Hiragana Lessons

So you are new to Hiragana? It isn't that hard to learn. If you study 15-30 minutes a day for 2 or 3 weeks you can learn all of the Hiragana! In fact you can begin to read REAL Japanese the first day! If you are new to Hiragana please read through the introduction here on this page before starting the chapters. If you need a book to learn with please take a look at the selection of books related to Hiragana and Katakana at our store.

Search WyzAnt to find a japanese tutor near you. Your first hour of tutoring comes with a satisfaction guarantee so you can start lessons with confidence!

HIRAGANA LESSONS:

SUGGESTIONS: Tackle 2 or 3 hiragana a day (or as many as you feel comfortable with); Be sure to write each one down many times; Look for hiragana you have studied elsewhere while you study and try to recognize the ones you've already learned. This helps build your memory.

You may want to hear all hiragana pronounced before beginning.

Click on the chapter title or green button in any box below to jump directly to that chapter.

Chapter 1 - a i u e o

Chapter 2 - ka ki ku ke ko

Chapter 3 - sa shi su se so

Chapter 4 - ta chi tsu te to

Chapter 5 - na ni nu ne no

Chapter 6 - ha hi fu he ho

Chapter 7 - ma mi mu me mo

Chapter 8 - ya yu yo

Chapter 9 - ra ri ru re ro

Chapter 10 - wa o n

Chapter 11 - Combo letters

and so forth.

Chapter 12 - Helpful hints

And to finish up, a few closing pointers to cover the loose ends and bring it all together.

We also have some Hiragana Quizzes (Your browser needs to be able to see Japanese)
Quiz #1 (the 46 characters covered in chapters 1 - 10)
Quiz #2 (the "combo" characters covered in chapter 11)

Hiragana Randomizer Flash Cards (Only works with IE)

Practice Hiragana by Typing Romaji

An Introduction:

Let's learn the first of the three Japanese 'alphabets.' (they aren't really alphabets) Three?!! You mean there's more!?! Yes, but before you run for the aspirin, know that hiragana is perhaps the most useful and it can be mastered (to a slow, but readable degree) in less than 2 weeks! Hiragana's sister is Katakana. Once you learn Hiragana, you will notice how similar Katakana is. The third is kanji - characters originally from China. But more on that later...

Here is a comment from a very nice guy:
I learned how to read and write hiragana almost exclusively through this site, and I think it's a great learning tool. I did one lesson a day, and wrote each character several times until I had it memorized. Then I re-wrote all of the characters I had learned so far, up to that point. It was fairly easy and fun. I found the mnemonics a great help. It really didn't seem to matter what they said ("Look ma, a dragonfly!), just the process of reading them helped me to remember. Thank you very much for your hard work on this site, and for making it available to everyone on the Internet. Good job.

-- Tom

About Hiragana:

Today all three 'alphabets' are used together. As a rule, most words (of Chinese or Japanese origin) are written with kanji + hiragana. And foreign loan words and names are written with katakana.

About the Sounds:

Most sounds in Japanese are found also in English. Unlike in English, the 'letters' in Japanese only have one sound each, with three exceptions that will be mentioned later on. Please click on the sound files to get a feel for the sounds. The most important to master are the vowels (the first row). The sounds are all found in English. Please repeat the sounds many times. If you spend a few moments looking at the chart, you should be able to see a clear pattern (each column has the same vowel sound and each row has the same consonant sound.) There are only a few that deviate from that pattern (in red) - But we will get to that later.

a	i	u	e	o
ka	ki	ku	ke	ko
sa	shi	su	se	so
ta	chi	tsu	te	to
na	ni	nu	ne	no
ha	hi	fu	he	ho
ma	mi	mu	me	mo
ya		yu		yo
ra	ri	ru	re	ro
wa				wo only used as a particle
n				wo only used as a particle

These are all the basic hiragana letters. The rest are simply combinations of two hiragana. (For Example: to make the 'sha' sound - add し(shi) + や(ya) = しゃ(sha) - Notice how the second letter is smaller; but we will look at this later.)

