Can i learn just Hiragana and Katakana but not Kanji? Is it important enough to learn?

Question:

I could handle Hiragana and Katakana but I don't think so with the Kanji. Way to complicated and too many characters.

Answer:

The whole point of Kanji is to avoid homophones with Japanese has a lot of with only about 110 sounds available to form words. i know it seems daunting but think about how many words you know in your native language (English, i assume, I apologize if i am incorrect), it must be a lot,and compare it to the 2000 or so kanji you should learn. kanji only have a few readings anyway, which rarely change and always give the meaning of the word. rather than in English some words like"vague" are spelled giving no implication of pronunciation or meaning, so maybe that puts the use of kanji into perspective for you.

You do need kanji to learn Japanese though, regardless of whether or not you will visit Japan. It is an important and integral part of the language.

I suggest learning them from grade 1 level, http://japanese.about.com/library/blkoda… it will be easier if you start with something like 一 (which means one) and learning them just takes practice.


good luck