Kanji
Definition
Kanji refers to the Chinese characters used in the Japanese writing system. They are ideograms that represent words or ideas.
Analogy
Think of kanji as puzzle pieces that you put together to form meaningful words and sentences. Each character has its own meaning, just like each puzzle piece has its own shape.
Related terms
Hiragana: A phonetic script used in Japanese writing for native words and grammatical elements.
Katakana: Another phonetic script used in Japanese writing primarily for foreign loanwords and onomatopoeic expressions.
Radicals: The basic components of kanji characters that give clues about their meanings or pronunciations.
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