We will look at about 5 'letters' per page. Do one a day and in no time you will be reading real Japanese!

Some good advice from Amanda - a thejapanesepage.com member:

When I was first learning to make the "r" sound one tip that helped was to keep "l" in mind, but widen the tongue.

With a traditional English "l" the tongue is narrowed right behind the two front teeth. If you pay close attention to widening your tongue while you are first learning the sound what you get sounds more like the Japanese "r". There may be a slight over-correction at first, but once you stop focusing on it entirely it will make the sound more natural and the practice makes it easier to master.

I thought sharing this would be of help to others who are learning on their own.

It was sort of funny when I first read that tip because after repeating the r's over and over and over, I was really aware of how my tongue moved to make other sounds. It's weird, but when you pay attention to the sounds you make you almost start to wonder if you're doing it right. Kind of like saying one word several times- it stops sounding like that word even though you haven't changed what you are saying!

Hiragana Chapter 1

Hiragana Page 01 あ a

AND so begins your journey! Be sure to write each character many times

HOW TO WRITE IT
[Follow the red strokes from left to right]

ROMAJI - a
SOUND - [as in fAther]

MEMORY: it looks like a cross with a sideways #9. "Ah... number 9"

EXAMPLES: How do you say it?

- Ah!

Japanese has 5 vowel sounds (a, i, u, e, o) which are used to make the rest of the Hiragana

Hiragana Page 02 い i

With only 2 Hiragana under your belt, you can begin to read real Japanese words!

HOW TO WRITE IT
[Follow the red strokes from left to right]

ROMAJI - i
SOUND [as in 'fEEt']

MEMORY: It looks like two arms -- It will get me... EEk!!

EXAMPLES: How do you say them?

- This means "love"

- This means "good"

Find websites or books with Japanese and search for the Hiragana you know

Hiragana Page 03 う u

As we build the number of characters learned we will increase the vocabulary as well

HOW TO WRITE IT
[Follow the red strokes from left to right]

ROMAJI - u
SOUND - [as in fOOd]

MEMORY: It looks like a nose and an opened mouth looking for fOOd

EXAMPLES: How do you say them?

- This means "to meet"

- This means "to say"

Later we will see that sometimes this character is used to make characters longer in pronunciation - keep that in mind, but don't worry, be happy

Hiragana Page 04 え e

Do your best to correctly pronounce each vowel - it will be very important later on

HOW TO WRITE IT
[Follow the red strokes from left to right]

ROMAJI - e
SOUND - [as in hAte]

MEMORY: It looks like a person running away - I hAte runners!

EXAMPLES: How do you say them?

- This means "no"

- This means "house"

- This means "a picture"

You are doing great! Are you writing these characters down?

Hiragana Page 05 お o

You are up to your last vowel! Congrats!

HOW TO WRITE IT
[Follow the red strokes from left to right]

ROMAJI - o
SOUND - [as in OH nO!]

MEMORY: It looks like ' - a' but "OH! it's different

EXAMPLES: How do you say them?

- This means " the color blue"

- This means "hey!" - kind of rude..
.

- This means "king"

All other Hiragana letters are consonants + a vowel (except n)

Hiragana Page 06 Review One

Here are the suspects... Can you name them?

CHAPTER 1: THE QUIZ

What is the Hiragana to the left?

REVIEW:

All other Hiragana letters are consonants + a vowel (except n)

Hiragana Chapter 2

Hiragana Page 07 か ka

Now we have the first consonant [K sound + A sound = KA]

HOW TO WRITE IT
[Follow the red strokes from left to right]

ROMAJI - ka
SOUND - [as in CAr]

MEMORY: I remembered it because it looks like a 'K' - well sort of...

EXAMPLES: How do you say them?

- This means "face"

- This means "squid"

- This means "to buy"

- This means "red"

Hiragana and Katakana use the same sound system. So once you learn the way Hiragana works, Katakana isn't too difficult!

Hiragana Page 08 き ki

Follow the order of strokes shown below to make your Hiragana look natural

HOW TO WRITE IT
[Follow the red strokes from left to right]

ROMAJI - ki
SOUND - [as in KEY]

MEMORY: It looks like a skeleton KEY

EXAMPLES: How do you say them?

