Writing & Language
The First Hundred Kanji and Why Those
Not the school order and not the JLPT order. Which kanji repay learning first, how the readings work, and what to do with characters you only read.
Japan Know How archive
japanese writing
Writing & Language
Three Scripts Doing Three Different Jobs
Japanese puts no spaces between words, so the switch from kanji to kana is what marks where a word starts. The division of labor, in real sentences.
Your Name in Japanese
How to Write Your Name Vertically in Japanese
Vertical Japanese is not horizontal text turned sideways. The long-vowel bar rotates, small kana change corner, and columns run right to left. Here is what actually changes.
Writing & Language
Hiragana, Katakana, Kanji: How Japanese Writing Works
Three scripts in one sentence, each doing a job the others cannot. What each one is for, why Japanese never dropped kanji, and how to read the layout before you read the words.