sci.lang.japan Frequently Asked Questions

Welcome to the sci.lang.japan Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ). This is a list of questions and answers about the Japanese language originally from the Usenet newsgroup sci.lang.japan.

1. Writing

• 1.1. Hiragana and katakana
  • 1.1.1. How did katakana and hiragana originate?
  • 1.1.2. Is there a kana symbol for ye or yi?
  
  • 1.1.3. What is the use of the "we" and "wi" kana?
  • 1.1.4. Is there a mnemonic for remembering the order of kana signs?
  • 1.1.5. What is the origin of the gojūon kana ordering?
  • 1.1.6. How does the i-ro-ha ordering go?
  • 1.1.7. What is historical kana usage?
  • 1.1.8. What is okurigana?
  • 1.1.9. What is katakana used for?
  • 1.1.10. What is the small kana "tsu" used for?
• 1.2. Kanji
  • 1.2.1. What are the origins of the kanji for sushi?
  • 1.2.2. How many kanji are there?
  • 1.2.3. What is the difference between tōyō kanji and jōyō kanji?
  • 1.2.4. What are the jōyō kanji?
  • 1.2.5. Which kanji were created in Japan?
    • 1.2.5.1. A list of kokuji (国字)
  • 1.2.6. Why do some gairaigo words have kanji?
  • 1.2.7. Why do kanji have several different pronunciations?
  • 1.2.8. Can a word have mixed on and kun readings?
  • 1.2.9. Can a kanji word have more than one reading?
  • 1.2.10. What are kanji radicals?
    • 1.2.10.1. What are the names of the kanji radicals?
  • 1.2.11. How is a kanji dictionary used?
  • 1.2.12. Why do some kanji have alternative forms?
    • 1.2.12.1. Table of new and old kanji forms
  • 1.2.13. How does kanji stroke order work?
  • 1.2.14. What are the jinmeiyō kanji?
• 1.3. Other questions on writing
  
  • 1.3.1. What is the small katakana ke in 霞ヶ丘 and 一ヶ月?
  • 1.3.2. How are animal and plant names written in Japanese?
  • 1.3.3. What is furigana?
  • 1.3.4. What are the systems of romanization of Japanese?
    • 1.3.4.1. What is Nippon-shiki romanization?
    • 1.3.4.2. What is Kunrei or Kunrei-shiki romanization?
    • 1.3.4.3. What is wapuro romaji?
    • 1.3.4.4. Other systems of romanization
    • 1.3.4.5. A table of romanizations
    • 1.3.4.6. What is the "kwa" in "kwaidan"?
    • 1.3.4.7. What kana do not have romanized forms?
    • 1.3.4.8. What is Hepburn romanization?
  • 1.3.5. How is Japanese writing taught to Japanese children?
  • 1.3.6. What are the names of the Japanese non-kana, non-kanji symbols?
  • 1.3.7. What are the symbols on Japanese maps?
  • 1.3.8. Can Japanese be written right to left?
  • 1.3.9. What are the different styles of Japanese lettering?
    • 1.3.9.1. Ancient Chinese styles
    • 1.3.9.2. Printed styles
    • 1.3.9.3. Handwritten styles
    • 1.3.9.4. Edomoji (江戸文字)
    • 1.3.9.5. Other font styles
  • 1.3.10. What is man'yōgana?
    • 1.3.10.1. Table of man'yōgana
  • 1.3.11. Is Japanese ever written with spaces between the words?
  • 1.3.12. Writing reforms in modern Japan

2. Grammar

• 2.1. Verbs
  • 2.1.1. What Japanese verbs are irregular?
  • 2.1.2. What are group I and group II (also consonant and vowel) verbs?
  • 2.1.3. Which iru and eru verbs are actually group I (consonant) verbs?
  • 2.1.4. What's the difference between hajimeru and hajimaru?
  • 2.1.5. How do Japanese verbs conjugate?
  • 2.1.6. How does the te form work?
  • 2.1.7. What is a suru verb?
• 2.2. Verb endings
  • 2.2.1. What are the uses of the sou ending?
  • 2.2.2. How does the causative passive form of the verb work?
  • 2.2.3. What is the `i' verb ending?
  • 2.2.4. What is the zaru verb ending?
  • 2.2.5. What is the tamae verb ending?
• 2.3. Particles (助詞)
  • 2.3.1. How do I choose between wa and ga?
  • 2.3.2. What is the difference between ringo ga tabetai and ringo wo tabetai?
  • 2.3.3. What is the particle nite?
  • 2.3.4. How do I choose between de and ni?
  • 2.3.5. What is the difference between to naru and ni naru?
• 2.4. Other grammar questions
  • 2.4.1. What is the no da or n da ending?
  • 2.4.2. What is an i adjective?

3. Word origins

• 3.1. What is the name of Mount Fuji?
• 3.2. What are the origins of the san suffix for names?
• 3.3. What is the origin of the name Godzilla?
• 3.4. Why is America called bei?
• 3.5. What are the names of Japan?
• 3.6. Where did the Japanese get their names for the weekdays?
• 3.7. What is the origin of yakuza?
• 3.8. What is the meaning of the word maru in the names of Japanese boats?
• 3.9. What is the origin of the name of the number puzzle "sudoku"?
• 3.10. What is the origin of the name hotchikisu meaning "stapler"?
• 3.11. Why are there so many adjectives ending in yaka?
• 3.12. Is desu a contraction of de arimasu?
• 3.13. What is the origin of saboten?

