Hiragana or Katakana?

[Tomii515]

uh, i just figured out how to use japanese characters on my computer. You can use hiragana or katakana, and sometimes it come up in kanhji, but yeah...Should I use katakana or hiragana...? ialways write my name in katakana, so should i use that for only my name, or for everything...im confuzzed!

 

[nice gaijin]

in a nutshell: katakana is for foreign words mostly, like names, locations, products, company names and other random foreign (usually english) words that are thrown into japanese. hiragana is used for japanese words and grammar and usually accompanies kanji.

So if it's not a Japanese word, use katakana. Otherwise, hiragana or a combination of hiragana and kanji is proper.

 

[Summer_evening]

it would probably be most appopriate to usually use hiragana. If you are not from Japan your name should be in katakana although you can have kanji for it based on the sound.. its not a good idea for foreigners. Sometimes on the internet it is common to see hiragana words written in katakna, but this is slightly informal.

Most katakana words sound like english words, but there are some that are borrowed from other languages or are not easily recognized in english (ex. toranpu/playing cards and dolphin which is not borrowed from english). i reccomend you know how to read them.

 

[NateC512]

Tommy,

I am impressed that you are learning Japanese at the age of 12. I am almost 51 and just beginning this study. Ganbate!

ネイト