- This means 'big'

- This means 'train station'

- - This is the sound monkeys make in Japanese

Hiragana has many curves; Katakana is very sharp

Hiragana Page 09 く ku

This is not your average less than sign

HOW TO WRITE IT
[Follow the red strokes from left to right]

ROMAJI - ku
SOUND - [as in COol]

MEMORY: It looks like paKU man (Pac-man)

EXAMPLES: How do you say them?

- This means 'the number 9'

- This means 'to go'

- This means 'air'

Kanji, the 3rd writing system in Japanese, has about 2000 characters to learn - aren't you glad you are learning Hiragana?

Hiragana Page 10 け ke

Gambatte!

HOW TO WRITE IT
[Follow the red strokes from left to right]

ROMAJI - ke
SOUND - [as in CAve]

MEMORY: It looks like an entrance to a CAve

EXAMPLES: How do you say them?

- This means 'pond'

- This means 'hair'

Almost there!

Hiragana Page 11 こ ko

...

HOW TO WRITE IT
[Follow the red strokes from left to right]

ROMAJI - ko
SOUND - [as in COld]

MEMORY: It looked like a 'COke can' to me...

EXAMPLES: How do you say them?

- This means "child"

- This means "airport" NOTE: the

in this word only makes the character before it longer (It isn't pronounced as a separate syllable)

- This means "love" or "carp (fish)" or a rude form of "Come here!"

- This means "voice"

Almost done with Chapter 2!

Hiragana Page 12 Review Two

Here are the suspects... Can you name them?

CHAPTER 2: THE QUIZ

What is the Hiragana to the left?

REVIEW:

Hiragana Chapter 3

Hiragana Page 13 さ sa

Hiragana Lessons Home

Now for the S's - Can you get the pattern?

HOW TO WRITE IT
[Follow the red strokes from left to right]

ROMAJI - sa
SOUND - [as in SOlitude]

MEMORY: It looks like a person who sits in SOlitude

EXAMPLES: How do you say them?

- This means 'sake' - (watch the pronunciation)

- This means 'morning'

- This means 'this morning'

- This means 'umbrella'

If you understand Hiragana's pattern, I believe you have mastered the hardest part

Hiragana Page 14 し shi

NOTE: This is pronounced as the English 'SHE' not 'SEA' as you would expect!

HOW TO WRITE IT

ROMAJI - shi
SOUND - [as in SHE]

MEMORY: It looks like a woman's hair flowing in the wind (SHE)

EXAMPLES: How do you say them?

- This means 'stone'

- This means 'leg'

- This means 'delicious'

- This means 'cow'

Keep trying to find Hiragana you know on the Internet

Hiragana Page 15 す su

Remember to have fun while drawing the characters!

HOW TO WRITE IT
[Follow the red strokes from left to right]

ROMAJI - su
SOUND - [as in SUE]

MEMORY: It looks like a girl named SUE wearing a hat

EXAMPLES: How do you say them?

- This means 'chair'

- This means 'sushi'

- This means 'to like (someone or something)'

Hiragana Page 16 せ se

Try to make silly memory associations for yourself

HOW TO WRITE IT
[Follow the red strokes from left to right]

ROMAJI - se
SOUND - [as in SAY]

MEMORY: It looks like someone wearing a hat SAying something

EXAMPLES: How do you say them?

- This means 'sweat'

- This means 'chair' or 'seat' (another word for seat is isu)

Hiragana Page 17 そ so

Now let's wrap up Chapter 3!

HOW TO WRITE IT
[Follow the red strokes from left to right]

ROMAJI - so
SOUND - [as in SO]

MEMORY: It looks SO abstract like PicaSO

EXAMPLES: How do you say them?

- This means 'a lie' or 'not true'

- This means 'there'

Almost there!

Hiragana Page 18 Review Three

Here are the suspects... Can you name them?

CHAPTER 3: THE QUIZ

What is the Hiragana to the left?

