There are two basic types of characters in Japanese; Kanji (where symbols are derived from Chinese characters) and Kana (a syllabary system, meaning each symbol represents a spoken syllable). Kana is necessary to differentiate Japanese grammar from Chinese as the verbs have different endings for tense, mood and so on. Chinese characters have inherent visual meaning: the Japanese syllabary is basically a representation of sounds.
Typically a verb, when written, consists of a Chinese character for the basic meaning followed by one or two Japanese syllabary letters to provide the tense, mood etc. Verbs generally come at the end of sentences, negatives at the end of verbs.

Unlike most western languages, Japanese has an extensive grammatical system to express politeness and formality. One form of a verb is used when I do something, another when you do something and yet another when someone else does something.

The forms are determined by whether or not the person is above, below or equal to another in the social hierarchy they are involved in. For example, a student will always use upward respect language to and about a teacher and the teacher will use downward respect language to and about the student.

More recently though, it has been reported that the use of polite forms has become rarer. Youngsters employ politeness to indicate a lack of familiarity and as the relationship becomes more intimate, they speak more frankly. This often occurs regardless of age, social class, or gender. This trend has been met with disapproval from the older generations.

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