Some kanji can be represented by one hiragana while other kanji can be represented by two, three or even four hiragana. Katakana is mainly used to express foreign words, foreign names, foreign countries and things that "loaned" from foreign languages.Ĭharacters. Hiragana is normally used for the grammar, the connection between words, the particles, etc. You can then see how different combinations of Japanese words are formed.Ī typical Japanese sentence is formed by using 3 sets of characters: hiragana, katakana and kanji. Take a look at this page where there are many Japanese words and vocabulary available. However, if you don't know how to form words using the abc, they're useless. It's just like you only know all the English alphabet. You need to know how Japanese words are formed with the combination of few hiragana, how foreign words are borrowed to form words using katakana, how hiragana is used as particle in a sentence, etc. However, knowing every hiragana and katakana are not enough. I assume that you are referring to hiragana and katakana. You mentioned that you understood every single letter and symbol (except for kanji). I will also try to reply your question in your perspective. I think someone asked a similar question and I have answered it over here. I guess all together I'm asking how exactly do you go from japanese letters to words. Like for example If I wrote a bunch of letters in japanese how exactly would I know what those words translate out to be just by looking at the symbols and letters thanks :DĪlso, if I wrote a lot of japanese letters into sentences how would I know what words translated into what? Now the part I'm stuck on is how exactly do people know what japanese letters translate to what words so I know how to write the letters and symbols.īut if you asked someone what do certain words translate out to be how exactly did that person get the words he did?