What is the Difference Between Kanji and Kana?

The main difference between kanji and kana lies in their representation and purpose in the Japanese writing system:

• Kanji are Chinese characters used in Japanese writing to represent entire words or parts of words. They can stand alone or be combined with other kanji or kana to create more words, ideas, or even turn kanji into a verb. Kanji are mostly used to write nouns, and the stems for verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. There are said to be over 50,000 kanji in total, but an official list of 2,136 jōyō kanji is taught to children in school.
• Kana are the phonetic syllabary system in Japanese, representing syllable sounds. There are two types of kana: hiragana and katakana. Both hiragana and katakana represent the same sound and character, but they are written differently. Hiragana is the most commonly used, standard form of Japanese writing, while katakana is used primarily for foreign words and loanwords.

In summary:

• Kanji are logographic characters representing words or parts of words.
• Kana are syllabic characters representing phonetic sounds.

Comparative Table: Kanji vs Kana

Kanji and Kana are two different sets of characters used in the Japanese writing system. Here is a table highlighting the main differences between them:

Kanji is used to describe verbs, nouns, adjectives, etc., in Japanese writing, while Kana (Hiragana and Katakana) is used for particles, inflections, and foreign words. Kanji is generally only used for native Japanese words, whereas Kana is used for particles, inflections, and foreign words. Additionally, Kanji has more complex and visually distinct characters, while Kana has simpler and more rounded or angular characters.