User:Jun-Dai/Np/L2

= Lesseon 2: Katakana =

Overview
In addition to ひらがな, Japanese has a second syllabary, カタカナ (katakana), which is used for most がいらいご (borrowed words) and onomatopoeic or mimetic words, as well as for certain かんじ readings and as a form of emphasis (esp. in advertising and signage).

Every ひらがな letter has a カタカナ equivalent, and beyond that there are a number of additional カタカナ letters used to represent certain sounds that are not possible in traditional Japanese words. The three charts from the first lesson (ごじゅうおんず, だくおん+はんだくおん, and ようおん) are represented just below.

As you can see, some of the letters resemble their ひらがな counterparts. Most notably: カ, キ, ヘ, and リ.

Some additional letters that are used to represent sounds not included in the basic Japanese phonetic framework: