Quote Originally Posted by kevinb View Post
Do you have to fully understand one to move on to another? Like I see most people start by leaning katakana then go to hiragana?
Hiragana = Alphabet used for native japanese words.

Katakana = Alphabet used for foreign words, country names, foreign places, and foreign personal names.

For example to say good morning "おはようございます". It's a native phrase so you would spell it with Hiragana.

America is foreign word so Katakana is used. Amerika (アメリカ).

I don't believe it matters which alphabet you learn first. I learned Hiragana first.

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Quote Originally Posted by Vypyrz View Post
Kanji- These are the more elaborate characters. Many were initially adopted from China. With Kanji, One character can often represent an entire thought, idea or oe subject. There are over 300 different Kanji characters and most people don't know them all, and use only a few common ones.

I used 3' X 5" index cards. I wrote the character on one side and the phonetic pronunciation on the back. I would look at the character, say the pronunciation, and flip the card over to see if I was right. Or, I would look at the pronunciation, write the character, and flip the card over to see if I was right.
Flash cards are great. While I was living over there I used these cards: http://shop.whiterabbitjapan.com/jap...lashcards.html

They are laminated and very durable. That White Rabbit website has lots of great learning materials.