Lesson 2: Hiragana and Katakana

Japanese uses three writing systems: hiragana, katakana, and kanji. In this lesson, we will focus on the first two—hiragana and katakana—which together are called kana and form the foundation of written Japanese. You will also learn how to type Japanese on a computer using an English keyboard. Some expressions introduced in this lesson may appear before their full grammatical explanations; these will be explained in detail in subsequent lessons.

Additional Expressions

1. よんでください (y o n d e k u d a s a i): Please read it.
2. かいてください (k a i t e k u d a s a i): Please write it.
3. おつかれさま (o t s u k a r e s a m a): Good bye. [Said after work/class.]