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==Use of scripts==
===Kanji===
{{Nihongo|''[[Kanji]]''|漢字}} are [[logographic]] [[Chinese characters|characters]] ([[Shinjitai|Japanese-simplified]] since 1946) taken from Chinese script and used in the writing of [[Japanese language|Japanese]].
It is known from archaeological evidence that the first contacts that the Japanese had with Chinese writing took place in the 1st century AD, during the late [[Yayoi period]]. However, the Japanese people of that era probably had little to no comprehension of the script, and they would remain relatively illiterate until the 5th century AD in the [[Kofun period]], when writing in Japan became more widespread.
Kanji characters are used to write most [[content word]]s of native Japanese or (historically) Chinese origin, which include the following:
*many [[noun]]s, such as {{lang|ja|川}} (''kawa'', "river") and {{lang|ja|学校}} (''gakkō'', "school")
*the stems of most [[verb]]s and [[adjective]]s, such as {{lang|ja|見}} in {{lang|ja|見る}} (''miru'', "see") and {{lang|ja|白}} in {{lang|ja|白い}} (''shiroi'', "white")
*the stems of many [[adverb]]s, such as {{lang|ja|速}} in {{lang|ja|速く}} (''hayaku'', "quickly") and {{lang|ja|上手}} as in {{lang|ja|上手に}} (''jōzu ni'', "masterfully")
*most [[Japanese name|Japanese personal names]] and place names, such as {{lang|ja|田中}} (''Tanaka'') and {{lang|ja|東京}} (''Tōkyō''). (Certain names may be written in hiragana or katakana, or some combination of these, plus kanji.)
Some Japanese words are written with different kanji depending on the specific usage of the word—for instance, the word ''naosu'' (to fix, or to cure) is written {{lang|ja|治す}} when it refers to curing a person, and {{lang|ja|直す}} when it refers to fixing an object.
Most kanji have more than one possible pronunciation (or "reading"), and some common kanji have many. These are broadly divided into ''on'yomi'', which are readings that approximate to a Chinese pronunciation of the character at the time it was adopted into Japanese, and ''kun'yomi'', which are pronunciations of native Japanese words that correspond to the meaning of the kanji character. However, some kanji terms have pronunciations that correspond to neither the ''on'yomi'' nor the ''kun'yomi'' readings of the individual kanji within the term, such as {{lang|ja|明日}} (''ashita'', "tomorrow") and {{lang|ja|大人}} (''otona'', "adult").
Unusual or nonstandard kanji readings may be glossed using [[furigana]]. Kanji compounds are sometimes given arbitrary readings for stylistic purposes. For example, in [[Natsume Sōseki]]'s short story ''[[Ten Nights of Dreams#Summaries of the Dreams|The Fifth Night]]'', the author uses {{lang|ja|接続って}} for ''tsunagatte'', the [[gerund]]ive [[Japanese grammar#Verbs|''-te'' form]] of the verb ''tsunagaru'' ("to connect"), which would usually be written as {{lang|ja|繋がって}} or {{lang|ja|つながって}}. The word {{lang|ja|接続}}, meaning "connection", is normally pronounced ''setsuzoku''.
===Kana===
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