Hiragana is one of the three main writing systems used in the Japanese language, alongside katakana and kanji. It consists of 46 basic characters, each representing a distinct syllable, and is primarily used for native Japanese words, grammatical elements, and phonetic spelling of kanji. Hiragana is often taught to beginners as it provides a foundation for reading and writing in Japanese. Its cursive and flowing style makes it visually distinct from katakana, which is used for foreign words and names.