The exact number of characters used in Japanese is difficult to define due to the nature of kanji, but we can break it down by script.
Japanese writing utilizes three scripts: hiragana, katakana, and kanji.
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Hiragana and Katakana: These are phonetic scripts, each containing 46 basic characters. Including diacritics (like dakuten and handakuten) and combinations, the number increases slightly, but remains relatively limited and consistent.
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Kanji: Kanji are adopted Chinese characters, and the total number is vast. Estimates range well over 50,000, encompassing archaic and rare characters. However, the number used in everyday modern Japanese is much smaller.
Here's a breakdown in table format:
| Script | Number of Characters (Approximate) | Usage |
|---|---|---|
| Hiragana | 46 | Grammatical elements, word endings, and words without kanji representation |
| Katakana | 46 | Foreign words, onomatopoeia, emphasis |
| Kanji | 50,000+ | Represents words and concepts |
The Jōyō kanji (常用漢字), or "regular-use kanji," are 2,136 characters designated by the Japanese Ministry of Education for general use. This is the set that students are expected to learn during their compulsory education. A further subset known as kyōiku kanji (教育漢字) are those learned during elementary school.
In practice, most modern Japanese texts primarily use the Jōyō kanji along with hiragana and katakana. While the theoretical number of kanji exceeds 50,000, the number encountered regularly is significantly lower. To be considered literate in Japanese requires knowing at least the Jōyō kanji, and typically several thousand characters more.
Therefore, while the total number of characters available for use in Japanese is enormous (50,000+), the number regularly used is much smaller, concentrated in the Jōyō kanji and the hiragana and katakana scripts.
