Japanese Alphabet Flashcards
What are the three main writing systems used in the Japanese language?
Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji
True or False: Hiragana is primarily used for native Japanese words.
True
Fill in the blank: Katakana is mainly used for ________ and foreign words.
loanwords
What is the primary function of Kanji in the Japanese writing system?
To represent complex ideas and concepts through characters borrowed from Chinese.
How many basic Hiragana characters are there?
46
What is the main purpose of Katakana?
To write foreign words, names, and onomatopoeia.
True or False: Kanji characters can have multiple readings.
True
What is the term for the phonetic characters used in Japanese writing?
Kana
How many basic Katakana characters are there?
46
What is the reading called that is used for native Japanese words in Kanji?
Kun’yomi
What is the reading called that is used for words borrowed from Chinese in Kanji?
On’yomi
Fill in the blank: The character か is in which writing system?
Hiragana
Fill in the blank: The character カ is in which writing system?
Katakana
True or False: Hiragana and Katakana represent the same sounds.
True
What is the primary use of Romaji in Japanese writing?
To represent Japanese sounds using the Latin alphabet.
What does the term ‘syllabary’ refer to in the context of Hiragana and Katakana?
A writing system where each symbol represents a syllable.
Which writing system is typically taught first to children learning Japanese?
Hiragana
What are the diacritical marks called that modify the sounds of Hiragana and Katakana?
Dakuten and Handakuten
Fill in the blank: The sound /ka/ in Katakana is written as ________.
カ
Fill in the blank: The sound /sa/ in Hiragana is written as ________.
さ
True or False: Katakana is used for scientific terms and technical vocabulary.
True
What is the historical origin of Kanji characters?
They were borrowed from Chinese characters.
What is the term for the combinations of consonants and vowels in Japanese syllables?
Mora
What is the first character of the Hiragana syllabary?
あ (a)
What is the first character of the Katakana syllabary?
ア (a)
Fill in the blank: The Japanese sound system is primarily based on ________.
syllables
What is the maximum number of consonants that can appear in a syllable in Japanese?
One
True or False: There are no silent letters in the Japanese writing system.
True
What is the purpose of furigana in Japanese texts?
To provide pronunciation for Kanji characters.
Fill in the blank: The character ん represents a ________ sound.
nasal
What is the significance of the character ー in Katakana?
It indicates a long vowel sound.
What is the Hiragana character for the sound /na/?
な
What is the Katakana character for the sound /nu/?
ヌ
Fill in the blank: Japanese writing is read from ________ to ________ in traditional texts.
top; bottom
Fill in the blank: The character し is pronounced as ________.
shi
True or False: The Japanese language has no alphabet in the traditional sense.
True
What is the term for a group of Kanji characters that have similar meanings?
Radicals
What is the Japanese term for ‘alphabet’?
アルファベット (arufabetto)
What is the basic structure of a Japanese syllable?
A consonant followed by a vowel.
