so i have a question... here they teach you a bunch on random words and the same for kanji...i was… - Feed Post by GhoulsPlay

• 
  mog86uk

  Hiragana and Katakana lessons are on the right-hand side of the "Lessons" page. It's a little awkward to view this part of the lessons page if you happen to be viewing the site on your phone though, so I can see how you may not have seen this.
  
  I think it would be nicer if it were made more obvious that users new to Japanese need to learn hiragana and katakana before starting the level 1 lessons, and more obvious where to find it. You're definitely not the first person to mention this. ^^;

  April 26, 2016 at 7:30am
• 
  GhoulsPlay

  also another question...i understand why you would need to learn the simple sets first (hiragana and katakana) but why cant you just learn kanji you know it would technically be faster and i think one more question... i want to learn kanji because i want to go to college in japan called the University of Tsukuba.... and the entrance exams are held in japanese kanji... so if i learn kanji...how do i then translate it to english so i know what im reading in the first place...
  

  April 26, 2016 at 7:58am
• 
  mog86uk

  　"i understand why you would need to learn the simple sets first (hiragana and katakana) but why cant you just learn kanji you know it would technically be faster"
  
  I don't really understand what you were asking in your first question. You said you understand "why" you need to learn hiragana and katakana first, then seem to be asking why you need to learn hiragana and katakana first? oO
  
  　"if i learn kanji...how do i then translate it to english so i know what im reading in the first place..."
  
  Your second question is a bit confusing as well. If you learn a kanji (i.e. learn its meanings, readings, how to recognise it, and how to draw it), then you would know the meaning of the kanji... :S
  
  However, Japanese words are written in a mixture of kanji, hiragana, and katakana. The entrance exam definitely won't be written solely in kanji.
  
  Here's an example Japanese word: 食べる. This word contains 3 symbols. The first is a kanji; the secound and third are both hiragana.
  
  食 = kanji character means "eat/food". This kanji has several different readings, but in the word 食べる this kanji is read as the sound "ta".
  べ = hiragana letter for the sound "be"
  る = hiragana letter for the sound "ru"
  
  So, the word 食べる is pronounced "taberu". This word 食べる is a Japanese verb meaning "eat". You can write the word without its kanji by just writing the sound in hiragana instead:
  
  たべる = "ta" + "be" + "ru"

  April 26, 2016 at 9:10am