It is not an impossible task to learn Japanese fast. First, enthusiasm, commitment, and focus can go a long way. Second, it helps to know certain basics. Written Japanese uses three different scripts:
-> Kanji
-> Hiragana
-> Katakana
Kanji is composed of Chinese characters. Hiragana and katakana are syllabic scripts based on Chinese characters. A combination of kanji and hiragana are used in modern Japanese. Katakana is usually used to depict loaned foreign words in addition to sounds.
The characters are written from top to bottom, or vertically, and from right to left. This method is standard, although scientific journals and computers use the horizontal method, read from left to right.
There is a variety of politeness levels, depending on the social standings of the speaker and listener. Also, the language includes speech that males or females tend to use that is specific to their gender, which can mean differences in the use of vocabulary, grammar, and even pitch.
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