4. Words from other languages

• 4.1. Is arigatou (arigato) related to Portuguese "obrigado"?
• 4.2. Which Japanese words come from Portuguese?
• 4.3. Which Japanese words come from German?
• 4.4. Which Japanese words come from Dutch?
• 4.5. Which Japanese words come from French?
• 4.6. Which Japanese words come from Russian?

5. Japanese and English

• 5.1. How do I write an English word in Japanese?
• 5.2. Where does the word yen come from?
• 5.3. Where does the name Japan come from?
• 5.4. What are these pseudo English words like salaryman?
• 5.5. What English words come from Japanese?
• 5.6. What "false friends" are there between Japanese and English?

6. Word meanings

• 6.1. What is an "OB"?
• 6.2. What is an otaku?
• 6.3. Is gaijin a derogatory term?
• 6.4. What colour is ao?
• 6.5. What is yamato nadeshiko?
• 6.6. Is a tanuki a badger?
• 6.7. What is Yamato kotoba?

• 6.8. What is an ikemen?
• 6.9. What do 上 and 下 on books mean?
• 6.10. What does bukkake mean?
• 6.11. What words have the same kanji in China and Japan but different meanings?
• 6.12. What does boke mean?
• 6.13. What is the difference between shiru and wakaru?

7. Pronunciation

• 7.1. What are the differences between kana writing and pronunciation?
• 7.2. What is that small tsu at the end of a sentence?
• 7.3. What is roomaji `r' really?
• 7.4. What parts of Japanese are difficult for English speakers to pronounce?
• 7.5. What is Japanese pitch accent?
• 7.6. How important is pitch accent?
• 7.7. What is the difference between a mora and a syllable?
• 7.8. What is yōon?
• 7.9. What is rendaku?
• 7.10. What is syllabic n?
• 7.11. What is a devoiced vowel?

8. Slang and colloquialisms

• 8.1. What is the yagaru verb ending?
• 8.2. What are the chau, cha verb endings?
• 8.3. What are contracted words like rimokon?
• 8.4. What are these i adjectives kimoi and muzui which aren't in the dictionary?

• 8.5. What are some Japanese insults and swear-words?
• 8.6. What are itee and sugee?

9. Names

• 9.1. What are the personal pronouns of Japanese?
• 9.2. How can I read a Japanese name?

• 9.3. How do Japanese names work?
• 9.4. How are historical names formed?
• 9.5. What personal names are the same in Japanese and other languages?
• 9.6. How do I write my name in Japanese?
• 9.7. Do Japanese people have middle names?
• 9.8. How do the Japanese sign their names?
• 9.9. How can I find the Japanese name of a film, person, plant, etc.?

10. Examinations

• 10.1. What is the Japanese language proficiency test?
• 10.2. Kanji Kentei
• 10.3. Jetro Business Japanese test
• 10.4. BJT Business Japanese Test
• 10.5. Japanese University Exam for Foreign Students

11. Word games

• 11.1. What is henohenomoheji?
• 11.2. Do you know any Japanese palindromes?
• 11.3. What is shiritori?
• 11.4. Do you know any Japanese tongue-twisters?

12. Numbers, counting, and dates

• 12.1. How does Japanese write large numbers?
• 12.2. What are the kanji numbers on bank notes?
• 12.3. What is the counter for ...?
• 12.4. How do I write or say a mathematical expression in Japanese?
• 12.5. What are Japanese number puns?
• 12.6. What Western dates correspond to what Japanese dates?
  • 12.6.1. Complete list of Japanese eras
  • 12.6.2. What is the Jikkan jūnishi?
• 12.7. What are the old Japanese units like shaku?
• 12.8. What are the special birthdays in Japan?
• 12.9. What are the Japanese numbers from 1 to 100?
• 12.10. Why do the Japanese use numbers for months?

13. Etiquette

• 13.1. What is Japanese respect language?
• 13.2. How do I make a request?

• 13.3. How can I say "I love you" in Japanese?
• 13.4. What are the phrases used on nengajō (New Year's greetings)?
• 13.5. What is the difference between "san", "sama", "kun" and "chan"?

14. Computers

• 14.1. How is Japanese input on a computer?
• 14.2. Encodings of Japanese
• 14.3. What is half-width katakana?
• 14.4. How can I input small kana like ぃ, っ and ょ, or づ on a computer?
• 14.5. What is mojibake?
• 14.6. Electronic typefaces

15. Miscellaneous

• 15.1. How does the Japanese addressing system work?
• 15.2. How do I find this Japanese word for a tattoo?
• 15.3. What noises do animals make?
• 15.4. What are the names of the letters of the alphabet in Japanese?

16. Other internet resources

• 16.1. Related newsgroups
• 16.2. Online dictionaries
• 16.3. Online kanji dictionaries
• 16.4. Internet forums
• 16.5. Web sites

17. About the sci.lang.japan Frequently Asked Questions

• 17.1. FAQ Copyright
• 17.2. FAQ Thank Yous
• 17.3. FAQ Format
• 17.4. Deleted page

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