Kana: your first step
You've decided to study Japanese but you're not sure where to start. Here's the simple answer: start with kana.
Most Japanese textbooks assume kana. Minna no Nihongo and Dekiru Nihongo are written entirely in kana and kanji. Genki assumes you have kana from chapter three. Very few textbooks use romaji (and honestly, we find them distracting).
If you look at those 46 hiragana characters and wonder how you'll ever memorise them, we have good news. Kana isn't hard. The harder part comes later.
It can even be enjoyable. Kana isn't a dry alphabet. It comes with a soundtrack. (We'll tell you why later.) And it prepares you for kanji, which is the real work.
Knowing hiragana and katakana gives you instant satisfaction. Two weeks in, you can read product labels, signs, and menus. You'll know some words too.
The sound alphabets
Kana isn't technically an alphabet. Hiragana and katakana are syllabaries. Each character is a full syllable: ka, shi, mo. (Not a single letter the way English splits k and a.)
This is what makes kana easy and fun to learn. 46 characters are actually just 9 rows of similar consonant sounds. You're meeting the actual sound of Japanese, one beat at a time.
Here's the fun part most people don't know. Japanese is a language measured in beats. Each kana is one beat. The small っ is a silent beat. The long-vowel mark takes an extra beat. がっこう (ga-k-ko-u), school, is four beats, not three. This even rhythm is what gives Japanese its sound. When you learn kana, you're not just learning how to read. You're learning how to hear Japanese correctly.
Hiragana first, then katakana
Start with hiragana. It's essential for grammar and you'll see it far more often. Particles, verb endings, native Japanese words.
Then keep going with katakana. Katakana is the same 46 sounds with different shapes. Some characters even echo their hiragana counterparts. か becomes カ. に becomes ニ. Same methods, another week or two.
After you've learned both, you've crossed the first gate. Your world changes. Walk through a Japanese grocery store and you'll read おかし (okashi, snacks) on snack packets, ふりかけ (furikake, rice seasoning) on jars, メニュー (menyuu, menu) on the coffee shop board.
At this point, it's easy to feel overconfident and start flashing your new skill around. But don't. Small wins are best kept quiet. That's the Japanese way.
A note on writing
Writing kana is enjoyable. It also teaches you stroke order. Which direction each stroke moves, where it starts, where it ends. You'll want those instincts later for kanji. The fifteen-stroke character needs the order to stay readable.
That said. You don't have to write kana to learn kana. Tofugu says it's slow with little benefit. We think it's worth the time. But if it stands in your way, skip it.
