* Kanji: These are characters borrowed from Chinese. They represent words, not just sounds, and are used to write most nouns, verbs, and adjectives.
* Hiragana: These characters are derived from simplified forms of Kanji. They primarily represent syllables and are used for grammatical particles, verb endings, and words without kanji representations.
* Katakana: These characters are also derived from Kanji, but are more stylized and angular. They are primarily used for foreign loanwords, onomatopoeia, and for emphasis.
So while Chinese is the primary source of Kanji, the entire Japanese writing system is a unique creation, incorporating elements from Chinese and developing its own distinct scripts.