Four Writing Systems
Japanese has four different writing systems; kanji, hiragana, katakana, and romanji. Kanji was imported from China in the 6th Century AD. It has over 2,000 signs. Hiragana is used in children’s books and for simple words, conjugations, and participles. It’s usually the first one people learn. Katakana is the type of writing reserved for foreign words. Romanji is the romantic version of Japanese in written form, often simplifying original words.
Unlike other languages which are written from right to left horizontally, Japanese is also written vertically in columns from right to left.
