Answer #1

Japanese language can be subdivided into various sub classes and hiragana and katakana are two of these sub classes. Both writing systems are Japanese, but they are different in so many ways. This article lists the main differences between these two interesting writing systems.

1. History

Hiragana was introduced to Japan in 5th century AD. It was regarded as a woman’s way of writing and it was scorned. However, Katakana developed approximately 1000 years ago. It was primarily a new kind of shorthand that comes from altered versions of various Chinese characters. Unlike hiragana, katakana is not linked to the prized Chinese calligraphy characters.

2. Uses

Hiragana is very popular and it is mostly used for more informal and personal correspondence. Most books also use hiragana characters. Nevertheless, it is only used for formal writing for terms that do not have another Kanji equivalent. Moreover, it is also used in place of Kanji characters that are too hard for a reader to comprehend.
Meanwhile, katakana is largely used for transliteration of all foreign words to Japanese. This includes the words introduced since 19th century like television. Hence, it is usually the main structure of writing used by foreigners when learning Japanese. Another use of katakana is in advertising since it places more emphasis.

3. Appearance

The appearance of these two writing systems also differs. Since hiragana was derived from the Chinese calligraphy, most of its characters are actually rounded are easily completed using two strokes. In contrast, katakana is not very popular since it is not graceful as hiragana.

In conclusion, hiragana is generally used for personal writing and literature, but katakana is only used for purposes of shorthand along with transliterating foreign terms. Furthermore, hiragana is graceful, but katakana is stark and angular. However, katakana is newer than hiragana.

Answered By: daniel [554 ]