Categories
Learn Japanese Language

Learn Japanese Alphabet – Japanese Language Alphabet Guide

Japanese Alphabet Examples

Learning to read the Japanese Alphabet should be the first stop for Japanese beginners. Japanese has probably the most confusing alphabet system for beginners.

Learn Japanese Alphabet consists of 3 different Alphabets that are used in different circumstances or sometimes used together to form words and phrases.

Types of Japanese Alphabets

The Japanese alphabet is overall known as Kana, consisting of three alphabets:

  • Hiragana
  • Katakana
  • Kanji.

The Japanese alphabet overall is [su_highlight]phonetic alphabet where each symbol is a spoken syllable that represents a single sound[/su_highlight].

Essentially every Japanese word is written exactly how they are pronounced.

Hiragana Alphabet

• Hiragana expresses the grammatical relationship between them (endings of adjectives and verbs)
• Hiragana is used to represent native Japanese words.

Japanese Alphabet Hiragana is a phonetic alphabet that contains 48 syllables that be sounded out to pronounce the word. Hiragana has characteristic cursive characters.

Japanese Alphabets Hiragana Symbols
Japanese Alphabets Hiragana Symbols

Katakana Alphabet

• Foreign names and words of foreign origin.
• Foreign places
• Words of Foreign origins.

Japanese Alphabet Katakana is also a syllabic alphabet. There are 48 Katakana symbols that have similar sounds to Hiragana.

It is no coincidence that there is the same number of characters in both the Hiragana and Katakana alphabets as they both represent exactly the same sounds (some of them even look quite similar).

Japanese Alphabets Katakana Symbols

Kanji Alphabet

There is a third form of Japanese Alphabet that borrows or modifies Chinese Characters called Kanji. Kanji was borrowed from Chinese writing at a time when there was no written Japanese language and it is still around. Japanese Kanji has different meanings than Chinese characters today.

There are over 8000 Kanji. Kanji are not syllabic and are used to represent abstract concepts as well as names and everyday words. An average adult Japanese speaker must know at least 2000 off by heart. Although you don’t need to memorizes all of the Kanji. Each Kanji has several different meanings and pronunciations.

Japanese Alphabets Kanji Symbols

Japanese words are pronounced exactly as the symbols show but one thing to pay attention to is if the character has a diacritic mark above it or not.

Make sure to practice pronouncing and writing the Japanese Alphabet whenever you can. As many times as you can.

Because Japanese has three different alphabets: Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji. Hiragana and Katakana are pretty similar with roughly 48 symbols each( some used, some not. Hiragana is for general use while Katakana is used for foreign names, the names of foreign places and words of foreign origin. Kanji are characters that are burrowed or modified from Chinese. Japanese number system is a lot easier to learn.

Japanese Alphabet Examples

Japanese Alphabet Examples
Categories
Learn Japanese Language

Japanese Language Dialect List & Map

Japanese Dialects Map
Japanese Dialects Map

Within any language or language group, there may be significant changes in speech, vocabulary, and pronunciation. The term used to describe these changes is called a dialect. Some words or phrases that exist in one dialect may exist or be absent from different dialect. The most common dialect is the Kansai dialect that includes the Osaka dialect. Osaka is the dialect of the Tokyo area and is considered the standard dialect for Japanese. Unlike other languages, Japanese dialects can be very different from each other, almost to the point where they could be considered different languages and need subtitles.

