Ma Mi Mu

Hiragana 1

Chapter 13 · Ma Mi Mu

🌸 The M Row Begins — まみむ

The sixth consonant row is m, with ま (ma), み (mi) and む (mu). That makes thirty-three characters. With ま and す you can also write the polite verb ending ます for the first time, so today you'll read your first polite 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
m +	ま	み	む	め	も

Thirty-three down, thirteen to go. め and も come in Chapter 14.

✨ Three New Characters — まみむ

ま

like "ma" in mama, short ("mah")

3 strokes · stroke order ▸

Memory hook: a mama with two arms out, holding a little bundle (the loop) at her feet.

み

like "mee" in meet, short ("mee")

2 strokes · stroke order ▸

Memory hook: a squiggly musical note: do-re-mi.

む

like "moo" in moon, with relaxed lips

3 strokes · stroke order ▸

Memory hook: a cow going "moo!", with its tail curling up at the right.

Look-Alike Warnings: ま and ほ, む and す ま and ほ: both have two bars and a loop, but ほ has a vertical line on the left (and 4 strokes), while ま doesn't (3 strokes). む and す: they share the same bar-and-loop shape, but む has an extra small stroke at the right: む has 3 strokes, and す has 2. Check the count when you read or write them.

📖 Read It — New Words

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

#	Word	Romaji	English	Note
1	うま	uma	horse	u + ma
2	みみ	mimi	ear	mi + mi
3	むし	mushi	insect, bug	mu + shi
4	まち	machi	town, city	ma + chi
5	みち	michi	road, way	mi + chi
6	みせ	mise	shop	mi + se
7	まえ	mae	front; before	ma + e
8	うみ	umi	sea	u + mi
9	きた	kita	north	ki + ta
10	みなみ	minami	south	mi + na + mi
11	むかし	mukashi	long ago	mu + ka + shi
12	まつ	matsu	to wait	a verb in dictionary form

Real Japanese Tip — The Compass You now know three of the four compass points: きた (north), みなみ (south) and にし (west, Chapter 9). The fourth, ひがし (east), needs が, which comes with the voiced sounds in the next course.

🎎 Your First Polite Verbs — 〜ます

The ending ます (-masu) makes a verb polite, the style you use with people you don't know well, shopkeepers and teachers. To make it, change the final -u sound of the dictionary form to its -i sound, then add ます.

Dictionary form	Polite form	Romaji	English
いく	いきます	ikimasu	go
かう	かいます	kaimasu	buy
きく	ききます	kikimasu	listen, ask
かく	かきます	kakimasu	write
あう	あいます	aimasu	meet
まつ	まちます	machimasu	wait

Notice the Change: く → き, う → い, つ → ち Each dictionary form ends in a u-row character (く, う, つ) and, in the polite form, it moves to the i position of the same row: く → き (ku → ki), う → い (u → i), つ → ち (tsu → chi). That's the chart doing real work: now you can see why the rows are worth learning in order. (This pattern works for the large group of "u-verbs" like these; the other group of verbs forms ます differently, and you'll meet it in the conversation courses.) Add か to the end to ask a question: いきますか？ ("Do you go?").

💬 Mini-Dialogs

① To the Station — えきへいきますか？

A: えきへいきますか？ eki e ikimasu ka? Are you going to the station?

B: はい、いきます。 hai, ikimasu. Yes, I'm going.

② To the Sea — うみへ

A: うみへいきます。 umi e ikimasu. I'm going to the sea.

B: いつ？ itsu? When?

A: ことし。 kotoshi. This year.

③ Will You Wait? — まちますか？

A: まちますか？ machimasu ka? Will you wait?

B: はい、まちます。 hai, machimasu. Yes, I'll wait.

Review: Reading Back Cover the English and read these again: ほし (star) · ほか (other) · ほね (bone) · ほしい (want) · ほそい (thin) · へそ (belly button) · へた (unskilled) · いえへいく (go to the house).

✍️ Try It Yourself — れんしゅう

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

1. Read these aloud: ま · み · む

Show answer

ma · mi · mu

2. How many strokes do ま, み and む have, and how can you tell ま from ほ?

Show answer

ま has 3, み has 2, む has 3. ほ has a vertical line on the left (4 strokes); ま doesn't.

3. Read and translate: うま · みみ · むし

Show answer

uma (horse) · mimi (ear) · mushi (insect)

4. Write in hiragana: mise (shop) · umi (sea) · machi (town)

Show answer

みせ · うみ · まち

5. Make these verbs polite: いく · かく · まつ

Show answer

いきます (ikimasu) · かきます (kakimasu) · まちます (machimasu)

6. Read and translate: えきへいきます。

Show answer

"eki e ikimasu": I go to the station.

Coming Up in Chapter 14 Two characters finish the M row: め (me) and も (mo). You'll then read あめ (rain), かめ (turtle), もも (peach) and もの (thing). Remember the warning about め: it looks very like ぬ, so you'll compare the two side by side.

Ma Mi Mu

🌸 The M Row Begins — ま み む

✨ Three New Characters — ま み む

📖 Read It — New Words

🎎 Your First Polite Verbs — 〜ます

💬 Mini-Dialogs

① To the Station — えきへ いきますか？

② To the Sea — うみへ

③ Will You Wait? — まちますか？

✍️ Try It Yourself — れんしゅう

🌸 The M Row Begins — まみむ

✨ Three New Characters — まみむ

① To the Station — えきへいきますか？