I've learned to read and write in Kana!

Before continuing to read this post, I warn you that it is about the Japanese language. So if you are intolerant of the subject, then please do divert your eyes. 

あれ？！

What is Kana? Well, it refers to the use of two types of Japanese syllabaries, Hiragana and Katakana. Hiragana and Katakana parallel each other with the same amount of characters for the same sounds. They are used in different situations, Hiragana for Japanese-related words and Katakana for foreign words. The sound of "a," as in "water," can be represented as 「あ」 in Hiragana and 「ア」 in Katakana. An example of a word that would be considered Japanese is apple (ringo) 「りんご」, while orange (orenji) 「オレンジ」 would be considered a foreign word.

Each syllabary has 46 characters. Kana is used in conjunction with Kanji, a set of +2000 characters, in common Japanese writing. Writing in only Kana can be viewed as, well, less than scholarly. I have yet to challenge myself with Kanji, but it is inevitable that I will learn it someday. Here is a list of all the characters in Kana:

Hiragana: (consonant + a) あかさたなはまやらわ、(consonant + i) いきしちにひみり、(consonant + u) うくすつぬふむゆる、(consonant + e) えけせてねへめれ、(consonant + o) おこそとのほもよろを、(n) ん

Katakana: (consonant + a) アカサタナハマヤラワ、(consonant + i) イキシチニヒミリ、(consonant + u) ウクスツヌフムユル、(consonant + e) エケセテネヘメレ、(consonant + o) オコソトノホモヨロヲ、(n) ン

With combinations of the "consonant + i" characters and "y" characters (やゆよ), you can also create additional sounds. One example being "kyo" 「きょ」. Notice as the yo (よ) is half-sized in order to distinguish "kyo" from "kiyo." Some of the characters can have dakuten and handakuten applied to the top right corner of them. These look like quotation marks (゙) and circles (゚). They are used to alter the sounds of characters. An example of this is when adding dakuten to "sa" 「さ」, you get "za" 「ざ」. A list of all the characters in Kana can be viewed here.

So, how long does it take to learn Kana? Well, it took me about two weeks for each syllabary to read and about a month for both syllabary to write. It could have taken even less time than that, but I chose to take it steady. A daily dose of Kana is needed in that span of time in order to properly learn. How do you go about learning? I used a paid program called Human Japanese, although there are many alternatives, some being free, to try out. If you don't mind staring at a rather boring web page with a listing of Kana, go for it. If reading textbooks is your forte, try that. Human Japanese is appealing to the eye, gives animations of each character, and has quizzes. They couldn't have made it much easier to learn, but you still need to do some of the work on your own.

I appreciate your reading of this post. If you have any comments or questions, don't hesitate to post them.