The first step in learning Japanese is the gojuuon (fifty sounds). Many people try to memorize them by brute force, but in fact kana all evolved from Chinese characters — knowing the origins makes them much easier to remember.
The Origin of Kana: Cursive Chinese Characters
Hiragana (ひらがな) comes from the cursive script of Chinese characters. When ancient Japanese scholars copied Chinese texts, their writing became increasingly simplified, eventually evolving into kana.
| Kanji | → | Hiragana | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 安 | → | あ | a |
| 以 | → | い | i |
| 宇 | → | う | u |
| 衣 | → | え | e |
| 於 | → | お | o |
| 加 | → | か | ka |
| 奈 | → | な | na |
Katakana (カタカナ) was derived by simplifying radicals and components of Chinese characters — for example, 「ア」comes from the left side of 「阿」.
Structure of the Gojuuon: 5 Vowels x 10 Rows
The gojuuon chart doesn't actually have 50 sounds. The core consists of 5 vowels:
| Vowels | あ(a) | い(i) | う(u) | え(e) | お(o) |
|---|
Each consonant combines with these 5 vowels to form a row:
- か row: か(ka) き(ki) く(ku) け(ke) こ(ko)
- さ row: さ(sa) し(shi) す(su) せ(se) そ(so)
- た row: た(ta) ち(chi) つ(tsu) て(te) と(to)
And so on for a total of 10 rows. Together with the vowel-only 「あ row」 and the special 「ん(n)」, you get the complete gojuuon.
Some sounds are no longer in use (such as ゐ and ゑ), so modern Japanese actually has 46 kana, not 50.
The Chinese Speaker's Advantage: Guessing Kanji Words
Since Japanese uses a huge number of kanji, Chinese speakers have a natural advantage — many words can be guessed from their kanji alone:
| Japanese Kanji | Kana | English Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 世界 | せかい | world | Same meaning in Chinese |
| 猫 | ねこ | cat | Same meaning in Chinese |
| 顔 | かお | face | Japanese uses 「顔」 |
| 嘘 | うそ | lie / falsehood | In Chinese, 「嘘」means a hissing sound |
| 愛人 | あいじん | lover / mistress | Different from Chinese meaning! |
Caution: Some kanji words have completely different meanings in Chinese and Japanese. 「愛人」 means "spouse" in Chinese but "lover/mistress" in Japanese — using it wrong could be very awkward.
Writing Tips
Keep the following in mind when writing kana:
- Stroke order: Same as Chinese characters — left to right, top to bottom
- Hiragana is rounded and flowing, like cursive script
- Katakana is angular and sharp, like printed radicals
- き can be written connected or with a gap — both are correct
- そ likewise can be written in one stroke or two
Self-Test
Q1. Which Chinese character did the hiragana 「あ」 evolve from?
Show answer
The cursive form of 「安」. You can still see traces of 「安」 in the strokes of あ.
Q2. What does the Japanese word 「愛人」 mean?
Show answer
Lover / mistress. This is completely different from the Chinese meaning of 「爱人」 (spouse) — mixing them up would be quite embarrassing.
Summary
- Hiragana evolved from cursive Chinese characters; katakana evolved from Chinese character radicals
- Gojuuon = 5 vowels x 10 consonant rows, with 46 kana in actual use
- Chinese and Japanese share many kanji, but some words have different meanings (愛人 ≠ spouse)
- Knowing the kanji origins makes kana memorization far more efficient