Te To
Hiragana 1
Chapter 8 Β· Te To
πΈ Finishing the T Row β γ¦ γ¨
Two characters complete the T row: γ¦ (te) and γ¨ (to). That brings you to twenty characters, which is enough to read short, real conversations, so this is where the first mini-dialogs appear.
| a | i | u | e | o | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (vowels) | γ | γ | γ | γ | γ |
| k + | γ | γ | γ | γ | γ |
| s + | γ | γ | γ | γ | γ |
| t + | γ | γ‘ | γ€ | γ¦ | γ¨ |
Twenty down, twenty-six to go. The N row comes next.
β¨ Two New Characters β γ¦ γ¨
π Read It β New Words
Twenty characters give you a big batch. Remember that each character is one beat.
| # | Word | Romaji | English | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | γ¦ | te | hand | a word as well as a character |
| 2 | γ¨γγ | tokei | clock, watch | to + ke + i |
| 3 | γγ¨γ | kotoshi | this year | ko + to + shi |
| 4 | γ¨γ | toshi | year; age | also used for someone's age |
| 5 | γ¦γ€ | tetsu | iron (the metal) | te + tsu |
| 6 | γγ¨ | oto | sound, noise | o + to |
| 7 | γγ¨ | soto | outside | so + to |
| 8 | γγ¨ | ito | thread | i + to |
| 9 | γγ¨ | koto | thing, matter | an abstract "thing" |
| 10 | γγ€ | itsu | when? | a question word |
| 11 | γγγγ€ | taisetsu | important, precious | four beats: ta-i-se-tsu |
| 12 | γγγγγ | atatakai | warm | five beats; an adjective |
π¬ Your First Mini-Dialogs
You can already read three short, casual exchanges. Read the Japanese first, then look at the romaji and English.
β Is It Hot? β γγ€γοΌ
β‘ Delicious? β γγγγοΌ
β’ A Trip β γγ€οΌ
- γ is the Japanese full stop and γ is the comma. They look like small circles and slanted ticks, and they sit at the foot of the line.
- The little word γ at the end of a sentence turns it into a question, as in γγγ ("Is that so? / I see"). In casual speech, you can also make a question with a rising voice and a οΌ, as in γγγγοΌ
- Japanese is normally written without spaces between words. Children's books add spaces to help beginners, and so does the romaji in this course. Soon you'll see where the words break without any help.
βοΈ Try It Yourself β γγγγ γ
Say each answer out loud first, then click to check.
1. Say the whole T row in order: γ γ‘ γ€ γ¦ γ¨
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ta Β· chi Β· tsu Β· te Β· to
2. How many strokes do γ¦ and γ¨ have?
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γ¦ has 1 stroke. γ¨ has 2.
3. Read and translate: γ¨γγ Β· γγ¨γ Β· γγ¨
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tokei (clock, watch) Β· kotoshi (this year) Β· soto (outside)
4. Write in hiragana: oto (sound) Β· itsu (when) Β· taisetsu (important)
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γγ¨ Β· γγ€ Β· γγγγ€
5. Read this exchange and say what it means: γγοΌγγγγγγγγγγ€οΌγγγ¨γοΌ
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"Are you going?" "Yes, I'm going." "When?" "This year!"
6. What do γ and γ mean?
Show answer
γ is the comma and γ is the full stop (period).