JAPANESE PACKET 1 Name __________________________ Japanese is a very intricate and difficult language. Im here to guide you through it! In this packet you will learn: • The two of the four Japanese writing systems - Hiragana - Katakana • What they are used for
Let’s Get to it! First of, we will learn what two of the four Japanese writing systems are, what they are used for, and how to distinguish them!
THE WRITING SYSTEMS The four Japanese writing systems are... • Hiragana • Katakana • Kanji • Romaji
In this packet, we will only be learning about hiragana and katakana. The other two will be covered in the next packet.
Hiragana is... The basic Japanese writing system. Every one sound correlates to a character. It is mostly used for writing words from Japan which have no kanji. It is also used in children’s literature for those who do not know kanji yet.You may also see it as furigana, also used for children, which is hiragana above a kanji character. Hiragana has the characteristic of being curvy and rounded.
Hiragana and Katakana are collectively called kana. Hiragana and katakana have the same principle rule, one sound to one character. Kana was introduced after a man by the name of Kukai went to China and brought back the ideals of zen buddhism, and a new idea for a writing system.
A hiragana chart
THE WRITING SYSTEMS Katakana is... the writing system used for foreign words, like your name! As you can tell, katakana differs in appearance greatly from hiragana, as it is more blocky and has more straight lines. You also use katakana for: • Onomatopoeia, like ガチャポン (Gachapon) a Japanese game named after the sound the machine makes • Animals, like ショウ (Elephant)
Katakana Chart
HOMEWORK! Homework A: Kana Match! Using your kana charts, determine if the characters below are Hiragana (H) or Katakana (K) そ H
か ___
ご ___
ハ K
め ___
ゴ ___
ミ ___
しょ ___
ほ ___
ズ ___
ヅ ___
は ___
ど ___
ザ ___
ゼ ___
Websites to check out: - http:// www.guidetojapanese.or g/learn/grammar/ hiragana - http:// www.guidetojapanese.or g/learn/grammar/ katakana - https://en.wikibooks.org/ wiki/Japanese/ Kana_chart
Homework B: Kawaii Conversation
Using this kawaii katakana chart, find out what these playful creatures are saying! (Do column two, three is extra credit!) KATAKANA
ROMAJI
アイスクリム
Aisukurīmu
ENGLISH Ice Cream!
コーヒー
_________
_________
ミルク
_________
_________
クッキー
_________
_________
Extra Credit! Write what you think your name is in Japanese (using the kana charts) ____________________________________