Learn Japanese FAQ

Q: Hi richard, Genki Japan helped me a lot with learning japanese! Thanks!  But here’s my question:
I learned that Japan has 3 types of symbols.  Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji.   But when do you use which type of symbol? -  Tinke

A: Hi Tinke, thank you for the nice words!  Here’s the general rule of thumb:

Use kanji whenever you can.

Use hiragana if you don’t know the kanji or if there isn’t one.

Use katakana for words that come from countries other than Japan or China.

That’s  basically it!  In practice though the best thing is just to read lots of Japanese and you’ll naturally learn when to use which ones in just the same why you naturally know when to use “i” or “I” or “twelve” or “12″!

Be genki,

Richard