What is “Japanese”? 日本語とは何ぞや

Introduction to Japanese　
日本語学習入門

Japanese is studied by thousands of people around the globe, but only a few ever become fluent. Once you have mastered what いまび has to offer, you will be right on track to becoming one of those success stories.

The purpose of Lesson 0 is to showcase what all you should expect to learn about as you study Japanese through いまび. Meaning, rather than viewing the content shown as something you need to study, view it as a reference guide as you progress in the curriculum.

Japanese: A Japonic Language　
日琉語族の言語・日本語

Japanese is in its own language family “Japonic,” which includes Japanese and other minority languages spoken in Japan. In principle, any native speaker of these other languages will find Japanese or other Japonic languages far easier to learn than English. In fact, all speakers of these minority Japonic languages happen to be fluent in Japanese. These languages are not thought to be related to other languages in the region, but they have been heavily influenced by Chinese in vocabulary. 

The Diversity of Dialects　
方言の多様性

There are dozens of dialects – variants of the language – in Japanese due to centuries of internal and external isolation, but the form that almost all speakers share is known as Standard Japanese (Hyōjungo 標準語). This is the language of instruction, and it is mostly based on the speech of Tokyo. Japanese speakers are familiar with a pretty decent amount of dialect diversity, as particular dialects are heavily used in media (Ex. Kansai Dialect in comedy). 

This famous map of Japanese dialects shows where all the different Japanese dialects and closely related languages are spoken. 

Japanese Pronunciation　
日本語の発音

Words follow a simple “consonant+vowel” format with little exception. There are only 5 vowels – /a/, /i/, /u/, /e/, /o/ – and a small inventory of consonants. Instead of having syllables, Japanese has a mora-based system. A mora is a unit of sound that is equivalent to a single beat. Each “beat” is equal in length and assigned a high or low pitch. In turn, Japanese distinguishes between short and long vowels as well as single (short) and double (long) consonants. 

Koko ここ here	Kōkō 高校 high school	Kōko 公庫 finance corporation
Kokō 孤高 solitary	Kokko 国庫 treasury	Kokkō 国交 diplomatic relations

Japanese Grammar　
日本語の文法

Japanese grammar is vastly different from English, so learning how it works will aid a lot in understanding why sentences are constructed the way they are, as relying on how grammar works in English will result in incorrect Japanese.

Word Order　語順

The general principle of Japanese word order is moving “important” information to the front of a sentence with its basic word order being SOV (subject-object-verb). 

• Subject: The “what” of the sentence, which could be “who” is doing an action, “what” holds a certain attribute or effect, but is more than anything what the predicate¹ is about.
• Object: What an action is directed at.
• Verb: An action or state of being. 

Although SOV is the basic word order, the subject and object may flip if the object is deemed more significant. A sentence may even ‘overtly’ lack its subject, its object, or even both its subject and object, so long as they are deemed obvious².

SOV	OSV
クマが漁師の魚を盗った。 Kuma-ga ryōshi-no sakana-wo totta. Gloss3: Bear-subject marker fisherman-possessive marker fish-object marker took. Translation: (A) bear took (a/the) fisherman’s fish.	漁師の魚をクマが盗った。 Ryōshi-no sakana-wo kuma-ga totta. Gloss: Fisherman-possessive marker fish-object marker bear-subject marker took. Translation: (The/a) bear took (a/the) fisherman’s fish.
SV	OV
クマが盗った。 Kuma-ga totta. Gloss: Bear-subject marker took. Kuma-ga totta. Translation: (A/the) bear took (it/them).	漁師の魚を盗った。  Ryōshi-no sakana-wo totta. Gloss: Fisherman-possessive marker fish-object marker took.   Translation: (subject in context) took (a/the) fisherman’s fish.
V
盗った。 Totta. Gloss: Took. Translation: (subject in context) took (it/them).

Other notes that can be gleamed from these examples include: 

・Japanese lacks articles (a, an, the). 
・Japanese lacks grammatical number, which is the distinction between singular and plural forms. 
・Japanese lacks grammatical gender, so no masculine or feminine forms.

