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
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?
BOOKS: If
you are a learner who needs something to
encourage you, there are a few books to help. What's best? Well, I don't
know. Depends on your studying style and
tastes. Follow the link to our store for books and flashcards for learning kana. Have fun
learning!
Thank
you very much for using thejapanesepage.com. I
hope this has been useful to you. Please join the discussion in our forums. I am
looking forward to hearing from you!
n) are made of a
consonant sound and one of the 5 vowel
sounds. 
chi,
tsu, and
fu. BE CAREFUL 
ya, 
yu, and 
yo 'helpers' and the i
column (ki, shi, chi, ni, hi, mi, ri)
gakki - musical instrument [with
a slight pause]
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?