Kanji

Kanji　(漢字) are the characters in Japanese writing that were borrowed from China. Over the years China changed some of it's own symbols so Japanese and Chinese write them slightly different sometimes.

Unlike the syllabaries Hiragana and Katakana, each Kanji has its own meaning. However, its pronunciation changes depending on whether it's paired with something and what it's paired with. This can be really confusing for reading names and places since there are many different pronunciations for each Kanji.

Even native speakers often mess it up. So to help with reading , little Hiragana letters are often put above or next to the symbol for pronunciation. The really neat thing about this is that even if you don't know the pronunciation of a word you're looking at, you might still be able to get the meaning of what you're reading.

For more information including JLPT practice check out this site.

Look back soon for pictures and more information.

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