REVIEW:

Hiragana Chapter 4

Hiragana Page 19 た ta

CHAPTER 4: The 'T' line has a few that aren't "regular" - so be careful

HOW TO WRITE IT

ROMAJI - ta
SOUND - [as in TOddler]

MEMORY: It looks like a TOddler reaching for a toy

EXAMPLES: How do you say them?

- This means 'down' or 'below'

- This means 'octopus'

- This means 'cell phone '

- This means 'song'

Try saying "ta chi tsu te to" 5 times fast

Hiragana Page 20 ち chi

I know my memory associations are getting worse... UGH!

HOW TO WRITE IT

ROMAJI - chi
SOUND - [as in CHEAp]

MEMORY: It looks like a CHEAp version of the number 5

EXAMPLES: How do you say them?

- This means 'the number one'

- This means 'the number seven'

- This means 'mouth'

- This means 'father'

If you think of good associations for the hiragana, leave a comment on this page for the next fellow!

Hiragana Page 21 つ tsu

One of the easiest Hiragana to write & hardest to pronounce

HOW TO WRITE IT

ROMAJI - tsu
SOUND - [as in caT'S SOUp (not in English)]

MEMORY: It looks like a wave from a TSUnami (tidal wave)

EXAMPLES: How do you say them?

- This means 'when?'

- This means 'hot'

- This means 'shoes'

Listen to the sound file until you feel comfortable with it

Hiragana Page 22 て te

Hiragana!

HOW TO WRITE IT

ROMAJI - te
SOUND - [as in TAble]

MEMORY: It looks like a TErrible seven

EXAMPLES: How do you say them?

- This means 'hand'

- This means 'enemy'

- This means 'nice'

Hiragana Page 23 と to

HIRAGANA TO

HOW TO WRITE IT

ROMAJI - to
SOUND - [as in TOE]

MEMORY: It looks like someone's big TOE

EXAMPLES: How do you say them?

- This means 'sound'

- This means 'outside'

- This means 'later'

Hiragana Page 24 Review Four

Here are the suspects... Can you name them?

CHAPTER 4: THE QUIZ

What is the Hiragana to the left?

REVIEW:

Hiragana Chapter 5

Hiragana Page 25 な na

Hiragana NA

HOW TO WRITE IT

ROMAJI - na
SOUND - [as in kNOt]

MEMORY: It looks like a rope all tangled in a kNOt

EXAMPLES: How do you say them?

- This means 'summer'

- This means 'longing', 'nostalgic', or 'reminiscent'

- This means 'hole'

Hiragana Page 26 に ni

Hiragana NI

HOW TO WRITE IT

ROMAJI - ni
SOUND - [as in kNEE]

MEMORY: It looks like a person sitting on his kNEEs (as seen from above)

EXAMPLES: How do you say them?

- This means 'west'

- This means 'older brother'

- This means 'smell'

- This means 'what?'

Hiragana Page 27 ぬ nu

Hiragana NU

HOW TO WRITE IT

ROMAJI - nu
SOUND - [as in NEw]

MEMORY: It kind of looks like a but with a tail and no hat

EXAMPLES: How do you say them?

- This means 'dog'

- This means 'to die'

- This means 'raccoon-dog'

Hiragana Page 28 ね ne

Hiragana NE

HOW TO WRITE IT

ROMAJI - ne
SOUND - [as in NAY]

MEMORY: If you look carefully you will see a '1', '+' and a '2' but, NAY, no '3'

EXAMPLES: How do you say them?

- This means 'fever'

- This means 'older sister'

- This means 'cat'

Hiragana Page 29 の no

This hiragana by itself means 'apostraphe S' (Possession)

HOW TO WRITE IT

ROMAJI - no
SOUND - [as in NO]

MEMORY: It's a circle! NO it's almost a circle...

EXAMPLES: How do you say them?

- This means 'apostraphe S' (possession)

- This means 'cat's hand'

- This means 'this''

Hiragana Page 30 Review Five

Here are the suspects... Can you name them?

CHAPTER 5: THE QUIZ

What is the Hiragana to the left?

