Basic Japanese Writing - Katakana Lesson

Introduction

• Hello everyone.
• Welcome to Basic Japanese Writing.
• In this lesson, we will learn Katakana.

Overview of Katakana

• Differences between Katakana and Hiragana.
  • Katakana has more angular shapes.
  • Mainly used for transcription of foreign words, onomatopoeia, technical terms, etc.
  • Long sounds are indicated with “ー”.

Basic Katakana Characters

• A-row
  • ア、イ、ウ、エ、オ
• Ka-row
  • カ、キ、ク、ケ、コ
  • Voiced and semi-voiced Ka-row
  • ガ、ギ、グ、ゲ、ゴ
• Sa-row
  • サ、シ、ス、セ、ソ
  • Voiced Sa-row
  • ザ、ジ、ズ、ゼ、ゾ
• Ta-row
  • タ、チ、ツ、テ、ト
  • Voiced and semi-voiced Ta-row
  • ダ、ヂ、ヅ、デ、ド
• Na-row
  • ナ、ニ、ヌ、ネ、ノ
• Ha-row
  • ハ、ヒ、フ、ヘ、ホ
  • Voiced and semi-voiced Ha-row
  • バ、ビ、ブ、ベ、ボ
  • パ、ピ、プ、ペ、ポ
• Ma-row
  • マ、ミ、ム、メ、モ
• Ya-row
  • ヤ、ユ、ヨ
• Ra-row
  • ラ、リ、ル、レ、ロ
• Wa-row
  • ワ、ヲ、ン

Small Katakana

• Small や (ya), ゆ (yu), よ (yo), つ (tsu) used in the same way as Hiragana.

Application of Katakana

• Transcription of foreign words, onomatopoeia, technical terms, scientific terms.
• Examples:
  • ウィー (Wi), ウェー (We) (Using small Katakana)
  • ファ (Fa), フィ (Fi), フェ (Fe), フォ (Fo)

Practice and Review

• Show characters and words for pronunciation practice.
  • Examples: タ, ダ, チ, ジ, ツ, ズ, small ツ, テ, デ, ト, ド。

Key Points

• Katakana is used to write foreign words and special terms.
• Using small Katakana to create new sounds.
• Adding voiced or semi-voiced marks changes the sound.

Summary

• Learned basic and applied Katakana characters.
• Reviewed characters and practiced pronunciation.
• Recommended to study Kanji along with to deepen understanding of Japanese writing system.