Ha Hi Fu

Hiragana 1

Chapter 11 · Ha Hi Fu

🌸 The H Row Begins — はひふ

The fifth consonant row is h, with は (ha), ひ (hi) and ふ (fu). That makes twenty-eight characters. Today also brings two very useful discoveries: the word for "yes" (はい), and the fact that は is sometimes read wa, which turns it into the most common little word in Japanese sentences.

	a	i	u	e	o
(vowels)	あ	い	う	え	お
k +	か	き	く	け	こ
s +	さ	し	す	せ	そ
t +	た	ち	つ	て	と
n +	な	に	ぬ	ね	の
h +	は	ひ	ふ	へ	ほ

Twenty-eight down, eighteen to go. へ and ほ come in Chapter 12.

✨ Three New Characters — はひふ

は

like "ha" in hah! ("hah")

3 strokes · stroke order ▸

Memory hook: a person laughing "Ha!": the tall line is the body, and the loop is the open mouth.

ひ

like "he" in heat, short ("hee")

1 stroke · stroke order ▸

Memory hook: a big smile, "hee-hee!", with the wide curve as the mouth.

ふ

a soft "foo": blow gently with rounded lips, as if cooling soup

4 strokes · stroke order ▸

Memory hook: Mount Fuji with wisps of cloud around its peak.

Spelling and Sound: Fu, Not Hu ふ is written fu in romaji, but it isn't the English "f", where the top teeth touch the lower lip. The Japanese sound is made with both lips, like blowing out a candle or cooling a spoonful of soup. Try saying "who" with a slightly breathy start and you're close.

Look-Alike Heads-Up: は Joins the け-に Family は (ha) begins with a vertical line on the left, like け and に, but it has a loop at the bottom, which け and に don't. In the next chapter you'll also meet ほ (ho), which looks like は with an extra bar. Learn the pair as a team: ほ has two bars on top, and は has one.

📖 Read It — New Words

With twenty-eight characters, you can read all of these. Remember that each character is one beat.

#	Word	Romaji	English	Note
1	はい	hai	yes	the standard polite "yes"
2	はな	hana	flower; nose	two meanings, one spelling
3	ひと	hito	person	hi + to
4	ふね	fune	ship, boat	fu + ne
5	ひこうき	hikōki	aeroplane	hi-kō-ki: the long "o" is 2 beats
6	はこ	hako	box	ha + ko
7	はは	haha	(my) mother	for your own mother, like ちち for father
8	ひとつ	hitotsu	one (thing)	used when counting objects
9	ふたつ	futatsu	two (things)	fu + ta + tsu
10	ひくい	hikui	low, short	the opposite of たかい
11	ふく	fuku	clothes	fu + ku
12	はなし	hanashi	talk, story	ha + na + shi

🔗 The Particle は — Read as "wa"

When は is used as a small grammar word (a particle) that marks "what the sentence is about", it is read wa, not ha. A は B means "As for A, it is B." The character stays は; only the sound changes. (Spaces are added below to show the word breaks.)

Japanese	Romaji (as spoken)	English
いぬはおおきい。	inu wa ookii.	The dog is big.
ねこはちいさい。	neko wa chiisai.	The cat is small.
さかなはおいしい。	sakana wa oishii.	The fish is delicious.
あなたは？	anata wa?	And you? (As for you?)

Real Japanese Tip — Why Is は Read "Wa"? Long ago, the sound written は was pronounced "ha", and in the particle it became "wa" over the centuries, but the old spelling stayed. So there are three particles whose spelling and sound differ: the particle は (read wa), the particle へ (read e), and the particle を (read o). Everywhere else, は is read ha (as in はな, はい).

Real Japanese Tip — はい and ええ Both mean "yes". はい is the standard polite "yes" for formal situations, shops and answering the phone. ええ is a softer, slightly more relaxed "yes". Be careful, though: はい often means "I'm listening / I understand" and not "I agree", so a nodding Japanese listener isn't always saying yes to what you propose. And いいえ is the polite "no".

💬 Mini-Dialogs

① Yes, Polite — はい

A: おいしい？ oishii? Is it delicious?

B: はい、おいしい！あなたは？ hai, oishii! anata wa? Yes, it's delicious! And you?

A: おいしいね。 oishii ne. It's delicious, isn't it.

② Big and Small — おおきい？ちいさい？

A: ねこはちいさい。 neko wa chiisai. The cat is small.

B: いぬは？ inu wa? And the dog?

A: いぬはおおきい。 inu wa ookii. The dog is big.

③ One or Two? — ひとつ？ふたつ？

A: ひとつ？ hitotsu? One?

B: いいえ、ふたつ。 iie, futatsu. No, two.

Review: Reading Back Cover the English and read these again: ねこ (cat) · ねえ (hey) · あね (older sister) · かね (money) · いのち (life) · この (this) · その (that) · あの (that over there) · あのね (you know…).

✍️ Try It Yourself — れんしゅう

Say each answer out loud first, then click to check.

1. Read these aloud: は · ひ · ふ

Show answer

ha · hi · fu

2. How many strokes do は, ひ and ふ have?

Show answer

は has 3, ひ has 1, ふ has 4.

3. Read and translate: はな · ひと · ふね

Show answer

hana (flower; nose) · hito (person) · fune (ship)

4. Write in hiragana: hai (yes) · hako (box) · futatsu (two things)

Show answer

はい · はこ · ふたつ

5. How is は pronounced in いぬはおおきい, and what does the sentence mean?

Show answer

As the particle, it is read wa: "inu wa ookii", meaning "The dog is big."

6. Which famous mountain does ふ remind you of, and why is it spelled fu in romaji?

Show answer

Mount Fuji. The sound is made with both lips (not teeth on lip), so it's written fu.

Coming Up in Chapter 12 Two characters finish the H row: へ (he) and ほ (ho). へ is also a particle, read e, meaning "to / toward". You'll then read ほし (star), ほか (other), and へ in a sentence.

Ha Hi Fu

🌸 The H Row Begins — は ひ ふ

✨ Three New Characters — は ひ ふ

📖 Read It — New Words

🔗 The Particle は — Read as "wa"

💬 Mini-Dialogs

① Yes, Polite — はい

② Big and Small — おおきい？ ちいさい？

③ One or Two? — ひとつ？ ふたつ？

✍️ Try It Yourself — れんしゅう

🌸 The H Row Begins — はひふ

✨ Three New Characters — はひふ

② Big and Small — おおきい？ちいさい？

③ One or Two? — ひとつ？ふたつ？