Hiragana

[exDragon]

How come the exact same letter can be written so many different ways?

[Belton]

I'm not sure what you mean.

If you are talking about kana, basically there are two versions of each mora, one hiragana and one katakana. Within that there is some variation in some shapes for stylistic reasons but these aren't as varied as the many different shapes in Roman fonts and handwriting.

If you are talking about the multiple readings of kanji, well 1. it isn't an alphabet system and 2. The Japanese adopted kanji from the Chinese across many centuries and in a bit of a haphazard fashion.

[exDragon]

For example "ra" can be written as either shown in this chart http://www.google.com/imgres?q=hiragana ... 9,r:19,s:0 .

Or it can be written as shown here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mh8NiXM70U&t=1m32s


I have also seen "ko" written three different ways with one way looking like a modification of what is shown on this chart above and the third way like a modification of the modified one however it looks nothing like the original one almost

[Belton]

I see what you mean now. I can't actually see the second example as it's blocked for some reason in the UK.
I had a problem when I first came across り written as a single stroke rather than the two strokes I originally learned.

They are just variations because they are different fonts or handwriting styles. Mostly it's a case of a character being written with a single brush stroke rather (joined up so to speak) rather than the brush being lifted between strokes. There's also a style called grass style that even Japanese can have trouble reading.
It's hard when you're learning to encounter a different style but I think there's less variation than with English letters. Have a look at an English type book to see what I mean.

You are sensitive to the variations because all the shapes are new and strange so any variation tends to look like a new character. Japanese on the other hand will know what "should" be written in a given word or sentence so it's less of an issue for them.

This post on reddit has some interesting points
http://www.reddit.com/r/LearnJapanese/c ... es/c1l1x3y

If your immediate problem is writing, find a clear model example to be written with a pencil. (A brush is hard to use properly)
If your problem is reading, with practice and exposure it gets easier.