kana: hiranga and katakana

Kana is syllables represented by letters, so the hiragana ka (か) would be a single letter. katakana is just hirigana only more square... Kind of

The first step to learning Japanese

Hey peoples! Here is a suggestion of book if you are first learning Japanese:

Japanese, the Manga Way.
This Japanese book is really interesting. It teaches you Japanese with Manga examples. I am reading it and is really helping me to understand in detail what I need to know to be able to converse in Japanese and, of course, read Japanese Manga!

the first thing you should do when you start to learn Japanese is to get as far away from romaji as possible and start learning kana. maybe... maybe... well, you should probably stick to romaji for now BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN YOU SHOULDN'T PRACTICE KANA