Order of Recognition　
認知の順序

Japanese word order is not necessarily free. In fact, most sentences follow a predictable ordering of information, which is as follows: 

TOPIC + TIME + LOCATION + SUBJECT + INDIRECT OBJECT +
DIRECT OBJECT + VERB/ADJECTIVE (PREDICATE) 

• The topic is any detail that the speaker views is at the center of discussion.
• Time phrases refer to expressions such as “today,” “tomorrow,” etc.
• Location phrases refer to expressions such as “at Tokyo,” “in China,” etc.
• An indirect object is a phrase referring to something/someone that is a recipient of some action. 
• A direct object is a phrase that is primarily being affected by the verb. 

The topic sets the discussion, and then time sets the overall stage. From there, the speaker may discuss the doers (subject) or what is being acted upon via objects (indirect/direct).

How does this compare with English?

[鈴木先生は][毎日][生徒に][日本語を][教えています]。
[Suzuki-sensei-wa] [mainichi] [seito-ni] [Nihongo-wo] [oshiete-i-masu].
Gloss: [Suzuki-teacher-topic.marker] [every.day] [student(s)-indirect.object.marker] [Japanese-direct.object.marker] [teach-ing-politeness.marker].
Translation: Sensei Suzuki teaches Japanese to (his/her) student(s) every day.

Not only are the recognizable parts of the sentence in wildly different locations compared to where they are in the English translation, there are also aspects of the Japanese sentence which do not correlate to anything in English, like the topic marker.

Of course, you can make sentences without having every piece of information. For example, the following sentence is perfectly grammatical with just a time phrase, subject, and a verb.

[今朝][地震が][起きました]。
[Kesa] [jishin-ga] [okimashita].
Literally: [This.morning] [earthquake-subject.marker] [occurred].
Translation: An earthquake occurred this morning.

A Topic-Prominent Language　
主題優勢言語

Japanese is said to be a “topic-prominent” language because it prioritizes what is being talked about in its word order, but the topic does not have to be stated over and over. In fact, it is often omitted after the first (few instances). It is also possible for more than one topic to exist simultaneously for various grammatical effects. 

The topic need not always be the same entity as the subject, but if they are the same, the subject cannot be stated to prevent redundancy. In its place lies an unspoken understanding that it is there.

[私は][今日]、[駅で][ø][友達に][本を][上げました]。
[Watashi-wa] [kyō], [eki-de] [(ø-ga)] [tomodachi-ni] [hon-wo] [agemashita].
Gloss: [I-topic.marker] [today] [train.station-at] [(unspoken subject)] [friend-indirect.object.marker] [book-object.marker] [gave]. 
Translation: I gave a book to a friend at the train station today. 

As for when the topic and subject are not the same entity, such sentences can be translated roughly as “as for X, Y…” Unfortunately, this is not a one-size-fits-all translation, as how any particular sentences ends up being said in English may vary.

[象は][鼻が][長い]。
[Zō-wa] [hana-ga] [nagai].
Gloss: [Elephant(s)-topic.marker] [nose-subject.marker] [long].
Translation: Elephants have long noses. 

Left-Branching　
主要部終端型（左枝分かれ構造）

In any language, there are several kinds of phrases. Each one has a “head” and the possibility of a “modifier.” The “head” of a phrase is the element that determines the syntactic function of the whole phrase. In “the smart cat,” the head is “cat” because “cat” is the word that determines what the phrase means. The “modifier” of a phrase, then, is a word that gives information about the head. In this case, “the” and “smart” are both modifying “cat.” 

The head of a phrase in Japanese is said to always follow its modifier(s), meaning that the modifier(s) are to the left of the head. The same is not true in English (ex. “the Japanese book” vs. “the book in Japanese”). In Japanese, this is, “Nihongo-no hon 日本語の本.” Nihongo-no means “Japanese” and hon means “book.” 

When a language places the head of a phrase in the final position and places complexity before it, it is said to be left-branching. A good example of this in English would be “my husband’s friend’s adorable puppy.” When translating this into Japanese, the word order will stay the same.

[私の[主人の[友達の[可愛い仔犬]]]
Watashi-no-shujin-no-tomodachi-no-kawaii-koinu
Gloss: [I-possessive.marker [husband-possessive.marker [friend-possessive.marker cute puppy]]]
Translation: My husband’s friend’s adorable puppy

Japanese takes left-branching to the extreme when creating complex sentences. When modifying nouns with other sentences (participle phrases), Japanese still places them to the left of the head constituent of the sentence, and the word order within the modifying constituent too must follow the same left-branching principle. 

