The Japanese language uses multiple writing systems combined. The most well-known of these is kanji. These are logographic characters; each one is like a little picture which represents an object an or an idea.
This article is a very basic introduction to kanji.
Kanji originated in ancient China… and were first used for fortune telling
A pictorial form of written communication began to be used in China about 3500 years ago. These first characters were carved into animal bones and used for divination, as in the image above. They were the precursor to modern kanji. Over the years these characters evolved and became the kanji seen today.
Kanji were first introduced to Japan in about 200CE; prior to this the Japanese language had no writing system.
Kanji were originally little pictures… and some still are
Ancient Chinese kanji were basically little pictures of the objects and concepts they represented. Over the years these characters were simplified to the point where their meaning is now not immediately obvious.
However, kanji’s pictorial origins can be seen in some characters. For example the kanji for “horse” evolved like this:
The ancient character for “horse” (on the left) is basically a picture of a horse. Over time it became more stylised and easier to write. The modern kanji for “horse” 馬 (on the right) looks very different, but still looks a little like a horse, with four legs at the bottom and a mane on the right hand side.
Japanese words are made of one, two, and sometimes three kanji
Japanese words are sometimes represented by just one kanji, for example 馬 “horse” in the previous section.
Many words are represented by two or three kanji next to each other. Sometimes this is very logical, for example:
馬 = horse
子 = child, baby
子馬 = baby horse
Kanji can combine to create new kanji… sometimes very logically
At first glance, kanji are very complex. This is because most kanji are made up of simpler kanji.
For example, the kanji for train station is 駅.
On the left hand side you can see the kanji for horse 馬.
On the right hand side is 尺, which is a measurement of distance.
This makes sense from a historical perspective: train stations were built in places where people traditionally rested their horses after traveling for long distances.
There are tens of thousands of kanji… but most of them are never used
In total there are about 50,000 kanji, however the majority of these are incredibly rare and/or obsolete. To be considered literate, Japanese adults are expected to know about 2,000 kanji. These are known as jōyō (daily use) kanji, and are taught in Japanese schools.
Kanji isn’t the only Japanese writing system
As mentioned at the beginning of this article, kanji is not the only Japanese writing system; multiple systems are used together.
To learn more about the other Japanese writing systems and how they work in combination with kanji, check out my previous article.
Calligraphy by Vicky 