REVIEW:

Hiragana Chapter 6

Hiragana Page 31 は ha

Hiragana HA

HOW TO WRITE IT

ROMAJI - ha
SOUND - [as in HA!]

MEMORY: It has two parts to make memorizing it HArd

EXAMPLES: How do you say them?

- This means 'yes'

- This means 'bridge' or 'chopsticks'

- This means 'tooth'

When used as a particle it is pronounced as wa - but don't worry about it now :)

Hiragana Page 32 ひ hi

It almost looks like a smiley face without eyes

HOW TO WRITE IT (from top- left to right)

ROMAJI - hi
SOUND - [as in HE]

MEMORY: It looks like HE has both hands raised

EXAMPLES: How do you say them?

- This means 'day'

- This means 'person'

Hiragana Page 33 ふ fu

Be careful! You would think "HU" but it is pronounced as "FU"

HOW TO WRITE IT (from top to bottom)

ROMAJI - fu
SOUND - [as in FOOd]

MEMORY: It looks like a snake looking for some FOOd

EXAMPLES: How do you say them?

- This means 'ship' or 'boat'

- This means 'skin'

Say 'HA HI FU HE HO' several times

Hiragana Page 34 へ he

Hiragana

HOW TO WRITE IT

ROMAJI - he
SOUND - [as in HEY!]

MEMORY: HEY it's an upside down 'V' (almost)

EXAMPLES: How do you say them?

- This means 'not good at' or 'poor at'

- This means 'calm' or 'peaceful'

Like ha when this is used as a particle it is pronounced as just e (drop the h) - but more on that later...

Hiragana Page 35 ほ ho

Hiragana

HOW TO WRITE IT

ROMAJI - ho
SOUND - [as in HOle]

MEMORY: HO OH! It is more complicated than ha!

EXAMPLES: How do you say them?

- This means 'star'

- This means 'want' or 'would like'

- This means 'bone'

Hiragana Page 36 Review Six

Here are the suspects... Can you name them?

CHAPTER 6: THE QUIZ

What is the Hiragana to the left?

REVIEW:

Hiragana Chapter 7

Hiragana Page 37 ま ma

Note that the second horizontal line is just a bit shorter than the top one

HOW TO WRITE IT

ROMAJI - ma
SOUND - [as in MA MA]

MEMORY:Look MA! I caught a dragon-fly! [It looks like a dragonfly flying]

EXAMPLES: How do you say them?

- This means 'now'

- This means 'island'

- This means 'town'

- This means 'horse'

MA MI MU ME MO

Hiragana Page 38 み mi

This is one of my favorites...

HOW TO WRITE IT

ROMAJI - mi
SOUND - [as in ME]

MEMORY: It looks to ME like a 2 over a 4 (can you see it?)

EXAMPLES: How do you say them?

- This means 'meaning'

- This means 'tidal wave'

- This means 'paper'

- This means 'ocean'

MA MI MU ME MO

Hiragana Page 39 む mu

Hiragana

HOW TO WRITE IT

ROMAJI - mu
SOUND - [as in MOvie]

MEMORY: It looks like an old film projector showing a MOvie

EXAMPLES: How do you say them?

- This means 'bug

- This means 'to bite'

- This means 'cold'

MA MI MU ME MO

Hiragana Page 40 め me

Hiragana

HOW TO WRITE IT

ROMAJI - me
SOUND - [as in MAY]

MEMORY: It looks like a half closed eye (me means eye in Japanese)

EXAMPLES: How do you say them?

- This means 'business card'

- This means 'rain' or 'candy'

- This means 'eye'

- This means 'princess'

MA MI MU ME MO

Hiragana Page 41 も mo

Hiragana

HOW TO WRITE IT

ROMAJI - mo
SOUND - [as in MOwer]

MEMORY: It looks like a man with a hat on taking a MOrning's rest

EXAMPLES: How do you say them?

- This means 'potato'

- This means 'if'

- This means 'heavy'

MA MI MU ME MO

Hiragana Page 42 Review Seven

Here are the suspects... Can you name them?