[[学校から]帰った子供たちが][外で][遊んでいる]。
[[Gakkō-kara] kaetta kodomo-tachi-ga] [soto-de] [asonde-iru].
Gloss: [[School-from] returned kid-plural-subject marker] [outside-at] [play-ing].
Translation: (The) children who came back from school are playing outside.

Macro-To-Micro
マクロ視点からミクロ視点へ

Japanese can also be characterized as exhibiting “macro-to-micro” ordering of information. This is especially so when designating specifics regarding time, place, and person. This phenomenon falls under the concept of left-branching, but to see its practical effects, consider the following scenarios:

①Telling Time

２０２４年８月第一週土曜日午前９時半２０秒
Nisen’nijūyonen hachigatsu dai’isshū doyо̄bi gozen kuji-han nijubyо̄
9:30:20 AM on the first Saturday of August, 2024

②Creating Addresses

東京都大田区蒲田〇丁目
Tо̄kyо̄-to О̄ta-ku Kamata maru-chо̄me
District # of Katama in О̄ta Ward of Tokyo Prefecture

③Forming Names

山田奈央
Yamada Nao
Nao Yamada

Agglutination　膠着性

Agglutination is the process of creating complex words by stringing morphemes (units of meaning) together into chains that are not divisible, but the individual parts remain easily identifiable for their purpose.

Japanese is known to be a highly agglutinative language (kōchakugo 膠着語 ). In Japanese, agglutination is governed by a system of bases and endings. For every base that exists, several endings exist to attach to it, and each ending has its own set of bases to potentially keep the chain going. 

Consequently, “I did not want to be forced to eat” is expressed as one word made up of multiple morphemes. As for what order endings must follow in a chain, this phrase actually demonstrates this perfectly.

Ex. 食べさせられたくありませんでした
Tabe-sase-rare-taku-ari-mase-n-deshi-ta 
Gloss: Eat-causative-passive-want-to.be-politeness.marker-negation-politeness-marker-past.tense
Translation: Didn’t want to be made to eat

Japanese utilizes a base-ending conjugation system in which conjugatable parts of speech may have all or some of the six bases described below with which endings then attach to based on the mutual relationship of their functions:

1. Mizenkei 未然形 (Irrealis Form): Used to indicate actions that have yet to happen.
2. Ren’yōkei 連用形 (Continuative Form): Used to indicate actions that are (being) carried out.
3. Shūshikei 終止形 (Terminal/Predicative Form): Used to mark the end of a complete sentence. 
4. Rentaikei 連体形 (Attributive Form):  Used to allow conjugatable parts of speech to directly modify nominal phrases.
5. Kateikei 仮定形 (Hypothetical Form): Used to create hypothetical statements.
6. Meireikei 命令形 (Imperative Form): Used to create commands.

Failing to describe Japanese grammar without these terms robs the learner of understanding how and why conjugations are made, and it also prevents a learner from discussing grammar with native speakers once they do attain higher proficiency, as many of the terms used to describe Japanese to foreign learners are not the same terms that Japanese natives learn in school.

Name Ordering　
人の呼び方

Although name formation follows macro-to-micro ordering in native Japanese names, Japanese tends to honor the name ordering of the language of origin for foreign names.

Also peculiar to English speakers is how titles come after a give name. Whereas titles feel like they should be of a higher order due to prestige to English speakers, titles in and of themselves may be shared by countless people that fit said role, and so names are treated as attributes to said titles, not the other way around. This results in Obama-motodaitо̄ryо̄ オバマ元大統領 (literally “Obama Former President”), not the reverse.

三島由紀夫 Mishima Yukio Yukio Mishima	畑中先生 Hatanaka-sensei Teacher/Sensei Hatanaka	習近平 Shū Kimpei Xi Jinping
大阪なおみ Ōsaka Naomi Naomi Osaka	伊藤社長 Itō-shachō Company President Itoh	ラファエル・グティエレス Rafaeru Gutieresu Rafael Gutierrez

Japanese speakers anticipate names being constructed differently in other cultures as their goal is to respect you. So, whatever your name is, that is what it is in Japanese, albeit with a Japanese-friendly pronunciation. For those with Chinese or Korean names, the Chinese character spelling of one’s name will carry over and it is common to honor the original pronunciation over a Japanese-like pronunciation.

