At first glance, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean scripts can be difficult to distinguish. However, all three have their own differences. To users of Latin characters, these three words may seem foreign, but don't worry! Follow these steps to differentiate between Chinese, Japanese, and Korean scripts.
Step
Step 1. Find the circle and oval shapes
The Korean language uses a phonetic alphabet known as Hangul. Hangul has many circles, ovals, and straight lines (example:). If the text you're reading has lots of ovals and circles, it's likely written in Korean. If not, read step 2.
Step 2. Find a simple character
Japanese has three components of writing, namely hiragana, katakana, and kanji. Hiragana and katakana represent syllables, while kanji are adopted from Chinese characters. Most hiragana characters have curved lines, but they don't have a circular shape like Korean script (eg). On the other hand, Katakana letters consist of straight or slightly slanted lines with simple combinations (like). Chinese and Korean do not recognize these two writing systems. In a Japanese text, you may find Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji. Therefore, if you find Hiragana or Katakana, you can be sure that the text you are reading is in Japanese. The link below shows a complete list of Hiragana and Katakana characters.
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Hiragana
some common Hiragana letters:,,,,
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Katakana
some common Katakana letters:,,,,
Step 3. If you can't find Hangul, Hiragana, or Katakana, the text you're reading is probably Chinese
Chinese writing uses complex characters known as hanzi (China), kanji (Japan), or hanja (Korea). Although Japanese also recognizes Kanji characters, a text can be confirmed in Japanese if it also includes Hiragana or Katakana. So if you see text containing complex Chinese characters without Hiragana or Katakana, you can confirm that the text is written in Chinese.
Tips
- Korean writing doesn't always have a circle. In Korean, circles represent certain letters.
- In old Korean books, you might find hanja (a Chinese character that was once used in Korea), but hanja is now obsolete and is rarely found. If you find Hangul characters in the text, you can be sure that the text is in Korean.
- Hiragana characters generally use more curved lines without sharp curves, while Katakana letters have sharp and clear strokes.
- Korean Hangul characters are not related to Chinese Hanzi. Because of this, Hangul looks more different than Chinese script. On the other hand, Japanese Kana is adopted from Chinese characters.
- Vietnamese uses Latin characters so that it is easy to distinguish from Chinese, Japanese, and Korean writings.
- Keep in mind that Japanese adopts some Chinese characters. However, if you find Hiragana or Katakana in certain texts, those texts are confirmed to be in Japanese.
- Most Chinese look complicated and more alien than characters that represent syllables (such as, which is very different from Hiragana or Hangul). However, simple Chinese uses characters that are easier to understand.
- Korean language recognizes spaces between words, Vietnamese uses spaces between syllables, and Thai language recognizes spaces between sentences. On the other hand, Japanese and Korean do not recognize spaces.
