ばか！バカ！　馬鹿ー月！

They're particles.

Which really just means there's no name for them, but they're used to designate a subject or object.

particles are small words that are used to denote the different parts of the sentence
like を pronounced o denotes the subject the verb is acting on and は usually determines the topic of the sentence. like this
僕は勉強をする。
which can be pronounced as
ぼくはべんきょうをする with the は sounded as わ
boku wa benkyou o desu.
I do study. or i am studying. with Boku being the topic and benkyou(study) being the object of the verb desu

j112 wrote: 僕は勉強をする。
ぼくはべんきょうをする。

As tough as the kanji are to learn, they help enormously with understanding what is being said, because they nail down the precise meaning in the vague Japanese world where the same sound may have many meanings. The first example is harder to read but far more precise.

rpapo wrote:

j112 wrote: 僕は勉強をする。
ぼくはべんきょうをする。

As tough as the kanji are to learn, they help enormously with understanding what is being said, because they nail down the precise meaning in the vague Japanese world where the same sound may have many meanings. The first example is harder to read but far more precise.

To experience the full blow of skipping kanji, one may simply take a look at the tongue twisters.

こつそしょうしょうそしょうしょうそ

すもももももももものうち　もももすももももものうち

とうきょうとっきょきょかきょくちょうきょうきゅうきょきゅうかきょかきょひ

かいぐんきかんがっこうきかいかこんがっきがっかかもくかくきょうかんきょうぎのけっかかきのごとくかくてい：かがくきかがくきかいがくこくごごがくがいこくごかいがこっかがく

i fear walls of kana more than walls of kanji <.<

Doraneko wrote:こつそしょうしょうそしょうしょうそ

すもももももももものうち　もももすももももものうち

とうきょうとっきょきょかきょくちょうきょうきゅうきょきゅうかきょかきょひ

かいぐんきかんがっこうきかいかこんがっきがっかかもくかくきょうかんきょうぎのけっかかきのごとくかくてい：かがくきかがくきかいがくこくごごがくがいこくごかいがこっかがく

Cared to read them aloud to verify my hiragana knowledge.

Kira0802 wrote:

Doraneko wrote:こつそしょうしょうそしょうしょうそ

すもももももももものうち　もももすももももものうち

とうきょうとっきょきょかきょくちょうきょうきゅうきょきゅうかきょかきょひ

かいぐんきかんがっこうきかいかこんがっきがっかかもくかくきょうかんきょうぎのけっかかきのごとくかくてい：かがくきかがくきかいがくこくごごがくがいこくごかいがこっかがく

Cared to read them aloud to verify my hiragana knowledge.

try these ones out <.<
アイウエオ
カキクケコ
サシスセソ
タチツテト
ナニヌネノ
ハヒフヘホ
マミムメモ
ヤユヨ
ラリルレロ
ワヲ

I'm having difficulties with シ, ソ and ツ.

they are all in order according to pronunciation, though i forgot ン

WHY DO THEY LOOK THAT ALIKE???

the direction and orientation of the NW strokes
in shi they are one below the other, in tsu they are parallel to eachother running west to east
in so the stroke is oriented towards a more southernly direction than in n where the stroke runs more to the east

not only that,
in Shi, for the last long stroke, you stroke from down to up. While for Tsu, you stroke from up to down. In writing that is.

true i usually don't consider that i guess

larethian wrote:not only that,
in Shi, for the last long stroke, you stroke from down to up. While for Tsu, you stroke from up to down. In writing that is.

Yeah, except you cannot always tell very well, depending on the font.

the stroke start or end isn't always there, it depends on the font. also in handwriting you can't see it with pencil or pens.
the best way is the angle of the first two strokes. when I write them I exaggerate them, and when reading its always very clear. almost like this =/ and ''/, 90° of difference is quite easy to recognice. same with ソ and ン, one is written more like -/ and other like '/