What's better to start with first, hiragana or katakana?


I'm a beginner in learning Japanese and would like to know what's better to
start with first, hiragana or katakana, and why?




It almost doesn't matter, because you're going to be learning them both
quickly enough that it won't make much of a difference which one you start
with. And you'll be using them both extensively every day, just as you use
both lower case and upper case every day in English.

But still, it's a sensible question. Which one _should_ you choose?

You can make arguments either way. I started with hiragana, and that's what
makes the most sense to me. In a way, hiragana is more basic; it's more
common, and most of the Japanese vocabulary is more normally written in
hiragana than katakana. But starting with katakana could make sense, too! If
you're in Japan and barely know any Japanese, knowing katakana will let you
recognize at least some words borrowed from English. And unless you're
Chinese, your name will most likely be written with katakana.

But really, you can do it either way. Just learn to write them both as soon as
you can, and make sure you learn to write them the right way, with the proper
stroke order.

