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 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (January 2024) |
| Kanji | |
|---|---|
 Kanji written in kanji with furigana | |
| Script type | |
Time period | 5th century AD – present |
| Direction | Vertical right-to-left, left-to-right  |
| Languages | Old Japanese, Kanbun, Japanese, Ryukyuan languages, Hachijō |
| Related scripts | |
Parent systems | |
Sister systems | Hanja, zhuyin, traditional Chinese, simplified Chinese, chữ Hán, chữ Nôm, Khitan script, Jurchen script, Tangut script, Yi script |
| ISO 15924 | |
| ISO 15924 | Hani (500), Han (Hanzi, Kanji, Hanja) |
| Unicode | |
Unicode alias | Han |
Kanji (漢字, Japanese pronunciation: [kaɲdʑi]) are the logographic Chinese characters adapted from the Chinese script used in the writing of Japanese.[1] They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are still used, along with the subsequently-derived syllabic scripts of hiragana and katakana.[2][3] The characters have Japanese pronunciations; most have two, with one based on the Chinese sound. A few characters were invented in Japan by constructing character components derived from other Chinese characters. After the Meiji Restoration, Japan made its own efforts to simplify the characters, now known as shinjitai, by a process similar to China's simplification efforts, with the intention to increase literacy among the common folk. Since the 1920s, the Japanese government has published character lists periodically to help direct the education of its citizenry through the myriad Chinese characters that exist. There are nearly 3,000 kanji used in Japanese names and in common communication.
The term kanji in Japanese literally means "Han characters".[4] It is written in Japanese by using the same characters as in traditional Chinese, and both refer to the character writing system known in Chinese as hanzi (traditional Chinese: 漢字; simplified Chinese: 汉字; pinyin: hànzì; lit. 'Han characters').[5] The significant use of Chinese characters in Japan first began to take hold around the 5th century AD and has since had a profound influence in shaping Japanese culture, language, literature, history, and records.[6] Inkstone artifacts at archaeological sites dating back to the earlier Yayoi period were also found to contain Chinese characters.[7]
Although some characters, as used in Japanese and Chinese, have similar meanings and pronunciations, others have meanings or pronunciations that are unique to one language or the other. For example, 誠 means 'honest' in both languages but is pronounced makoto or sei in Japanese, and chéng in Standard Mandarin Chinese. Individual kanji characters and multi-kanji words invented in Japan from Chinese morphemes have been borrowed into Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese in recent times. These are known as Wasei-kango, or Japanese-made Chinese words. For example, the word for telephone, 電話 denwa in Japanese, was derived from the Chinese words for "electric" and "conversation." It was then calqued as diànhuà in Mandarin Chinese, điện thoại in Vietnamese and 전화 jeonhwa in Korean.[8]
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- ^ Matsunaga The Linguistic Nature of Kanji Reexamined: Do Kanji Represent Only Meanings? (1996). [https:/ "The Linguistic Nature of Kanji Reexamined: Do Kanji Represent Only Meanings?"]. The Journal of the Association of Teachers of Japanese. 30 (2): 1–22. doi:10.2307/489563. ISSN 0885-9884. JSTOR 489563. Archived from the original on December 2, 2022. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
{{cite journal}}: Check|url=value (help) - ^ Taylor, Insup; Taylor, Maurice Martin (1995). Writing and literacy in Chinese, Korean, and Japanese. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company. p. 305. ISBN 90-272-1794-7.
- ^ McAuley, T. E.; Tranter, Nicolas (2001). Language change in East Asia. Richmond, Surrey: Curzon. pp. 180–204.
- ^ Suski, P.M. (2011). The Phonetics of Japanese Language: With Reference to Japanese Script. Taylor & Francis. p. 1. ISBN 9780203841808.
- ^ Malatesha Joshi, R.; Aaron, P.G. (2006). Handbook of orthography and literacy. New Jersey: Routledge. pp. 481–2. ISBN 0-8058-4652-2.
- ^ Miyake 2003, p. 8.
- ^ Yamazaki, Kento (October 5, 2001). "Tawayama find hints kanji introduced in Yayoi Period". The Japan Times. Archived from the original on February 15, 2022. Retrieved February 15, 2022.
- ^ Chen, Haijing (2014). "A Study of Japanese Loanwords in Chinese". University of Oslo. Archived from the original on September 12, 2021. Retrieved September 12, 2021.