Japanese literature

[Beki]

Could someone help me please! Im so confused.. How many different types of Japanese literature are there, i've heard the terms Romaji and Kanji and ahh!

I don't understand..

Also, i've never understood how you can write for example Watashi wa Beki desu.. and be able to read that, even though it's not the type of literature that looks like pictures

Any help would be VERY much appreciated, thank you! xx

[Eomer]

Japanese has 3 main writing systems.

1. 漢字 - Kanji

2. ひらがな - Hiragana

3. カタカナ - Katakana

ローマ字 - Romaji, is just the Japanese name for the alphabet or "Roman characters".

Proper Japanese would incorporate all three, Kanji and Hiragana for Japanese words, and Katakana for loan words (words taken from other languages).

Originally Posted by Beki

Also, i've never understood how you can write for example Watashi wa Beki desu.. and be able to read that, even though it's not the type of literature that looks like pictures

Sorry, I'm not sure what you meant here, can you explain a bit more?

[Beki]

thank you! thats really helped me understand.. i think i'll just stick to verbally speaking the language :| eek! haahaa...

urr.. what i meant was how come Genki desu can be written like that aswell as 元気です。 Is it acceptable to write it with the English letters? Would the Japanese be able to read it like that aswell?

Thank you for your help once again! xx

[Jo_Kittie]

So my turn for a question... would I say:

Kanji is for...
* Japanese words
* Old, very formal writing

Hiragana is for...
* Japanese words
* Japanese words you don't know in kanji


Katakana is for...
* Countries
* Languages
* Foreign words such as internet and coffee

?????????

please tell me ^_^;

[Beki]

so would katakana be like the written words like o-genki desu ka?

when i say that do you see what i mean? Like, the english letters that i type using the keyboard.. not the writing that looks like patterns and swirls to other countries.

what do they learn at school?? would a Japanese person be able to read o-genki desu ka even though its not written with the patterns? i feel like its hard to explain what im trying to say

[Jo_Kittie]

Originally Posted by Beki

so would katakana be like the written words like o-genki desu ka?

when i say that do you see what i mean? Like, the english letters that i type using the keyboard.. not the writing that looks like patterns and swirls to other countries.

what do they learn at school?? would a Japanese person be able to read o-genki desu ka even though its not written with the patterns? i feel like its hard to explain what im trying to say

Ok, katakana, kanji and hiragana are all symbols. Romaji is the alphabet, what I'm typing with right now.

katakana and hiragana are based up on syllables, lik "wa" "ho" "ku" etc...

get it? ^^

[Beki]

OMG THANK YOU! SOO MUCH!! i've been trying to work that out since forever! Romaji! so that's the type that i can write in because i dont have a japanese keyoard?? ahh i seeeeee...

seriously that's been a huge help xx

[Jo_Kittie]

LOL that was your problem? Jeez, I'm glad to help... *surprised*

But japanese keyboards also have romanian letters. They just have theirs too.

Anyhow, now you understand how Japanese is built up? It's written with the symbols and if you want to know how to say all the stuff you ask someone to write it in romaji, aka the alphabet.

Don't hesitate to ask me anything.

[email protected]

[Eomer]

Originally Posted by Jo_Kittie

So my turn for a question... would I say:
please tell me ^_^;

Kanji is for...
* Japanese words
* Old, very formal writing

The Kanji are used in formal and casual writing.

In ancient Japan, before the kana were developed, Kanji were the only characters that existed, so the hiragana you now see forming grammar particles "wa", "ga", etc. were previously represented by Manyougana (万葉仮名), Kanji used for their phonetic value.


Hiragana is for...
* Japanese words
* Japanese words you don't know in kanji

The only time kanji wouldn't be used, is for foreign students and kids that have not yet learned them.


Katakana is for...
* Countries
* Languages
* Foreign words such as internet and coffee

Names of foreign countries and languages are expressed in Katakana when it is a foreign word that is being used.

For example:-

America - アメリカ (amerika)
Britain - イギリス (igirisu) (note. the katakana here does not come from English, it comes from the Portuguese "inglês")

but these countries can also be written in Kanji:-

America - 米国 (beikoku)
Britain - 英国 (eikoku)

As for languages you are right that most are written using katakana, but even those would have to have a kanji tagged on the end to designate them as a language... 語 (go)

フランス語 (furansu go) - French
ドイツ語　(doitsu go) - German
スウェーデン語 (suue^den go) - Swedish

but then there are some pretty big ones that are always in Kanji:-

中国語 (chuugokugo) - Chinese
韓国語 (kankokugo) - Korean

and, of course...

英語 (eigo) - English

Originally Posted by Beki

so would katakana be like the written words like o-genki desu ka?

when i say that do you see what i mean? Like, the english letters that i type using the keyboard.. not the writing that looks like patterns and swirls to other countries.

what do they learn at school?? would a Japanese person be able to read o-genki desu ka even though its not written with the patterns? i feel like its hard to explain what im trying to say

Ahh, ok. I see now. Yes they would definitely be able to read Japanese words written with Roman characters (eg. "o genki desu ka").

Japanese kids learn our alphabet from 2nd or 3rd grade elementary school (7 or 8 years old).

But Japanese is almost never written using Roman characters or "romaji", they are only really used for foreign students of the language.


Hope that helps.

ヨロシクね

[Jo_Kittie]

Thanks Eomer. So I was right indeed n_n