CHAPTER 7: THE QUIZ

What is the Hiragana to the left?

REVIEW:

Hiragana Chapter 8

Hiragana Page 43 や ya

Hiragana

HOW TO WRITE IT

ROMAJI - ya
SOUND - [as in YAk]

MEMORY: It looks like something a YAk stepped on

EXAMPLES: How do you say them?

- This means 'parent'

- This means 'room'

- This means 'mountain'

YA YU YO

Hiragana Page 44 ゆ yu

Hiragana

HOW TO WRITE IT

ROMAJI - yu
SOUND - [as in YOU]

MEMORY: If you look really close, you may see a Y, O, and U there

EXAMPLES: How do you say them?

- This means 'snow'

- This means 'winter'

- This means 'dream'

- This means 'fame' or 'famous' (note: the u and the i are used here to extend the characters before it - So really 'dream' and 'fame' have the same sounds but 'fame' is pronounced longer)

YA YU YO

Hiragana Page 45 よ yo

Hiragana

HOW TO WRITE IT

ROMAJI - yo
SOUND - [as in YO-YO]

MEMORY: It looks like a fancy trick with a YO-YO

EXAMPLES: How do you say them?

- This means 'good'

- This means 'the side'

- This means 'strong'

YA YU YO

Hiragana Page 46 Review Eight

Here are the suspects... Can you name them?

CHAPTER 8: THE QUIZ

What is the Hiragana to the left?

REVIEW:

Hiragana Chapter 9

Hiragana Page 47 ら ra

Hiragana - For more on the R's click here

HOW TO WRITE IT

ROMAJI - ra
SOUND - Listen to the sound

MEMORY: It looks like a RAttled # 5

EXAMPLES: How do you say them?

- This means 'from'

- This means 'plate' or 'dish'

- This means 'the sky'

RA RI RU RE RO - are the most difficult to pronounce - listen to the sound file HERE 53 k wav

Hiragana Page 48 り ri

Don't confuse this with い i

HOW TO WRITE IT

ROMAJI - ri
SOUND - [listen to the file]

MEMORY: It looks like 2 arms REAching for something

EXAMPLES: How do you say them?

- This means 'bird'

- This means 'glue'

- This means 'impossible'

Listen to them all HERE 53 k wav

Hiragana Page 49 る ru

Hiragana - For more on the R's click here

HOW TO WRITE IT

ROMAJI - ru
SOUND - [listen to the file]

MEMORY: It looks like a ROOt

EXAMPLES: How do you say them?

- This means 'to come'

- This means 'monkey'

- This means 'night'

Listen to them all HERE 53 k wav

Hiragana Page 50 れ re

Listen to them all HERE 53 k wav

HOW TO WRITE IT

ROMAJI - re
SOUND - [listen to file]

MEMORY: It is almost in the shape of a RAInbow

EXAMPLES: How do you say them?

- This means 'to bow'

- This means 'beautiful'

- This means 'impolite'

Listen to them all HERE 53 k wav

Hiragana Page 51 ろ ro

Listen to them all HERE 53 k wav

HOW TO WRITE IT

ROMAJI - ro
SOUND - [listen to file]

MEMORY: Think of a man in a boat ROWing

EXAMPLES: How do you say them?

- This means 'color'

- This means 'white'

- This means 'interesting'

Listen to them all HERE 53 k wav

Hiragana Page 52 Review Nine

Here are the suspects... Can you name them?

CHAPTER 9: THE QUIZ

What is the Hiragana to the left?

REVIEW:

Hiragana Chapter 10

Hiragana Page 53 わ wa

Hiragana

HOW TO WRITE IT

ROMAJI - wa
SOUND - [as in WAsh]

MEMORY: It is a WAshing machine

EXAMPLES: How do you say them?

- This means 'river'

- This means 'garden'

- This means 'cute'

Hiragana Page 54 ん n

This is the only Hiragana that doesn't have a vowel sound

HOW TO WRITE IT

ROMAJI - n
SOUND - [as in N]

MEMORY: It looks like a cursive "n"

EXAMPLES: How do you say them?

