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Three scripts, and 2,136 kanji
Japanese writes with three systems at once. Hiragana carries grammar, katakana carries loanwords and emphasis, and kanji carry meaning — and a single sentence normally uses all three. The official 常用漢字 list runs to 2,136 characters, taught across twelve years of school; a newspaper stays within it. Kanji also have multiple readings, one set borrowed from Chinese and one native, chosen by context. You have been reading all three scripts since lesson one without being told they were separate.