Japanese learning glossary
The words you meet when you start learning Japanese, explained in plain language. No prior knowledge needed.
Kana
The two Japanese syllable alphabets, hiragana and katakana. Each character stands for one sound, so with about 46 characters in each set you can read any Japanese word aloud, even before you know what it means. Learning kana is the first step; fudami starts there. Look it up in the dictionary.
Example: あ and ア are both the sound “a”.
Hiragana
The rounded kana, used for native Japanese words, verb endings and grammar particles. It is the first script most learners study. Words written in kanji are often followed by hiragana endings, as in 食べる (taberu, “to eat”).
Example: ひらがな, さくら, たべる.
Katakana
The angular kana, used mostly for foreign loanwords, foreign names, sound effects and emphasis. If you know katakana you can already read many words borrowed from English.
Example: コーヒー (kōhī, “coffee”), テレビ (terebi, “television”).
Kanji
Characters borrowed from Chinese that each carry a meaning and usually more than one pronunciation. About 2,100 of them (the jōyō kanji) cover everyday reading. Learning kanji together with the words that use them is what makes them stick. Look it up in the dictionary.
Example: 水 means “water” and is read mizu or sui.
Furigana
Small kana printed above or beside a kanji to show how it is read. Common in children's books, manga and learner material.
Example: 漢字 with かんじ written above it.
Romaji
Japanese written in the Latin alphabet, such as “taberu”. Useful for typing and for the first days of learning, but kana soon replace it. The fudami dictionary accepts romaji, kana and kanji in the same search box.
Example: sakura = さくら = 桜.
Radical
A building block of kanji. Kanji dictionaries group characters by their radical (traditionally 214 of them), and recognising radicals makes unfamiliar kanji easier to remember and to look up. Look it up in the dictionary.
Example: 氵 (water) appears in 海 (sea), 池 (pond) and 泳 (swim).
On'yomi
The “sound” reading of a kanji, derived from the old Chinese pronunciation. It is usually used when kanji are combined into compound words.
Example: 山 is read san in 富士山 (Fujisan).
Kun'yomi
The native Japanese reading of a kanji. It is usually used when the kanji stands alone or with hiragana endings.
Example: 山 is read yama on its own.
JLPT
The Japanese-Language Proficiency Test, the best-known exam of Japanese for non-native speakers. It has five levels, from N5 (beginner) to N1 (advanced). There is no official JLPT word or kanji list, so lists labelled with levels are community estimates; fudami and its dictionary use them as a guide, never as a rule.
Example: N5 is the first level, N1 the last.
Pitch accent
Japanese words have a melody: each word is pronounced with a particular rise and fall in pitch. Words that are spelled the same in kana can differ only by pitch. The fudami dictionary shows pitch accent for many words.
Example: はし is “chopsticks” or “bridge” depending on the pitch pattern.
SRS (spaced repetition)
A study method that shows you each item again just before you would forget it, with longer and longer gaps. It replaces cramming with short, regular reviews and is the memory science behind fudami. FSRS is the algorithm fudami uses.
FSRS
Free Spaced Repetition Scheduler, the modern open-source algorithm fudami uses to time reviews. It estimates how likely you are to remember each card and schedules it to meet the retention you choose. What is FSRS?
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