Hiaragana, Katakana or Kanji ?

[andy55]

Guys, I'm wanting to learn a bit of a Japanese language so that i can read movie posters & have a little idea about what they are talking in movies. I have these two queries :

1. Predominantly which form is used in writing JAV movie titles & description. Is it hiragana & katakana or does it also includes Kanji heavily? What should i opt for ?

2. To understand a spoken Japanese a bit, like basic communication in movies, which JLPT level is recommended. ?

Thanks
Andy

 

[charlosian]

1. Movie posters and such can use all three alphabets (depending on what they want to say), you might want to invest the time to learn all of them. Kanji will take a while.

2. The JLPT is a good start, but I think it focuses more on textbook Japanese, which isn't bad. But, spoken Japanese, as well as media may have colloquialisms that you won't come across in JLPT studies.

Of course, there can be exceptions to these.

 

[andy55]

Yup, its going to be a learning curve, from hiragana, katakana to basic kanji with JLPT level4. I have to be patient Thanks

 

[iceking786]

is there any easy way to learn at least katakana and hiragana??

 

[fruxano]

The question is intrinsically flawed because it's like asking "Which letters of the alphabet should I learn in order to read a little?"
You would be much better off learning common terms used in AV for what you're after, there is a thread in the JAV sub-forum that has a good start and there are undoubtedly more, similar lists on the internet.

 

[tonyvee]

Kanji are Chinese characters used in Japanese but have their own meaning. I know some well educated Japanese who don't know them all. Katakana and Hiragana aren't that difficult. You can learn the alphabets from any Japanese textbook. Highly recommended for learning conversational Japanese are the Pimsleur CDs





















japanese

 

[mealtimeshadow]

Learn all of them. Learn a few characters at a time and practice writing and spelling with them.

Hiragana is mainly for Japanese language words.
Katakana is very useful for recognizing foreign names and loan words, such as "start," "Accel" (short for accelerate), "baito" (for part-time job, a from the German loanword albeit).
Kanji is made up of Chinese characters, used to really inflect meaning and context.

It just takes time, but you can do it.
If you wanted an easy Asian language, then try Korean. You can learn to read within a few days, as the alphabet is very efficient and concise.

 

[tonyvee]

If you're in NYC, the Japan Society has a great learning center. Fun and well worth the tuition.