Unlike the kanji 漢字, whose readings may vary depending on the word, the way a kana such as katakana is read always stay the same.
The katakana is normally used to write onomatopoeic words, to write loan-words, and to write foreign (non-Japanese) names. Sometimes it's used to write the readings of kanji in online dictionaries.
Katakana Chart
For reference, the romaji chart including only the katakana and its compound kana:
I love the way this form looks, with all the sharp edges they remind me of a razor sharp katana blade. ^_^ As you also described the others in your section of how hiragana looks chummy and kanji look serious.
ReplyDeleteHowever certain ones always confuse me such as -shi, so, tsu and n. Most places do not give the "lip" or "tail" and just make a curved line, followed by one or two dashes like- " or ' . Here and how I write them, they always have that little extra to help to determine which is which. How exactly are you suppose to know otherwise? I try to look for differences, but when they are not in order of the alphabet, I have a hard time distinguishing between them. I think there might be a small curve that forms at one end or the other, but hardly noticeable to me.
"No" is not hard to figure out, because it is the only one not have a "tick" mark and is the odd one out. (I know they are called something else, but for lack of a better term I hope you can understand.)