Japanese Dialects List

Kansai Japanese – Second biggest region of Japan and host of many dialects. This group contains the Osaka dialect, which can be considered the “standard dialect” of Japanese. Kansai dialects are characterizes by their Kyoto-Osaka-type accent, strong vowel, copula ya, negative form -hen, etc.
Hichiku Japanese – A group of dialects in the southern Fukuoka region of Japan. Also includes the Tsushima Islands.
Honichi Japanese – Dialects of eastern Fukuoka, North and South Oita, and Hyuga.
Chugoku Japanese –
Shikoku Japanese – Similar to the Chugoku dialect in many ways but differet in accent.
Gifu-Aichi Japanese – Group of dialects in the Gifu Prefecture of Japan.
Hokuriku Japanese – Refers to the dialects spoken in the Hokuriku region of Japan.
Nagano Yamanashi Shizuoka Japanese – Named after the Prefectures in which they reside. This dialect is characterizes by a presumptive suffix -zura or -ra.
Echigo Japanese – Dialects of the Niigaga Prefecture.
West and East Kanto –
North and South Tohoku Japanese – The Tohoku dialect is spoken in North and south Tohoku Region in the Northwestern part of Japan. The Tohoku dialects differs a lot from standard Japanese.
Hokkaido – Dialects spoken in the Hokkaido region. This is dialect is separated into different groups. First, spoken along the coastal areas of Hokkaido, closely related to the Tohoku dialect. Second, is more in line with standard Japanese dialects.
Unpaku Japanese – Group of dialects that include the Shimane and Tottori Prefectures. This dialect differs from the others by the use of high “i” and “u” vowels.

Different Japanese Dialects of the Japanese language are spoken in many different nations and regions around the world, most commonly throughout northern Asia. However, the differences in regional dialects may not make one Japanese speaker nearly incomprehensible to another. In most cases, the different Japanese dialects don’t have a specific written form of the language, but there’s usually a certain amount of literature that accompanies each Japanese dialects.

Japanese Dialects Map

Japanese Dialects Map
Categories
Learn Italian Language

Learn Italian Numbers – Learn Numbers in Italian Language

Italian numbers 1 to 10

Italian numbers are easy to understand because they are written exactly like English Numbers but are pronounced differently. Understanding how to write Italian numbers should take very little time and effort to learn. By the end of this you should have a very solid understanding of the Italian number system.

Italian Numbers 1 to 10

It’s actually pretty straight forward when it comes to learning how to use the Italian number system. Pronouncing Italian numbers on the other hands get a little bit tricky. Italian numbers 1 to 10 should be your primary focus when you begin. Italian numbers after gain a prefix added to the base number. To illustrate what I mean, here are Italian numbers 1 to 100.

Italian Numbers are like English but with the different pronunciation.

how to speak Italian numbers?
Italian vocabulary numbers 1-10

Italian Numbers 1 to 100

Italian Numbers beginning at ten through nineteen gain the prefix “” added to the base number. Italian numbers from 13-19 work like this. Italian numbers follow a pattern of prefix + base number. However numbers that use either “” or “tres” are used slightly differently. “Tres” becomes accented(first example below) while “” replaces the vowel at the of the prefix.(Second Example below).

Italian Numbers 1- 100
Categories
Learn Italian Language

Italian Grammar Rules, Verbs, Nouns, Adjectives

Italian masculine feminie examples

The fun part of learning any language Grammar! The “rules” you must follow to properly speak a language. But don’t worry about how hard learning Italian Grammar might feel at first. Learning Italian grammar rules is one of the most effective ways to speed up your ability to speak the Italian language. Keep in mind this is just a basic introduction into understanding how Italian grammar works.

The Italian grammar rules you must follow and understand to properly speak the Italian language.

Italian Grammar Rules

The fun part of learning any language. Grammar!

The “rules” you must follow to properly speak a language. But don’t worry about how hard learning Italian Grammar might feel at first. Learning Italian grammar rules is one of the most effective ways to speed up your ability to speak the Italian language.

Italian Grammar Rules: Sentence Structure

• The basic sentence structure of Italian is subject-verb-object. Just like English.

Italian Sentence Structure

Italian Grammar Rules: Nouns and Pronouns

• Italian Nouns can be either Masculine or Feminine
• Most Italian end in a vowel sound, those that don’t are usually of foreign origins.
• Nouns that end in “-ore” are usually Masculine while nouns that end in “-ione” are Feminine.