Inversion　
倒置法

Japanese grammar is rather certain about the predicate (verb/adjective) coming at the end of a sentence. However, there are times when a speaker may wish to state the predicate first and leave the rest of the sentence as an after-statement. This is known as inversion. You may see this occasionally in music, poetry, etc.

叶え、私の願いよ。
Kanae, watashi-no negai-yo.
Gloss: Come.true I-genitive.marker wish-exclamation.marker
Translation: Come true, oh my wishes.

Omission　
省略

Japanese allows for contextually obvious things to be omitted from a sentence. The most famous instance of this is the tendency to drop pronouns such as “I” and “you.” Choosing to omit something or not may cause a change in nuance, but failing to omit things when appropriate may cause your speech to sound unnatural.

お名前は何ですか。(No Overt Second-Person Pronoun Present)
O-namae-wa nan desu-ka?
Gloss: Honorific.prefix-name-as.for, what is-question.marker. 
Translation: What is your name?

Omission should never be interpreted as being absent in the underlining sentence structure of the language. The innerworkings of the language simply manifest

Speech Registers　
文体の種類

Perhaps the most difficult aspect of Japanese even to native speakers is speech register. “Speech register” refers to how the way one speaks changes based on the relationship one has with the listener(s). Japanese has five basic registers, and these registers do change how words are expressed. Sometimes, the change is major.

Speech Register	Speaker-Listener Relationship	Forms of Ex. “To Say”
Honorific Speech (Sonkeigo 尊敬語)	Used to show utmost respect to the listener.	Osshaimasu Honorific Polite Form Iwaremasu Light Honorific Polite Form
Polite Speech (Teineigo 丁寧語)	Used to establish respect among equals who are not necessarily family or friends.	Iimasu Polite Form
Humble Speech (Kenjōgo 謙譲語)	Used to lower one’s status to show utmost respect to the listener.	Mōshiagemasu Super Humble Polite Form Mōshimasu  Humble Polite Form
Plain Speech (Jōtaigo 常体語)	Plain speech (basic) forms play grammatical purposes beyond register, but it also constitutes the register used among friends and family.	Yū Plain Form
Vulgar Speech (Bubetsugo 侮蔑語)	Used to degrade the listener.	Iiyagaru Vulgar Form Nukasu  Vulgar Alternative

All verbal expressions will have a similar distribution of variability based on speech register, making the question of “how do you say this in Japanese?” impossible to answer without at least clarifying who one is talking to.

Japanese learners are often exposed to polite speech (teineigo 丁寧語 ) first, as it is the speech register one uses to people in general who are not your close friends. The basic form of any phrase, though, comes from plain speech (jōtaigo 常体語), which is why how to conjugate from plain speech to polite speech will be discussed at the same time once we learn about things that conjugate. 

Terminology Note: Speech registers are generally known by their names with exception to “plain speech,” which is often referred to by kihonkei 基本形 (basic form) or futsūtai 普通体 (direct style).

Parts of Speech　
品詞

There are 12 unique parts of speech in Japanese that fall under two categories: independent words (jiritsugo 自立語) or ancillary words (fuzokugo 付属語). Independent words are words that can stand alone, whereas ancillary words are words that cannot stand alone. Parts of speech can be categorized as either one or the other as well as by their ability or lack thereof to conjugate. 

• Independent Words (Jiritsugo 自立語)
  
  ーConjugatable
  
  　・Verbs (Dōshi 動詞): A word that describes an action, state, or occurrence.
  　・Adjectives (Keiyōshi 形容詞): A word that describes an attribute. 
  　・Adjectival Nouns (Keiyōdōshi 形容動詞): A word that describes an attribute while also being noun-like.
  
  ーNot Conjugatable
  
  　・Nouns (Meishi 名詞): A word that describes a person, place, state, quality, event, or thing.
  　・Pronouns (Daimeishi 代名詞): A word that indirectly describes a person, direction, or thing.
  　・Numbers (Sūshi 数詞): A word that counts or measures entities. 
  　・Adnominal Adjectives (Rentaishi 連体詞): A word that describes an attribute by directly modifying a noun.
  　・Adverbs (Fukushi 副詞): A word that qualifies an adjective, adjectival noun, or a verb. 
  　・Conjunctions (Setsuzokushi 接続詞): A word that connects a sentence together.
   　・Interjections (Kandōshi 感動詞): A word that represents an abrupt remark. 
  
