I'm wondering about Japanese hiragana, katakana, and kanji. In many texts I read, all these different alphabets just get mixed up. How do I know when to use which correctly?
It's not really about when, but what. Each word is spelled in one alphabet for the most part. Most native Japanese words are spelled with kanji or a mix of kanji and hiragana, but they can all be spelled with only hiragana, although usually they don't if there is a kanji version. Katakana is usually used for loan words and some other things like animal and plant names.
If you look a word up in the dictionary it will show you how it's written
As ロウ said above, the dictionary can show you how things are spelled. Some are more common spellings in one setting or another.
Hiragana alone can be used for some words, especially if you aren't using kanji. Like in children's books, where minimal kanji is used. Otherwise, it also does double duty when its used for particles to make sentences.
I have seen hiragana used in place of katakana in some names/words, though strictly katakana is used to spell out foreign/loan words, and even people's names.
Kanji is used wherever kanji is used, be it casual or formal writing.
Interestingly, there's also a thing where people can use kanji for their name, such as a nickname or online username, instead of just katakana when they don't have a Japanese name. Native Japanese people even use different names if it's part of their profession, like acting, just like Western actors use stage names. So even if it could be a native Japanese name that you happen to like, making one up for the meaning of the kanji/word is just fine.
Interestingly, there's also a thing where people can use kanji for their name, such as a nickname or online username, instead of just katakana when they don't have a Japanese name.
This is so interesting, I didn't know that! I'm not sure I understand 100% -- can you give me some examples of this? Like you use kanji for the sound, like if your name is Lisa instead of リサ people write 理差?
I've seen people learning Japanese trying to do that, but I don't think it's actually super normal... I've never heard of any famous people with a name like that
Honestly, as long as it's not an official name, anything goes.
I can give you an example with a fictional character (Aqua from 推しの子): His full first-name is 愛久愛海, read as あくあまりん (100% 当て字）
Plenty of Japanese entertainers/influencers have very creative names with a bunch of wordplay and ateji. They are usually not as insane as the example I gave though.
Interestingly, there's also a thing where people can use kanji for their name, such as a nickname or online username, instead of just katakana when they don't have a Japanese name.
This is so interesting, I didn't know that! I'm not sure I understand 100% -- can you give me some examples of this? Like you use kanji for the sound, like if your name is Lisa instead of リサ people write 理差?
That
being said, it wouldn't sound too crazy to me.
It's not
necessarily a phonetic substitution for a name translated in katakana.
Not anything like your legal name. As I said, it's for casual use.
Otherwise, if you were using your real name, then katakana it is. Unless
somehow you have a Japanese name.
Interestingly, there's also a thing where people can use kanji for their name, such as a nickname or online username, instead of just katakana when they don't have a Japanese name. Native Japanese people even use different names if it's part of their profession, like acting, just like Western actors use stage names. So even if it could be a native Japanese name that you happen to like, making one up for the meaning of the kanji/word is just fine.
I've heard of this!! These are called キラキラネーム right? Bell Bessyo 別所美鈴 from D4DJ has a name like this
Originally, キラキラネーム meant a kana-only baby name, but it’s possible that the meaning has evolved.
In looking it up, I don't see that it's kana-only in principle. That may be an artifact in the convention itself. It's literally a "sparkling name", like basically a nickname, especially for children. Not unusual to me in Western culture, let alone my own culture.
maybe it will help.
