Kanji is an adaptation of the Chinese logographic writing system, meaning each symbol was originally meant to look like the word it was describing. Each symbol can represent a syllable (eg. 大 - dai) or a word (eg. 音 - oto (sound)). There are multiple pronunciations for each Kanji character, categorised into On'yomi (音読み) or Kun'yomi (訓読み), depending on the word's origin.