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Kanji (literal meaning: "Han (Chinese) character(s)") is one of the
three writing systems used in the Japanese language (the other two being the
kana: hiragana and katakana). Unlike the kana, which represent syllables,
kanji are pictograms developed from concepts. They were imported over a
period of centuries from the Chinese language, are typically more complex
than kana, and have different meanings and pronunciations depending on how
they are combined with other kanji and kana. A kanji will often have its
current pronunciation spelled out in ruby characters known as "furigana,"
small hiragana written above it or to its right.
Kanji have two categories of meanings and pronunciations, referred to
as "readings": on readings (音読み or onyomi) and kun readings (訓読み or
kunyomi). On readings are derived from the original Chinese pronunciations
of the character, and are typically used when a kanji is part of a compound.
Kun readings are typically used when kanji are used on their own, either as
complete nouns or as adjective and verb stems. Most kanji have at least one
on-reading and one kun-reading each. Kanji also have a third, lesser-known
reading called nanori reading, which is used for people's names.
There are exceptions to these rules. Many kanji have no kun-reading and a
few have no on-reading. Some use kun-readings, not on-readings, to make
compounds.
Often a kanji will be used for the root of a verb, with the
conjugation written in hiragana. When kanji characters are not followed by
hiragana they are often grouped in twos and are pronounced in the On
reading. The word "kanji"(漢字) is a perfect example of this. Its
pronunciation is derived from the Chinese word "hanzi".
Kanji is often accompanied by furigana, that is, ruby characters
printed alongside their Kanji counterparts (especially in children's texts
and mangas, or for characters not included in the 2,000 most commonly used
Kanji). Appropriately, the most common Kanji to be found in daily usage is
日, "sun", which gives rise to the name "land of the rising sun".
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