Italian Masculine Feminine Examples

Italian Grammar Rules: Verbs

• Italian Verbs usually have a “Mood” attached to them to indicate the speaker or writers feeling to the action being described.
• There are 4 moods in Italian: Indicative, Subjunctive, Conditional, and Imperative. Three more moods exist in Italian that doesn’t indicate the speaker. Theses are Infinitive, Participle, and Gerund.
• Each mood can be divided into one or more tenses.(Past, Present, Future)

Italian Grammar Rules: Adjectives

• Most Italian Adjectives are either plural or singular depending on the ending
• Singular Adjectives can be either Masculine or Feminine and usually end in “-e”
• Plural Adjectives usually end in “-i”. In the case of a word ends in “-io” the “o” is dropped from the word to form the plural.

Most Italian end in a vowel sound, those that don’t are usually of foreign origins. Italian has several “moods” for its verbs that indicate the speaker’s feelings towards the action being done as well as what “tense” or time it’s being done. Italian Adjectives can have a gender as well depending if they are singular or plural.

Italian Adjective Examples

Learning Italian grammar rules can be considered the cornerstone of the language and will take some time to learn but creates a sturdy foundation to help you completely learn Italian in no time. Take the time to let these points soak in, then build on them as you continue your Italian studies. Good luck, and have fun learning Italian

Categories
Learn Italian Language

Italian Language Dialects List (+Map)

Map of the key Italian Language Dialects

Within any language or language group there may be significant changes in speech, vocabulary, and pronunciation. The term used to describe these changes is called a dialect. Some words or phrases that exist in one dialect may exist or be absent from different dialect.

The following are most commonly used dialects in the Italian language.

  • Siciliano Italian Dialects
  • Calabrese Italian Dialects
  • Lucano Italian Dialects
  • Salentino Italian Dialects
  • Pugliese Italian Dialects
  • Campano Italian Dialects
  • Molisano Italian Dialects
  • Ciociaresco Italian Dialects
  • Laziale Italian Dialects
  • Abruzzese Italian Dialects
  • Umbro Italian Dialects
  • Marchegiano Italian Dialects
  • Toscano Italian Dialects
  • Emilano-Romagnolo Italian Dialects
  • Lombardo Milarnes Italian Dialects
  • Piemontese Italian Dialects
  • Ligure Italian Dialects
  • Trentinese Italian Dialects
  • Ladino Italian Dialects
  • Corse Italian Dialects
  • Veneto Italian Dialects

Different variants of the Italian language are spoken in many different nations and regions around the world, most commonly throughout Europe and Italy. However, the differences in regional dialects may not make one Italian speaker nearly incomprehensible to another. In most cases, the different dialects don’t have a specific written form of the language, but there’s usually a certain amount of literature that accompanies each dialect.

Interested in further study into Italian or confused on where to start? I recommend reading our Italian Beginners Guide

Categories
Learn Italian Language

Learn Italian Alphabet – Italian Language Alphabet

Italian alphabet

Learn Italian Alphabet Letters

The Italian alphabet contains 21 letters of the English Alphabet. The letters j, k, w, x, and y are missing from the Italian alphabet but they do however appear in words burrowed from other languages. Italian Numbers are like English but with a different pronunciation.

The following letters do appear in Italian. They are used mainly in foreign words borrowed from other languages and their pronunciation is based on the word they appear in.

The Italian alphabet uses two diacritical accent marks primarily used on vowels. An incorrect or missing accent mark is a spelling mistake just as an incorrect or missing letter would be.

The Acute Accent can only be included on the vowels e, or o when they end words.

The Grave Accent can be included on all vowels that end words.

To do the Italian accents marks on the non-Italian keyboard. Alt code can be used. Alt code is when you press then hold down the Alt key on your keyboard then type in numbers on your num pad then release the alt key.

Italian Alphabet is very important when it comes to learning to write and read the Italian Language. So make sure to practice pronouncing and writing the Italian Alphabet whenever you can. As many times as you can.

Italian alphabet

The Italian varies quite a bit from the English Alphabet. Because Italian only has 21 letters. The letters j, k, w, x, and y are missing from the Italian alphabet but they do however appear in words borrowed from other languages.

Exit mobile version