1.3.5. How is Japanese writing taught to Japanese children?
The Japanese education system teaches children characters in the
following order:
-
Children begin officially learning reading and writing at the age of
six, when they enter elementary school. Many children can already read
hiragana and katakana at this age, but this is not part of the
official curriculum.
-
They learn hiragana and katakana during the first year of
elementary school (shōgakkō (小学校)).
-
They learn 1006 kanji over six years of elementary school,
divided into six one year grades, of 80, 160, 200, 200, 185, and 181
characters in years one to six. These are commonly known as the
kyouiku kanji (教育漢字) or gakushuu kanji (学習漢字),
although their official name is gakunenbetsu kanji haitouhyou (学年別漢字配当表).
-
They learn calligraphic writing using a brush in the kaisho form
(see 1.3.9.3. Handwritten styles) during their third year of
school.
-
They learn romanized Japanese using the Kunrei system (see
1.3.4. What are the systems of romanization of Japanese?) in their fourth year.
-
The rest of the jōyō and jinmei kanji (see
1.2.4. What are the jouyou kanji? and 1.2.2. How many kanji are there?) are taught at junior
high or high school level.
-
Further non-jōyō kanji may be taught at high school level.
There is no set list of grades for how to teach the jouyou kanji
of junior high school or high school. The grades for elementary school can
be found in
kanji
learning books or in kanji
dictionaries. They may also be found in Kanjidic, under the
labels G1, G2, G3, etc.
Many children also study penmanship or calligraphy outside school.
References
sci.lang.japan FAQ
/ 1. Writing
/ 1.3. Other questions on writing
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