Katakana is one of the three Japanese alphabets, which is used to write words of foreign origin and others. In this article, we will share some curiosities and tips for you to learn Katakana in the best way possible.
This article is a supplement about Katakana; we will not show the Katakana table nor explain details of its strokes, just pass days to learn. If you want to see all of Katakana, we recommend the article below:
Read also: KANA: Definitive Guide to Hiragana and Katakana – Japanese Alphabet
Table of Contents
The Basics for Learning Katakana
Katakana is one of the two syllabic alphabets used in Japanese, along with Hiragana. It is used to write foreign words and technical terms, as well as to emphasize certain words.
The Katakana characters are composed of straight and short strokes. It is important to know what they look like in order to be able to recognize and write them correctly.
There are many online resources, such as apps, books, courses, and tutorials, that can help you learn Katakana. Find the ones that work best for you and use them frequently.
Learning the 46 basic letters is the foundation for being able to read words in Katakana. You can learn the letters in various ways, such as memorizing letter tables, writing them several times, or playing memory games to help you remember.
Once you have learned the basic letters, it is time to practice reading and writing complete words. Choose simple words in English or other languages and try to write their versions in Katakana.
Should I Learn Katakana or Hiragana First?
Some people find that Katakana is quite easy to learn, as its strokes are straight and simple, but its difficulty is greater than many imagine.
Many recommend learning Katakana first, but I personally advise anyone to first learn Hiragana, which makes up more than 80% of Japanese writing when accompanied by Furigana when there are words in Kanji.
This fact makes it harder for a person to memorize and remember Katakana, even though the strokes are much simpler. The frequency with which the student reads Katakana is much lower than that of Hiragana.
This means that the process of learning to read Katakana perfectly will take much longer, so it is best to focus on Hiragana, and over time, Katakana will sink in.
[ー] Chōonpu – Katakana Dash or Long Vowel Mark
The dash “ー” is known as “chōonpu” in Japanese and is used to indicate long or prolonged syllables. It is placed between two Katakana syllables to indicate that they should be pronounced together, as a single long syllable.
For example, the word “トマト” (tomato) is written as “トマト” with two separate Katakana characters, while the word “トースト” (toast) is written as “ー” using the chōonpu to indicate the long syllable “too.”
The use of chōonpu is important for correctly representing the pronunciation of foreign words in Japanese and for aiding in the reading and understanding of texts written in Katakana.
The chōonpu can be used in Hiragana, but it is rarely added; usually, a vowel is used to elongate the tone.
Katakana is Not Just for Foreign Words
Most people studying Japanese should already be aware that Katakana is generally used to write words of foreign origin or names of foreign people.
In fact, Katakana is also used to emphasize certain Japanese words, write certain titles, and also the famous onomatopoeias that are frequent in the Japanese language.
In summary, Katakana can be used for:
- Foreign words: words that have no equivalents in Japanese;
- Proper names: including names of people, companies, and places.
- Technical and scientific terms: areas such as technology, science, and medicine.
- Advertising and publicity: used in advertisements, promotions, and other forms of advertising to attract consumers’ attention.
- Also used in song lyrics, movie titles, and other forms of entertainment.
How Did Katakana Originate?
The history of Katakana dates back to the Heian period, which occurred in Japan between 794 and 1185 AD. During this period, Japanese writing was based on Chinese writing and was mainly used by members of the upper class of society.
However, over time, the syllabic writing was developed to be used by common people and became a distinct form of writing. Katakana emerged as a simplified form of Chinese writing to write foreign and technical words.
Over the centuries, Katakana evolved and became an important form of writing in Japan.
The Difficulties of Learning Katakana
Besides the low frequency with which you will consume words in Katakana, another difficulty will be the simplicity of the strokes that can end up confusing, especially in some fonts.
There are 4 Katakana characters that are very similar, which can end up confusing most people. We have already written an article discussing these kana and how to differentiate them; we will leave the link below:
We recommend reading: Similar Katakana – シ ツ / ツツ and ノ
Even the differences taking hold in your mind takes quite a bit of time, but one tip is to be aware that “tsu” is the only kana that becomes small to elongate the consonant that comes after.
Learn Katakana with Anime Titles
Another thing you can do to learn Katakana is to use logos, movie names, and anime titles that have their writing in Katakana. They are usually titles derived from English.
Using anime titles will help you learn Katakana from different sources and perspectives, in addition to helping you get to know words that are not always of foreign origin.
We recommend watching a snippet of our class below. The video kind of summarizes the tips in this article and shows learning using anime logos:
Use the Japanese Club
Katakana is just the beginning; you will need to learn everything about the Japanese language, and to help you, we recommend you check out our complete Japanese course: Japanese Club.
The Japanese Club is a members’ area of Suki Desu where we post various video lessons, often accompanied by an article with phrases that have pronunciation and can be copied to a spaced repetition software.
In addition, we also offer games and interactive activities and a module entirely dedicated to content about Japanese culture such as Animes and Mangas.
If you want to know more about the Japanese Club, just click here!
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