• Ancillary Words (Fuzokugo 付属語)
  
  ーConjugatable
  
  　・Auxiliary Verbs (Jodōshi 助動詞): An ending that attaches to a conjugatable part of speech. 
  
  ーNot Conjugatable
  
  　・Particles (Joshi 助詞): A word that marks some grammatical function. 

Particles　
助詞

The one part of speech that is completely foreign to English learners is “particles.” Though they denote grammatical functions, some functions marked in Japanese do not match up well with English function words.

There are six types of particles: case, parallel, conjunctive, final, adverbial, and bound. Particles may be categorized differently depending on how they’re used, so if you see the same particle in a different part of a sentence, it will certainly have a different function. 

• Case: (Kaku joshi 格助詞): Indicates the grammatical function of a noun.
• Parallel: (Heiritsu joshi 並立助詞): Juxtaposes two or more things together. 
• Conjunctive (Setsuzoku joshi 接続助詞): Connects clauses together. 
• Final (Shū-joshi 終助詞): Placed at the end of a phrase to provide emotional context.
• Adverbial (Fuku-joshi 副助詞): Indicates degree/condition/circumstance.  
• Bound (Kakari joshi 係助詞): Emphasis markers which dictate that a certain conjugation be used.

Japanese Writing　
日本語の表記体系

Japanese is written with a mixed writing system composed of Chinese characters called Kanji 漢字 – to represent meaning – and two syllabaries called Hiragana ひらがな and Katakana カタカナ – to represent sound – as well as English letters.

Kana: Hiragana and Katakana　
仮名（平仮名・片仮名）

Hiragana ひらがな and Katakana カタカナ are both known as Kana⁴ syllabaries. Their purpose is to write out sounds phonetically, and the only differences between the two are their histories and practical roles.

Chart Note: The first table shows the origins of Hiragana ひらがな and the second table shows the origins of Katakana カタカナ. 

Kanji　
漢字

It is uncertain how many Kanji exist, but in the Kanjigen 漢字源, the most realistic dictionary meant for the Japanese language, there are 9,990 entries. Although a very small percentage of speakers might know them all, the most comprehensive proficiency test, the Kanji Nōryoku Kentei Ikkyū 漢字能力検定一級, covers roughly 6,000 Kanji. The average reader knows 3,000+ characters. Due to the ease of typing on phones and computers, this number is steadily rising.

Jōyō Kanji 常用漢字 are Kanji designated by the Japanese Ministry of Education as being common use and which also constitute the basis for literacy. As of 2017, there are 2,136 such characters. Additional characters are designated as Jimmeiyō Kanji 人名用漢字 for name-use, of which a total of 862 exist as of 2017.  

In addition to there being thousands of Kanji, most Kanji have more than one way to read (pronounce) it, resulting in having to learn how to read each word on an individual basis. 

■ Character Simplification　漢字の簡略化

Kanji were simplified after World War II. The old forms of characters are called Kyūjitai 旧字体, whereas the new forms are called Shinjitai 新字体. The old forms are still prevalent in names and older publications before the 1960s. Most speakers generally recognize them.  

Meaning	Traditional	Simplified	Meaning	Traditional	Simplified
Yen	圓	円	Learning	學	学

Curriculum Note: To learn more, see Kanji Simplification. 

■Japanese-Made Kanji　国字

Japanese speakers have also created their own Kanji over the centuries.

Meaning	Character	Meaning	Character	Meaning	Character
Field	畑	To work	働	Smell	匂

Curriculum Note: To learn more, see Japanese-Made Kanji．

As complicated as Japanese writing is initially, it is important to immerse yourself with how Japanese is actually written. Many online tools as well as dictionary tools in all smartphone devices have revolutionized how native speakers and learners alike look up the readings/pronunciations of words they do not recognize. What is important, though, is to recreate what natives in Japan experience in your learning experience. To that effect, all sentences in IMABI will be written in native fashion. Difficult Kanji are used when they are likely to be used in context, and vice versa. Rest assured, however, words with particularly difficult to discern readings have those readings provided.

English Letters　
ラテン文字の使い方

The use of English letters in the formation of new words is becoming ever more common. You will even see Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, 4, etc.). Although the pronunciations of these letters and numbers have been adapted to fit Japanese, you will surely encounter them right away in your beginner texts.

