1 . A Pictographic Language

It is one of the few languages which remain pictographic. Japanese calligraphy is a form of art. The artistic practice and writing of the language is called

2. A Fast-Spoken Language

Based on speed studies of various languages, Japanese topped the list by scoring 7.84 syllables per second! English is spoken at 6.19 syllables per second.

3. The Land of the Rising Sun

The Japanese word for "Japan" is , which is pronounced Nihon or Nippon and literally means "the origin of the sun". The character nichi () means "sun" or "day"; hon () means "base" or "origin".

4. Language with no plurals

There are no plurals in Japanese! The definiteness and plurality are ambiguous in the language. For instance, the same word can be indefinite singular, indefinite plural, definite singular, or definite plural.

5. Tongue twisters

The Japanese love tongue twisters! Here is one - try to say it 3 times continuously:

Uraniwa ni wa niwa, niwa ni wa niwa niwatori ga iru.
(Translation: There are two chickens in the back yard, and two in the front yard.)