teach me kanji (very complicated)

[talycap]

Originally Posted by KyleGoetz

OK, then for future reference, no one will realize that.

oh thanks for the advice n__n

[StueyT]

I have a friend who is named the way she is because her parents chose the kanji of her father, friendship and child. Alot of girls especially are named for being a child, that's why so many Japanese girls names are ~~ko (~~子）

[talycap]

Originally Posted by StueyT

I have a friend who is named the way she is because her parents chose the kanji of her father, friendship and child. Alot of girls especially are named for being a child, that's why so many Japanese girls names are ~~ko (~~子）

yeah i notice that to but ther's another name i heard her name is "sunako" but when i saw the japanese manga ver. of it i saw that it's written na katakana how did that happned?

[StueyT]

Sometimes names are written differently so that it is recognised as a name. My friend also writes her name in hiragana. It's just the way it's done sometimes. Also, in some mangas, it may be because the kanji used in the name is above the level of the target audience, or it may not be kanji that is taught in schools.

Roughly 2000-2500 are taught in schools, but I believe up to 10000 are actually in the language. It is common for unlearnt kanji to be in peoples names

[KyleGoetz]

Originally Posted by StueyT

Roughly 2000-2500 are taught in schools, but I believe up to 10000 are actually in the language. It is common for unlearnt kanji to be in peoples names

One Chinese dictionary lists 100,000 kanji. However, only about 2–3,000 are in common use in Japan.

The Kanji Kentei level 1 tests about 6,000, and that's the most difficult kanji examination in Japan.

[talycap]

Originally Posted by StueyT

Sometimes names are written differently so that it is recognised as a name. My friend also writes her name in hiragana. It's just the way it's done sometimes. Also, in some mangas, it may be because the kanji used in the name is above the level of the target audience, or it may not be kanji that is taught in schools.

Roughly 2000-2500 are taught in schools, but I believe up to 10000 are actually in the language. It is common for unlearnt kanji to be in peoples names

ah!!!!! i see so it depends on the parents ehehheh i'm catching up!!!! why do they use kanji any way???

[talycap]

Originally Posted by KyleGoetz

One Chinese dictionary lists 100,000 kanji. However, only about 2–3,000 are in common use in Japan.

The Kanji Kentei level 1 tests about 6,000, and that's the most difficult kanji examination in Japan.

i thoght japanese only learn 1000 to 2000 kanji

[KyleGoetz]

Originally Posted by talycap

i thoght japanese only learn 1000 to 2000 kanji

You need to know about 2,000 when you graduate high school. Educated people learn more.

[talycap]

still wondering why they use kanji

[KyleGoetz]

Originally Posted by talycap

still wondering why they use kanji

I don't know. Why do you use the letters A–Z?

They use kanji because they started using kanji many centuries ago when they borrowed them from China. Pick up this book (Amazon.com: A History of Japan: Revised Edition (9780804820974): R. H. P. Mason, J. G. Caiger: Books) and you'll understand.

Essentially, China was advanced. Japan was not. Japan had no writing system. Japan's educated class borrowed kanji from China so they could actually write things (they used kanji to write Chinese, but also adapted kanji to write Japanese). Over time, many of the kanji they were using became very simple. We now call these "hiragana" and "katakana."