Go to the free Japanese language website Study Japanese (see "Resources" below). Click on the "About Writing" link to learn the basics of writing and reading Japanese. Here you will learn that written Japanese uses three types of characters: kanji, hiragana and katakana. Kanji uses picture-like characters to form words. Hiragana is a character set that uses simple curved letters that are phonetic to link kanji characters, making prefixes, verb and adjective endings, for example. Katakana is a phonetic character set that is used for foreign-language loan words.
Go to the Easy Japanese website (see "Resources" below). Click on the "Writing" link and then click on the "Hiragana" link; this is the first character set that Japanese children learn. Examine the basic hiragana chart, which shows Japanese characters with English-language sound equivalents printed above them. Learn how the characters combine to make verb conjugations such as "speak" and "spoke."
Examine the basic katakana chart (on the same page, below the hiragana chart), which also shows Japanese characters with English-language sound equivalents printed above them. Read examples of foreign names and loan words, such as "Paris," "Toyota" and "TV set."
Click on "Kanji Flashcards" in the list of links on the left of the Easy Japanese page to view beginning kanji characters. You will see the kanji character for the word "child," for example, along with how many strokes are used to write it and what grade level it is. Press the "Prev," "Rand" or "Next" button on the card to go to the previous, random or next flash card, respectively.
Go to the Free Japanese Lessons page "What is My Name in Japanese?" (see "Resources" below). Browse the list for your name in English to find the Japanese equivalent written in katakana. Click on the image of a speaker next to the text to hear how to say your name in Japanese.