Katakana is one of the kana syllabaries used in Japanese. This lesson introduces its place in the writing system, explains what kana represent, and traces katakana to its historical origins.
Japanese writing uses several systems together. Kanji are characters historically borrowed from Chinese and used for words and meanings. Hiragana and katakana are kana syllabaries: their characters primarily represent sounds. Rōmaji refers to Japanese written with the Roman alphabet and is used in some contexts.
All flashcards
What is katakana?
Katakana is one of the two Japanese kana syllabaries. Its characters primarily represent sounds, usually morae.
What does katakana literally mean?
It means fragmentary kana, reflecting that the characters were derived from fragments of more complex characters.
What is a mora?
A mora is a basic unit of timing and sound organization in Japanese. A kana generally represents one mora.
How does katakana relate to hiragana?
Both are kana syllabaries in the Japanese writing system, but they have different typical uses and character forms.
How did katakana originate?
Buddhist monks in ninth-century Nara developed abbreviated character forms to help represent Japanese readings when working with texts.
Quiz questions
How does the gojūon chart organize basic kana?Answer: By consonant and vowel sound patterns.
What sound change does dakuten commonly mark?Answer: Voicing of consonants such as k to g.
What sound change does handakuten mark on applicable h-row kana?Answer: A change from an h-row sound to a p-row sound.
What does small ャ do when it follows キ in キャ?Answer: It combines with キ to form the glide sound kya.
What does the katakana chōonpu ー indicate?Answer: Lengthening of the preceding vowel.
Based on the Wikipedia article Katakana, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.