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When I started writing a letter in Japanese for the first time. It was a real headache for me. Japanese characters (Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji) were almost impossible to write and understand. I wanted to give up learning. But as time went on, I learned some methods that allowed me to improve my Japanese and write it correctly. Today I would like to share them with you so that you don't make the same mistakes I did when you pen your text in Japanese. These ideas can help you to express yourself clearly in Japanese text. However, these ideas are just the idea of the iceberg when it reaches good Japanese grammar. If you want to write with ease and style, look no further than these ideas!
I suggest you read this guide before continuing to read this article if you don't know the mistakes to avoid when writing a letter in Japanese.
I will divide my ideas into three chapters.
Here are some ideas I can offer elementary school-aged students who want to write in Japanese.
I think you need to set the tone when you use these two words Desu and Masu in your writing. "Desu" represents the verb to be in the present simple tense, and "Masu" is a verbal suffix that puts the verb "Desu" in the present simple tense. When you use them together, they stand called "a definite tone". A definite tone is a tone that sounds like: "I am..." or "I was...".
You can also use a firm tone when addressing a friend, for example, "So, you know." Of course, you don't have to write this way. Unified sentences have value and can set a different tone for your writing. So it's crucial to avoid mix them up when writing in Japanese.
Japanese people like to talk about the results of their actions rather than dwell on why they lost. When you write in Japanese, you should talk about all the positive things that happened to you and that you did to make your activities successful.
Let's say you want to use expressions to speak about what you have achieved in your activities.
Let's take an example, "I cooked the rice. I made rice." That's a Japanese expression that shows that the rice you cooked is "Ready." This expression will give the person the feeling that you have done something positive.
There are some things you should do when using Japanese sentences.
You should not write the subject unless you want to emphasize the sentence or if it is difficult to understand. A sentence that's difficult to comprehend without a topic isn't Japanese, so it's better to use another expression. On the other hand, it is possible to write the subject in a certain way, but there is a word that should never stand used. It's the personal pronoun.
You may not know what they mean, but he, she, yours, and many others should not stand used. These pronouns can sound rude or make you sound like someone's lover. Japanese people don't use them. The person reading what you have written will look unnatural and disrespectful. Try to avoid using personal pronouns in your sentences as much as possible.
In Japanese, it is important not to say or write something that the other person can understand without saying it. Even if it's not the sense that you intended for your sentence.
Let's take an example.
In English, it's normal to say: "I ate it this morning". In Japanese, we consider I and IT are understandable without telling them. So again, you should avoid using too many personal pronouns.
One of the things you can do is dedicate yourself to reading, regardless of genre, and keep a notebook of your favorite texts and phrases for reference. The basic principle is reading. Reading a lot of texts written by different people will be the basis of your Japanese writing skills.
If you reread your text several times after you have written it. You will see if it correctly expresses what you want to say. You will also see how the sentences relate to per other and whether the words you used in your text are correct. After several readings, you will correct many mistakes that you never noticed before in your Japanese text.
If you have applied these five ideas when writing in Japanese. Your writing will be more elegant and respectful. It is not easy to write Japanese correctly, particularly if you're in elementary school, but with practice and lots of classes, your skills will develop.
1. Tilt all letters about 17 degrees to the right. It will make them more legible and easier to understand.
2. Remember that many letters continue in the air, like あ、お、小. That's why I advise you to make a circle around the vertical line of あ and continue this circle to the sign who has broken. In お between the loop on the right and the dash. You have to make a circle in the air. In 小 one must make the infinity symbol ♾ to form the two side strokes. The principle of circular motion permeates all Japanese cultures, so much so that it can exist found: in ikebana, judo, and calligraphy. Perfection lies in the center between full and empty, defense and attack, and line and white space.
3. Each letter must form a square, so the longest horizontal line and the longest vertical line are from the heights of this square. As you can see in 事, the rule is respected. The same is true for Kanji and more or less hard letters like 必、む、い、無、し、う、卯、宇. You have to practice with grid paper. Even a Kanji like my last name 熊田 obeys the rule, and the second ideogram forms a square by counting the slightly longer strokes.
4. The radical should be written smaller and slanted as in 地. You can give it a little shortening like in 樻. Observe how the leg of 木 has shrunk.
5. It is best to write with the right hand.
6. Do not press hard on the tip of your pencil or pen when writing kanji, hiragana, or katakana. Let your hand "dance" on the white paper of each letter you want to write.
7. You need to know which strokes stop and move forward. 一ニ三They stop abruptly. That's why they are beautiful. On the computer, you can't tell.
8. I always write with soft 4B pencils to study the mark. For pens, I like Sarasa 0.7 or 1.0 inkjet.
9. As with everything in Japanese arts, the learning curve is slow. You have to be patient and not lose the practice. Otherwise, you end up back at square one. Just as in kendo, you give empty blows until it becomes automatic, so you do with writing. Westerners can't stand it (and that's why people's handwriting is getting worse and worse in Europe and America, while Slavs write very well!).
10. It is important to stand up straight to write well. If you are crooked, your letters will be too.
11. Practice drawing small stars that have 17-degree angles, then zigzags ⚡️ lightning bolts, and spirals. They help a lot in Kanji like 文、、乃、糸. Most of them stand based on the same principle. It all makes perfect sense. As you practice from time to time, you will move from one technique to another that is more complex but similar. This type of training is present in martial arts.
Don't just read them. You ought to practice them to get positive results. By practicing them, you can even memorize some of the Japanese characters. However, there are some things you need to know to learn them.
You must be familiar with Japanese culture before attempting to learn how to memorize Japanese characters. Japanese writing is an inseparable part of their culture. It is through Japanese characters (Kanji and Hiragana) that we can get the emotions of their culture. It's to know them to memorize their characters more easily. If you think you know and are comfortable with their culture. You can check my ideas below.
Six(6) Ideas for memorizing Japanese characters.
The key to mastering Japanese characters is balance. Once you have got these characters by rehearsing at home. You will be able to write in all kinds of situations that you find yourself in!
I sometimes hear people say, "You were born with good handwriting." Talent has little to do with it if you have good writing skills. So, if you put all the points that I mentioned into practice. You should be able to write better than you did before.
The Bloggors Blog shows you just what you need to do when it comes to communication and how you ought to improve to be the best version of yourself. However, we are not responsible for any disputes you may have when putting our advice into practice, although this doesn't want that our articles are not correct or safe. All our articles have been written by authors who are experts in their field. Some of his solutions may work for others and may not work for you.
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