Most people are aware of the three systems here in Japan.. Kanji , Hiragana and Katakana. And anybody who can read at least Hiragana and Katakana are aware of all the characters… however there are a few characters that are not so common and hardly get a mention in study books.

Enter the long forgotten ゐ(wi) and  ゑ(we) and rarely used ゔ (vu/bu) and ぢ (ji/di)

Wi ゐ and we ゑ are obsolete now, except for the odd comic book.

Vu ゔ is a modern addition used to represent the “v” sound in foreign languages such as English, but since Japanese from a phonological standpoint does not have a “v” sound, it is pronounced as “b” and mostly serves as a more accurate indicator of a word’s pronunciation in its original language.  e.g. nice to meet you Trebor (Trevor), or buy some Vicks Vapour Rub …..

Di ぢ which is mostly replaced with Ji　じ　is used but infrequently and catches people out when trying to read Hiragana, but for those who have hemorrhoids can probably read write and say ぢ　perfectly as that is probably the 1st translation that comes to mind when using ぢ。

Below is a poem from the 10th century that uses every hiragana once except n ん, which was just a variant of む mu before Muromachi era, but includes Wi ゐ and we ゑ, which would make perfect sense considering it is from the 10th century.

For those of you who are just passing by and are thinking about visiting Japan, below are a few of the more common Kanji you will see and learn very quickly if you spend your time away from the gaijin bars.

About the JLPT

The Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT)is held the first Sunday of December in several locations throughout the world. the Japanese foundation of LA’s site explains how to apply (which they simply say “contact the host institution”). If you apply in Japan there is an application that needs to be sent in with a passport photo. The cost is around $50-$60(US).

There are 4 levels of the JLPT test. Level 4 being the easiest and Level 1 being the most difficult. In Japan to be considered for a business job, you usually have to have level 2 or higher. Though, occasionally there are some Level 3 jobs. For Teaching English, you don’t usually need any Japanese language Skills.

The breakdown of the test goes like this:

To pass the tests you need a score of 60% or better on Level 2-4, and a score of 70% or better on Level 1.

How Many Kanji is that again?

Level 1 2,000 kanji
Level 2 1,000 kanji
Level 3 300 kanji
Level 4 100 kanji

Yes, that is a lot……. but a lot of the Kanji are combinations of 2 or more core Kanji so you can guess a few you struggle with.

Credits

Thanks to Rob and Ted for creating and maintaining such a great site, simple but very effective