- This means 'gold'

- This means 'three'

- This means 'yes' - more informal than hai

You can't start a word with N

Hiragana Page 55 を o

This one is only used as a particle meaning Direct Object and is pronounced 'OH'

HOW TO WRITE IT

ROMAJI - wo or o
SOUND - [as in OH]

MEMORY:looks like a guy jumping over someone's attack (the arc is a blade sweeping by). So "OH! The ninja's katana nearly hit him!"

EXAMPLES: How do you say them?

- This means 'to read a book' - Book (

) is the direct object

Read Hiragana you know on the Internet

Hiragana Page 56 Review Ten

Here are the suspects... Can you name them?

CHAPTER 10: THE QUIZ

What is the Hiragana to the left?

REVIEW:

Hiragana Chapter 11

Hiragana Page 57 Combinations

This part is a little different... Take it slow and you should be able to catch on

PART ONE - ADDING THE "TEN TEN"

How to make the 'ten-ten' letters. A 'ten-ten' is like a double- quote (") It changes the sound of the letter to a harder sound. You can ONLY 'ten-ten' the 'K' row, the 'S' row, the 'T' row and the 'H' row. (look at the chart to the right - the red ones are the ones with slightly difficult pronunciation)

Now look at the chart below. You will see that

the 'K' row becomes 'G' (still the same good ole ka only with a ten-ten ; notice it is a harder sound)
the 'S' row becomes 'Z' (again harder sound)
the 'T' row becomes 'D'
the 'H' row becomes 'B' or 'P' ('B' is with a ten-ten (ex. ba) and 'P' is with a circle (ex. pa))

NOTE: Actually if you allow it to sink in, the sound changes seem quite logical. You will get used to it quickly

Review this page until you feel comfortable with it

Download MP3s of these sounds here.

Hiragana Page 58 Combinations

This part is a little different... Take it slow and you should be able to catch on

PART TWO - Combinations

Usually easy... BASE + a smaller ya, yu, or yo

ki + ya = kya

(be careful with the boldfaced ones)

AND (be careful with the boldfaced ones)

NOTE: Again in time this will seem natural - Really!

Review this page until you feel comfortable with it

gambatte!

Hiragana Page 59 Small Tsu

This part is a little different... Take it slow and you should be able to catch on

PART THREE - Small TSU

One more thing... You have learned tsu - But sometimes it appears smaller than other letters. This causes a slight pause or break between syllables.

Example: chotto (which means 'a little') pronounced "cho - to" with a slight break between syllables. In romaji it is usually written by repeating the next consonant as with 'choTTo.'

Example: zasshi (magazine) pronounced "za - shi"

Homework : Try to find some other examples on the internet of the small tsu

Review this page until you feel comfortable with it

gambatte!

Hiragana Chapter 12

Hiragana Page 60 Last Bit

Well Done! You Made it!

LAST - Some finishing touches

PRACTICE AT THE HIRAGANA FLASHCARDS PAGE

There are only 5 vowel sounds
All other characters (except n) are made of a consonant sound and one of the 5 vowel sounds.
The not-so-logical-pronunciation letters are chi, tsu, and fu. BE CAREFUL
The R letters are pronounced somewhere between the R and L sounds of English - Click here for more
n cannot be used to start a word
You cannot 'ten-ten' vowels
Combinations are formed using only ya, yu, and yo 'helpers' and the i column (ki, shi, chi, ni, hi, mi, ri)
A small tsu causes a slight pause or break between syllables. For example in English we say a slight pause after "book" in "booK Club"
Here are two examples in Japanese where the small tsu can clear up / cause a lot of problems!
gakki - musical instrument [with a slight pause]
and
gaki - brat, annoying kid [without the pause]

FUN WITH HIRAGANA

A cute drawing made from hiragana is called Henohenomoheji

henohenomoheji The name sounds impossible to learn, but it is simply reading the Hiragana that makes the character. The eyebrow is 'he.' The eye is 'no.' The nose is 'mo.' the mouth is 'he.' And the face is made by 'ji.'(ji = shi + ") Do you see it?

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