Meet Hiragana
Hiragana 1
Chapter 1 ยท Meet Hiragana: A I U
๐ธ Meet Hiragana โ ใฒใใใช
Welcome to your first Japanese writing lesson. By the end of this chapter you'll know how Japanese writing works, you'll have learned your first three characters (ใ ใ ใ), and you'll be able to read four real words. Romaji (Japanese in English letters) is shown for everything, so you're never guessing.
๐ Three Scripts, One Language โ ไธใคใฎๆๅญ
Unlike English, Japanese is written with three different kinds of characters, often in the same sentence.
| Script | What it's used for | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ใฒใใใช hiragana |
Grammar words and endings, and Japanese words with no kanji. The first script children learn, and the one you start with. | ใใใใจใ arigatล ยท thank you |
| ใซใฟใซใ katakana |
Words borrowed from other languages, foreign names, and emphasis. Same sounds as hiragana, different shapes. | ใณใผใใผ kลhฤซ ยท coffee |
| ๆผขๅญ kanji |
Characters borrowed from Chinese that carry a meaning, such as ๆฅ (sun, day). There are thousands, so you learn them gradually. | ๆฅๆฌ Nihon ยท Japan |
Here is one sentence using all three (kanji in orange, hiragana in red, katakana in green). You don't need to read it yet; just notice how the scripts share the work.
๐ค How Hiragana Works โ ใฒใใใชใฎใใใฟ
Hiragana isn't an alphabet of single letters like A, B, C. Each character stands for a whole syllable, a consonant plus a vowel such as ka, shi or mo.
- 46 basic characters make up the core set. You'll learn them all in this course, about three per chapter.
- Five vowels (a, i, u, e, o) can stand alone. Every other sound is a consonant plus one of those vowels, except ใ (n), which stands alone.
- One character = one beat. Japanese has an even rhythm: each character takes about the same time to say, with no strongly stressed syllables.
- The characters are arranged on a grid called the gojลซon ("fifty sounds"): five vowel columns and rows of consonants. This is the map of the whole course.
| a | i | u | e | o | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (vowels) | ใ | ใ | ใ | ใ | ใ |
| k | ใ | ใ | ใ | ใ | ใ |
| s | ใ | ใ | ใ | ใ | ใ |
| t | ใ | ใก | ใค | ใฆ | ใจ |
| n | ใช | ใซ | ใฌ | ใญ | ใฎ |
| h | ใฏ | ใฒ | ใต | ใธ | ใป |
| m | ใพ | ใฟ | ใ | ใ | ใ |
| y | ใ | ใ | ใ | ||
| r | ใ | ใ | ใ | ใ | ใ |
| w | ใ | ใ | |||
| n | ใ |
The three characters highlighted are today's. A few sounds change slightly in Roman letters (si is written shi, tu is tsu), and we'll meet each of those as we reach it.
โจ Your First Three Characters โ ใ ใ ใ
Japanese vowels are short, clean and steady. Unlike English "ay" or "oh", the sound doesn't glide into a second sound. Say each one, hold your mouth still, and stop.
๐ Read It โ Your First Words
You can already read these four words. Each character is one beat, so ii is two beats.
| # | Word | Romaji | English | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ใใ | ai | love | a + i, slide quickly from "ah" to "ee" |
| 2 | ใใ | ii | good | two beats: "ee-ee", not one long "ee" |
| 3 | ใใ | au | to meet | a + u |
| 4 | ใใ | iu | to say | often heard as "yuu" in everyday speech |
โ๏ธ Try It Yourself โ ใใใใ ใ
Say each answer out loud first, then click to check.
1. Which sound does ใ make: a, i or u?
Show answer
a ("ah", as in father).
2. Read these aloud: ใ ยท ใ ยท ใ
Show answer
i ยท u ยท a
3. Read these words and say what they mean: ใใ ยท ใใ ยท ใใ
Show answer
ai (love) ยท au (to meet) ยท ii (good)
4. Write these in hiragana: ii ยท au ยท ai (check the stroke order as you write).
Show answer
ใใ ยท ใใ ยท ใใ
5. How many beats does ใใ have, and how many strokes does ใ have?
Show answer
Two beats (one per character, "ee-ee"). ใ has 3 strokes.
6. Which script would you use to write the English loanword "coffee", and which for the ending of a verb?
Show answer
Loanword: katakana (ใณใผใใผ). Verb ending: hiragana (as in ใฟใพใ).