How to Use the Japanese Character Counter
Simply enter some text into the text-box and as the text is entered, the Japanese character count will update in real-time!
Next to it is a Japanaese word counter which estimates the number of Japanese words in your text, based on the average of five characters per word.
Below the text-box will be a Hiragana counter, a Katakana counter and a Kanji counter that will give you a count of each character.
Lastly, there is a count of English characters as well as a "Copy Text" button that will copy all the text inside the text-box.
We hope you enjoy using the Japanese character counter!
Introduction to the Japanese Language
The Japanese language is a combination of words that originated from ancient China, known as kango (Sino-Japanese words) and about 30% native-Japanese words, or yamato-kotoba (wago).
Like all spoken and written language, Japanese has evolved over the centuries, beginning with the earliest known records of Japanese written during the early 8th century.
Although greatly simplified in this explanation, the language is often broken into four significant periods by researchers of socio-linguistic history. These periods are typically broken down into:
Old Japanese, heavily influenced by Chinese culture;
Early Middle Japanese (800-1200), original literary works were written, and the kana script - which I will discuss a bit later – is more commonly used;
Late Middle Japanese (1200-1600), writing systems improve, and class systems in Japan affect the language;
Modern Japanese (1600-present day) a period where Japanese is influenced heavily by Western languages, and variations of the language (regional dialects) were compiled, and standardized across Japan for country-wide education reform.
In this introduction, I will give an overview of the main grammatical components, and explain some of the unique nuances that are only found in the Japanese language.
Unlike more simplified alphabets, with a set number of letters or characters, Japanese has three separate systems that interweave to work together. They each work and serve different functions in the written language, and are used simultaneously in most things that you would read in Japan - which makes Japanese one of the most difficult languages to learn in the world.
Hiragana
Hiragana is the syllabary system that has 46 primary sounds that are used in Japanese; this writing system was developed by the Japanese in the 9th century, and it is used for grammar points that connect kanji.
This is an example of a few hiragana vowel and consonants, and their corresponding sound (あA, いI, うU, えE, お O, かka, きki, くku, けke, こko). This entire chart can be found easily on the internet with the correct pronunciations.
As it is phonetic and much easier to read than kanji, most children's books are written in only hiragana.
Katakana
Katakana compliments hiragana, also has 46 characters, and its alphabet shares a slightly similar shape. However, it is notably not rounded, and has a sharper, less cursive-like appearance.
This alphabet is also syllabic, but its primary function is foreign words, or gairaigo (words from outside Japan). These words were imported into the Japanese language over the centuries from any country that Japan has contact with, and they continue to shape the language today.
These words include popular Western brands, non-Japanese names, names of countries, etc. The list is so endless, that you might even say it is uncountable.
Any "foreign" word can become a Katakana word. For example, B-A-S-K-E-T-B-A-L-L would be バスケットボール (Ba-Su-Ke-To-Bo-Ru) in Katakana Japanese.
Just as the name of something you would buy at the store is called チキン (Chi-Ki-N). It starts getting more complicated when you "katakanize" words from languages other than English, and this is just the tip of the iceberg.
You will also find that all Japanese onomatopoeia (gitaigo or giongo) is also written in katakana. For example,ピカピカ(Pi-Ka-Pi-Ka), which means shiny, or ギリギリ(Gi-Ri-Gi-Ri), which is can be used in a sentence to mean "just in the nick of time, or barely".
Kanji
Kanji, the third and most prevalently used form of written language, are Chinese influenced symbols that are combined to create meanings.
They each have an on'yomi reading (based on Chinese reading of the symbol), and a kun'yomi (the Japanese ascribed reading). Kun'yomi will always be used for Japanese family names, but depending upon the last name, it may have an archaic, seldomly used reading.
There are multiple for each Kanji, and it is estimated that there may be around 50,000 kanji characters or more. Each combination of kanji has a specific meaning that it conveys, and interchanging it with a different character will produce a completely different word.
Without a trained eye, many kanji look identical, so learning the stroke order (the order in which to write the kanji) is extremely important for the Japanese.
Learning kanji is the last step for Japanese children, as they learn the alphabet first in their first years of school. Similarly, this is the approach that many non-Japanese speakers take when they are starting to learn the language as well.
A Benefit of using a Japanese Character Counter
These three character scripts, the Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji that were just mentioned can be counted using our Japanese character counter!
Just enter text into the text-box at the top of the page and watch the Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji character counts update in real-time!
No more struggling trying to determine which characters are which.
Language patterns
The Japanese language is overwhelmingly contextual. When spoken, the subject is often omitted, which can leave beginners of the language left in the dark about who is talking about whom, or what is even being talked about.
The pattern of the language is S-0-V (subject, object, verb), with the conjugation of the verb dictating what is happening with the object. This makes listening to Japanese heavily reliant on listening to what someone is saying until the very end.
When Japanese people speak, unlike more western patterns of conversation, they do not interject when someone is speaking. They wait turns, so that they can grasp verb conjugations.
Verb Conjugation
Verb conjugation is very versatile, in that it has intransitive, transitive, volitional, and causal forms. On top of this, conjugation will change significantly based on politeness.
There are 4 main stages of politeness (teineigo polite Japanese; keigo, more polite Japanese; sonkeigo, respectful extremely polite Japanese; and kenjougo, the highest form of polite Japanese that requires awareness of your "position" "rank" in comparison to a supervisor or boss).
These verb conjugations, and this intentional use of certain grammar in set situations (while keeping in mind the position of who you are speaking to) is overwhelming for some Japanese learners.
A slightly modified verb with the right attached grammar can change "I will eat" to "I was made to eat" to "I was planning to eat".
Moreover, verbs can compound with each other. Two verbs together, and sometimes even three verbs can change the nuance of what is being said.
An easy example is the addition of hajimeru (the verb to begin) combined with the verb taberu (the verb to eat). When combined they form tabehajimeru (to begin to eat).
Grammar is equally as flexible, equally as complex, and so expansive you could study grammar, and only grammar, for years on end.
Thanks for using our Japanese Character Counter!
I hope you have a better idea of what the Japanese language is all about, its nuances and unique attributes go beyond what is written here, and are certainly fascinating if you are a language enthusiast.
We hope you enjoy using the Japanese character counter! Good luck writing!