Can I skip kanji?
Japanese without kanji is almost impossible to read. Japanese does not employ spaces so where one word begins and another ends is often indicated by kanji. Yes, but learning Kanji will help you learn new things on your own without having to go through or rely on another person for new spoken words & information.
What did Japanese use before kanji?
Before they started using kanji for Japanese, they simply wrote in Chinese. We know this because the earliest textual evidence from Japan is all (literally) Chinese; a guy from China is more technically equipped to read these texts than one from Japan.
Is kanji really necessary?
No, kanji are not necessary. The written system used doesn’t mean it is necessary for the language itself. Just as people can speak it without knowing how to read nor write.
Can I learn to speak Japanese without reading?
If I understand correctly, you want to be able to speak and understand Japanese with hearing, while omitting reading and writing. If that’s the case, yes it’s possible, although you would be able to speak and understand the language at a much faster rate if you also included reading and writing in your study.
Why do Japanese people use kanji instead of hiragana?
1. Because kanji were developed before hiragana, writing with kanji generally imparts a more educated and mature feeling. Sure, you could write kuruma as くるま and be understood, but it’ll look childish to Japanese readers, so adults are expected to go with 車.
How many kanji are there in the Japanese language?
It is the most common means of written communication in the Japanese language, with more than 50,000 different symbols by some estimates. However, most Japanese can get by with using about 2,000 different kanji in everyday communication.
What is the history of kanji?
Early forms were first used in Japan as early as A.D. 800 and evolved slowly into the modern era, along with hiragana and katakana. Following Japan’s defeat in World War II, the government adopted a series of rules designed to simplify the most common kanji characters to make them easier to learn.
What is the correct way to write a Japanese name?
(more)Loading…. As a general rule, surnames (名字 or “myoji” ie. family names) are written in kanji, as are most personal names (下の名 or “shita no na” ie. “lower” name if you were writing kanji in their traditional top-down manner.