How do japanese symbols work?

Question:

because the slightest line can change it into something else. it confuses me and im just wondering how it works.

Answer:

The same goes in the English alphabet...If you put a line in an l, it changes it to a t and completely changes its meaning, just like changing the c in "cat" to a b changes its meaning to "bat".

It depends on whether you're talking about kana or kanji...Kana is the Japanese phonetic alphabet that consists of hiragana and katakana, and kanji are the "symbols" that mean one thing. A kanji can be used by itself or be used as a compound. For example, by itself 人 would be pronounced "hito", which translates to "person"...But, in a compound, it would be pronounced "-jin", but still refers to a person. For example, 日本人 means "Japanese person" and is pronounced "nihonjin". その人 means "that person" and is pronounced "sono hito"...The first two characters are hiragana.