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{{selfref|For information about the Japanese language in general, please see the Wikipedia article on the [[Japanese language]].}}
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This page is designed to answer questions regarding Japanese and its use on Wikipedia. If you have trouble viewing Japanese, please see the [[Help:Installing Japanese character sets]] page for assistance for your particular operating system.

== Japanese orthography ==
{{main|Japanese writing system}}
Japanese [[orthography|text]] is written with a mixture of [[kanji]], [[katakana]] and  [[hiragana]] [[syllabary|syllabaries]]. Almost all '''kanji''' originated in [[China]], and may have more than one meaning and pronunciation. ''Kanji'' compounds generally derive their meaning from the combined kanji. For example, [[Tokyo]] ({{lang|ja|東京}}) is written with two kanji: "east" ({{lang|ja|東}}) + "capital" ({{lang|ja|京}}). The kanji, however, are pronounced differently from their Chinese relatives. For example, in modern Mandarin Chinese, these two kanji would be "Dongjing". The name was chosen because Tokyo was to be the eastern [[Capital (political)|capital]] of [[Japan]], relative to its previous capital city, [[Kyoto]] ({{lang|ja|京都}}). (Some other kanji compounds use characters chosen primarily for their pronunciations. Such characters are called ''[[ateji]]''.) In addition to native words and [[placenames]], kanji are used to write Japanese family names and most Japanese given names.

Centuries ago, [[hiragana]] and [[katakana]], the two kana syllabaries, derived their shapes from particular kanji pronounced in the same way. However, unlike ''kanji'', kana have no meaning, and are used only to represent sounds. '''Hiragana''' are generally used to write some Japanese words and given names and grammatical aspects of Japanese. For example, the Japanese word for "to do" ({{lang|ja|する}} {{Transliteration|ja|''suru''}}) is written with two ''hiragana'': {{script|Kana|す}} ({{Transliteration|ja|''su''}}) + {{script|Kana|る}} ({{Transliteration|ja|''ru''}}). '''Katakana''' are generally used to write [[loanword]]s, foreign names and [[onomatopoeia]]. For example, {{Transliteration|ja|''retasu''}} was borrowed from the English "lettuce", and is written with three katakana: {{script|Kana|レ}} ({{Transliteration|ja|''re''}}) + {{script|Kana|タ}} ({{Transliteration|ja|''ta''}}) + {{script|Kana|ス}} ({{Transliteration|ja|''su''}}). The onomatopoeia for the sound of typing is {{Transliteration|ja|''kata kata''}}, and is written with 4 ''katakana'': {{script|Kana|カ}} ({{Transliteration|ja|''ka''}}) + {{script|Kana|タ}} ({{Transliteration|ja|''ta''}}) + {{script|Kana|カ}} ({{Transliteration|ja|''ka''}}) + {{script|Kana|タ}} ({{Transliteration|ja|''ta''}}). It is common nowadays to see many businesses using ''katakana'' in place of ''hiragana'' and ''kanji'' in advertising. Additionally, people may use ''katakana'' when writing their names or informal documents for aesthetic reasons.

[[Roman character]]s have also recently become popular for certain purposes in Japanese. (see ''[[rōmaji]]'')

==Japanese pronunciation==
{{main|Japanese phonology}}

Throughout [[Wikipedia]], a modified version of the widely accepted [[Hepburn romanization]] is used to represent Japanese sounds in [[Roman character]]s. The following are some basic rules for using Hepburn to pronounce Japanese words accurately.

===Vowels===
* The [[vowels]] ''a'', ''e'', ''i'', ''o'', and ''u'' are generally pronounced somewhat similarly to those in [[Italian language|Italian]], [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], [[French language|French]], [[Spanish language|Spanish]], and [[Slavic languages]].
* The vowel ''u'' is similar to that of the ''oo'' in ''moon'', although shorter and without lip-rounding. In certain contexts, such as after "s" at the end of a word, the vowel is devoiced, so ''desu'' may sound like ''dess''.
* Japanese vowels can either be long ([[mora (linguistics)|bimoraic]]) or short (monomoraic). The [[Macron (diacritic)|macron]] denotes a long vowel.
** Long ''a'', ''o'' and ''u'' sounds are usually written with macrons as ''ā'', ''ō'' and ''ū''. The notation "ou" or "oo" is sometimes used for a long "ō", following [[kana]] spelling practices.
** Long ''e'' and ''i'' sounds are usually written ''ei'' /''ee'' and ''ii'', but in neologisms are instead written with macrons as ''ē'' and ''ī''.
** [[Circumflex]]es (''âêîôû'') occasionally appear as a typographical alternative to macrons, especially in older texts.

