, each of the 46 symbols has its own syllable sound rather than a meaning. They're often paired with Kanji to make words but are also used by themselves quite often as well.

Hiragana is used for native Japanese words and is rarely, if ever, used for foreign/scientific words. It's the most fundamental of the Japanese writing system and is normally the first taught in both Japanese schools and Japanese language courses for non-native speakers.

Kanji are often times accompanied by small Hiragana characters called "Furigana" placed to the top or right of the Kanji so that even if the pronunciation of the particular Kanji isn't known, the word can still be understood.

Check back soon for images and a more in-depth description.

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