The best way to learn Japanese is to start with the basics: learning the alphabet. There are three basic writing systems you need to learn to read Japanese: Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji. Hiragana The ability to read Hiragana is crucial for all beginners. Hiragana is primarily used for native Japanese words and consists of 46 or 51 phonetic characters. It’s the key to understanding how and why Japanese words sound the way they do. Because most characters have only one pronunciation, Hiragana is quite easy to learn. No doubt, once you learn Hiragana, you’ll create a firm foundation needed for a native-sounding accent. Katakana Сompared to Hiragana, Katakana is used for non-Japanese or loanwords: a word adopted from a foreign language. These include technical and scientific terms and the names of some plants and animals. Katakana can give you more trouble than Hiragana as it won’t be used frequently, especially at the beginning of your language learning journey. As your level increases, Katakana will appear more regularly. However, just being able to read Katakana is enough for a beginner. Kanji Many learners believe that learning Kanji is the most challenging part. But, on the other hand, it’s one of the most critical aspects of learning Japanese. Knowing very basic Kanji will enable you to understand, speak and write simple Japanese. Kanji consists of thousands of Chinese symbols representing entire words, ideas or phrases. Kanji has many complexities, as English meanings can’t always be directly translated from Japanese words. That’s why there can be many correct English meanings for a single Kanji word. We never said learning Japanese would be easy, but learning Kanji will give you a huge amount of ways to express yourself.