Project Tetsubō [Day 250]: Crafting the Characters

Many might wonder how I’ve been tracking the timeline in days for Project Tetsubō; Does he keep a diary? Is there a countdown somewhere (I’ve used these before for other things), Or is there some magical app?

Well the last one is somewhat true, but not in the way you might think…

Ever since I made the commitment to the project, I’ve decided to begin learning Japanese. Now, this is not a small task; I am no longer a youthful man, and learning anything is not as simple as when you were a sponge that could absorb anything…

Before I engage the services of an experienced tutor; I wanted to at least understand the characters. So, yes I am utilising Duolingo for now, to teach me the very basics of the characters before I invest in actual lessons to teach me language usage. And today marks Day 250 of learning Hirigana & Katakana; which also coincides with day 250 of the project, and this is how I keep track.

Project Tetsubo (Day 250): Duolingo Learning Japanese 250-Day Streak

Now, Japanese characters are not simple – because they come in 3 flavours – Hirigana, Katakana, Kanji.

Hirigana: From my very rudimentary knowledge this is the very basic alphabet that children are taught when first learning Japanese; so it also stands to reason that students trying to learn Japanese would also start here. I won’t say I have mastered this by any means, but I can understand the characters and recognise them when I see them (like on the subway).

Duolingo; Learning Hiragana; Project Tetsubo

Katakana: This alphabet system is used to transcribe foreign-language words into Japanese; since the system is phonetic you can hear the words being created from the characters as you say them. e.g. ゴリラ is Go-ri-ra or Gorilla (in English). I feel like these are easier to get the hang off, as just hearing the characters built into the word, makes it far easier to construct the word from the characters.

Duolingo: Learning Katakana; Project Tetsubo

Kanji: The ideogram system which uses characters derived from Chinese. This is the most complex of the 3, and I am dreading beginning this phase, as I come to the end of the Katakana lessons. I think I am just a few more lessons away from this portion of the training.

So, just 845 days left of Project Tetsubo, and building an amazing future for those involved.