Why do the Japanese use Kanji? The importance of ideograms!

Have you ever wondered why the Japanese incorporated Kanji, that is, Chinese ideograms, into their language? In this article, we will explore the importance of Kanji and why it is indispensable in Japanese writing.

The Japanese language is a complex system that uses three types of writing: Hiragana and Katakana, syllabaries with 46 characters each (plus two obsolete ones), which together form about 104 syllables. In addition, there are the famous Chinese ideograms, Kanji, which total more than 8,000. In practice, a Japanese person needs to learn approximately 1,945 Kanji to communicate effectively, and each of these ideograms can have several pronunciations, totaling 4,087 different readings.

With Hiragana, it is possible to write any Japanese word, since it encompasses all 104 syllables of the language. So, why do the Japanese insist on using Kanji? Couldn’t they simply use Roman characters or just Hiragana? The answer is a resounding NO!

Different forms of writing in the Japanese language

There is a logical explanation for the use of Chinese ideograms in the Japanese language, and it is related to one of the greatest difficulties in learning the language: the numerous homophones.

Homophones are words that have the same pronunciation but different meanings. In Japanese, if you only use Hiragana, many words will have the same pronunciation and writing, becoming homonymous and making comprehension difficult.

God x Paper x Hair

Imagine that Kanji did not exist. How would you translate the phrase “かみです” (kami desu)? It would be practically impossible, as you would not know the real meaning of “Kami.” Now, see the same phrase with Kanji:

• (かみです) 神です = God
• (かみです) 紙です = Paper
• (かみです) 髪です = Hair

The “です” can be understood as “is” or “to be,” depending on the context.

The Japanese rely heavily on the context of the conversation and the situation to communicate. During a conversation, you would likely understand the meaning, but when reading a text or isolated phrase, you could be completely lost.

Japanese is full of identical words. Additionally, there are words that are only one syllable, such as “hand” (手, て, te) and “eye” (目, め, me). Without the ideograms, it would be impossible to identify these words in a text.

And the problem doesn’t stop there. There are words that can have more than 50 words with the same pronunciation. Not to mention words that resemble particles or other words. How would you manage to read a text like that?

We recommend reading: What is the meaning of Kami?

Hiragana x Kanji

If you are still not satisfied with the examples mentioned earlier, let’s look at other examples for you to understand why Japanese needs to use ideograms:

• Hiragana みぎみみみぎめみぎめみぎみみ
• Kanji 右耳右目右目右耳;
• Romaji Migimimimigimemigimemigimimi

Can you understand this sentence just with hiragana? This is quite a tongue twister, which means “Right ear, right eye, right eye, right ear”

• Hiragana すもももももももものうち
• Kanji すももも桃ももものうち
• Romaji Sumomo mo momo mo momo no uchi

Can you understand what is written just with hiragana? I only see a bunch of momomomo… The sentence means “Plums and peaches are in the peach family”.

Let’s go to an easier and more common example: “ははは…” you will probably hear this phrase a lot, but do you know what it means? With kanji it would be 母は… meaning “The mother…” Reading only ははは you might get lost and think of another word or a laugh.

It is much easier to understand the sentences above with Kanji. Besides the text being shorter, it is even faster to read and write. Knowing the Kanji, you can really understand the sentence as soon as you read it.

Portuguese, Korean, and Chinese

And what about homophones in Portuguese? In Portuguese, there are identical words written in different ways, in addition to numerous accents. It would be practically impossible to do this with Japanese, as it has only 104 syllables.

The Koreans created their own alphabet, Hangul, which has 14 consonants and 10 vowels, but which, when combined, total up to 1,960 different sounds, eliminating the problem of homophones. Unfortunately, to eliminate Kanji, it would be necessary to completely change the Japanese language, which is quite difficult.

The Chinese use ideograms in a simplified form. Why don’t the Japanese do the same? Well, there is no definitive answer to this question. Japan is an ancient country that adopted its writing before the existence of simplified Chinese. This probably implies the way Japanese is taught, the radicals, and the words that are already rooted in the minds of the Japanese people. However, the Japanese make necessary changes to some ideograms, so there is no reason to question.

The Japanese language has undergone numerous changes since its origin, which has led Japan to have numerous dialects. Changing the writing and pronunciation system would cause numerous problems and difficulties. The kanji is something common in Japanese; it is not a seven-headed monster, and the Japanese really see no reason to make changes or adopt a way to simplify the ideograms.

And you? What do you think of Japanese ideograms? Is it a big challenge? Share with friends and let us know your opinion in our YouTube community and social networks.