Example	Meaning	Example	Meaning
ＰＲ (Piiāru)	Public relations	ＯＬ (Ōeru)	Female office worker
ＣＤ（Shiidii）	CD	Ｔシャツ (Tiishatsu)	T-shirt
ＬＧＢT（Erujiibiitii）	LGBT	ＰＭ２.５ (Piiemu nii ten go)	Fine particles (PM 2.5)

The font used for English letters and Arabic numerals are somewhat different in Japanese, but there is no problem with using a more Western font to type them. 

Rōmaji ローマ字  refers to writing Japanese in English letters, a process known as romanization. Here at いまび, a modified version of what is known as the Hepburn romanization system (ヘボン式) is implemented. 

Punctuation
句読法

Japanese was once void of any punctuation. However, due to contact with Western languages, Japanese has borrowed and adapted many punctuation marks.

Period	Comma	Exclamation Point	Question Mark	Quotation Marks
。	、	！	？	「」

Perhaps even more bizarre is that Japanese generally lacks spaces between words. Boundaries between phrases are meant to be obvious in context thanks to its mixed script. 

Word Etymology　
単語の由来

There are three sources of words: native words, Sino-Japanese words, and loanwords from other languages. 

・Native words are at the heart of the language and make up over 60% of the words used in conversation. 
・Sino-Japanese words are words that were either directly borrowed from older forms of Chinese over the centuries or words created from those roots. They make up over 60% of the language’s vocabulary but only 20% of the words used in conversation.
・As for loanwords, the majority these days come from English, but you will also see some from other languages.

Native	Sino-Japanese	LoanWORD
Yama 山 mountain	Kazan 火山 volcano	Doa ドア door
Mizu 水 water	Genki 元気 lively/well	Zubon ズボン pants

Spoken vs Written
「口語」と「文語」との違い

To function in Japanese like a native, it becomes just as important to learn how to read and write⁵ Japanese as it is to speak. Whereas the spoken language is full of colloquialisms, filler words, and undertones that may be difficult to express in the written language, the written language is characterized as being formal, void of colloquialisms, with a higher rate of complex vocabulary and archaisms. The use of alternative spellings thanks to Kanji also help enrich the written language in ways not possible in the spoken language.

In Conclusion　最後に…

Now that you have learned quite a lot about Japanese, it would be remiss of us not to at least go over the most essential, everyday phrases to gain a footing. You do not have to necessarily memorize any of these as we will learn about them more closely in later lessons, but try using them with friends to practice!

• Good morning: O-hayō-gozaimasu おはようございます
• Good afternoon/Hello: Kon’nichi-wa こんにちは
• Good evening: Komban-wa 今晩は
• Good night: O-yasumi-nasai お休みなさい
• How are you doing?: O-genki desu-ka? お元気ですか
• Nice to meet you: Hajimemashite 初めまして
• Thank you: Arigatō-gozaimasu ありがとうございます
• Yes: Hai はい
• No: Iie いいえ
• I’m sorry/Excuse me: Sumimasen すみません

Lastly, gambatte kudasai 頑張ってください (good luck)！

1. The predicate is the part of a sentence or clause containing a verbal element which states something about the subject. In Japanese, predicates may be composed of verbs, adjectives, and the copula verb, all of which use parallel morphology to conjugate. ↩︎
2. When a subject or object is dropped, it still remains structurally tied to the sentence despite its absence. This is why if they cannot be understood in context, the sentence becomes ungrammatical. ↩︎
3. A linguistic gloss gives a literal breakdown of each part of a sentence. Word boundaries and what constitutes as a meaningful unit of meaning differ between languages, which is what makes glosses so important to grammarians. ↩︎
4. When Hiragana and Katakana were first developed, they were often respectively known as “woman’s writing” (on’nade 女手) and “man’s writing” (otokode 男手) due to a strong propensity for one sex to use said kana system over the other. The word “kana” derived from kari 仮 meaning “temporary” and na 名, which at the time referred to “letters” as in characters in the context of writing. In turn, Kanji were referred to as “true characters” mana 真名, with Kana only replacing them in a placeholder sense. When the word kana did first appear, it referred to Hiragana, as they were derived directly from the cursive forms of characters. Katakana became referred to as such because of how they were made by taking parts of full Kanji, with the prefix kata– 片 indicating “incompletion.” ↩︎
5. “Writing” does not solely refer to writing things by hand. Just as is the case with every other language, most “writing” in Japanese is done in the form of typing and texting. ↩︎