Japanese Word
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Hira-Gana
Hira-Gana , or running script, is used mainly where there is no Chinese character to represent the word or sound desired. |
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Kata-Kana
Kata-Kana , more angular than Hira-Gana, is used for all foreign words adopted into the Japanese language. |
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Kanji(Chinese Character)
While kana stands for a sound, a Chinese character stands for a whole word. |
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More than 2 Sounds
Each Chinese character often has more then two sounds. Foreigners are greatly annoying at it's different pronunciation. |
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Pictorial Kanji
Quite often Chinese character are so picturesque that you can tell meaning by its shape. |
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| 1 | What does "iroha" mean referring to the hira-gana ? | It is originally from holy sutras and so arranged that the same letter is never repeated twice. Here is Chamberlain's translation:-- "All is transitory in this fleeting world. Let me escape from its illusions and vanities!" |
| 2 | When were Chinese character first introduced ? | They are said to have been introduced into Japan in the early part of fifth century. |
| 3 | How many Chinese character do you have now ? | There are total of more than 50,000 Chinese characters. In Nov.1946, the Ministry of Education designated 1,850 characters as Chinese characters in common use, of which 881 were selected as Chinese characters for education. |
| 4 | Is there any accent in Japanese ? | There is scarcely any accent in Japanese. There is sometimes a slight tonic accent to different between two words , like "hashi"(chopsticks) and "hashi"(bridge) |
| 5 | Which is more polite to say, "okusan" or "okusama" ? | "okusama" sounds more polite than "okusan". Usually "sama" is the more polte of the two. Another honorific "o" is also used by placing it front a noun as in " o-tofu" (bean curd) rather then "tofu". |
| 6 | Is there any distinction between the singular and the plural of the noun ? | When you want to show the plural, you can use suffixes like "ra", "tachi", "gata", or "domo". However, the Japanese people make no plural distinction , but leave it to be understood from the context. |
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