Japanese vowels can be approximated in [[English language|English]] as follows:

{| class="wikitable"
! vowel
! {{IPA|a}}
! {{IPA|i}}
! {{IPA|u}}
! {{IPA|e}}
! {{IPA|o}}
|-

! English approximations
| as in '''a'''rm
| as in f'''ee'''t
| as in b'''oo'''t
| as in h'''e'''y
| as in '''o'''r
|}

===Moraic ''n''===
* An ''n'' before a [[consonant]] is [[moraic]] (its own [[mora (linguistics)|mora]]).
* A moraic ''n'' followed by a [[vowel]] or ''y'' is written ''n''' to distinguish it from mora that begin with the consonant ''n''.
* The moraic ''n'' has various [[phonetic]] realisations:
** Before an ''n'', ''t'', ''d'' or ''r'', it is pronounced {{IPA|[n]}}.
** Before a ''k'' or ''g'', it is pronounced {{IPA|[ŋ]}}.
** Before an ''m'', ''b'' or ''p'', it is pronounced as {{IPA|[m]}}. It is written as ''m'' in some versions of [[Hepburn romanization|Hepburn]], but as ''n'' in Wikipedia’s modified Hepburn.
** It is otherwise pronounced as {{IPA|[ɴ]}} or {{IPA|[ɯ̃]}}.

===Consonants===
* [[Consonants]] other than ''f'', ''r'', ''g'', and ''n'' at final or before ''r'' are generally pronounced as in English.
* The consonant ''f'' is [[Bilabial consonant|bilabial]]: the teeth are not used, and the sound is much softer than the "f" of English. [tō'''f'''u] "''tōfu''"
* The consonant ''r'' is a flapped or tapped consonant. To an English speaker's ears, its pronunciation lies somewhere between a flapped ''t'' (as in American and [[Australian English]] ''be'''tt'''er'' and ''la'''dd'''er''), an ''l'' and a ''d''. [ki'''r'''ei] "''beautiful''"
* The consonant ''n'' at final or ''n'' before ''r'' is [[Uvular consonant|uvular]]: This consonant is a sound made further back, as of making a nasal sound at the place to articulate the French [[voiced uvular fricative|ʁ]]. [shi'''n'''ryaku] "''invasion''"
* [[Gemination|Double consonants]] (''kk'', ''tt'', etc.) basically indicate a slight, sharp pause before and stronger emphasis of the following sound, more similar to [[Italian language|Italian]] than English. Spelling anomalies:
** double ''ch'' is written as ''tch'' (sometimes ''cch''),
** double ''sh'' is written as ''ssh'' and
** double ''ts'' is written as ''tts''.
When a consonant is followed by another of the same letter, the first consonant is written with a chiisai (made-smaller) ''tsu'' (つ/ツ). Exception: Double n. In this case, being as ''n'' (ん/ン) is  a single consonant, it can be written by itself. (Ex: Woman: Onna-おんな)

==Japanese names==
{{main|Japanese name}}

In Japanese names, the [[family name]] (surname) always comes before the [[given name]]. Examples:
* In the name {{lang|ja|徳川家康}}, the family name is {{lang|ja|徳川}} ({{Transliteration|ja|Tokugawa}}) and the given name is {{lang|ja|家康}} ({{Transliteration|ja|Ieyasu}}).
* In the name {{lang|ja|福田康夫}}, the family name is {{lang|ja|福田}} ({{Transliteration|ja|Fukuda}}) and the given name is {{lang|ja|康夫}} ({{Transliteration|ja|Yasuo}}).
<!-- A similar, reverse name ordering is used in Chinese and Hungarian. -->

However, to reflect the Western convention of listing the given name first and the family name last, the romanized names of most Japanese people born since the establishment of the [[Meiji era]] in 1868 conform to the "given name, family name" order. This usage is typically reflected on Wikipedia: {{Transliteration|ja|''Tokugawa Ieyasu''}} (born 1543) is listed at [[Tokugawa Ieyasu]], while {{Transliteration|ja|''Fukuda Yasuo''}} (born 1936) is listed at [[Yasuo Fukuda]].

==See also==
* [[Help:Japanese/Editing]] for information on customizing the appearance of Japanese text and usage in articles.
*[[Help:IPA/Japanese]] for transcription of Japanese pronunciation
* [[Help:Installing Japanese character sets]]
* [[Japanese abbreviated and contracted words]]
* [[Japanese language]]
* [[Japanese sound symbolism]]
* [[Wikipedia:Enabling East Asian characters]] for other East Asian Character sets
* [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style (Japan-related articles)]] for official Wikipedia style guidelines how to incorporate Japanese into articles here.

[[Category:Wikipedia multilingual support|Japanese]]
[[Category:Wikipedia editor help]]
[[Category:Wikipedia:Japanese language]]