Reading Practice

Hiragana 3

Chapter 10 · Reading Practice

🌸 Reading Practice and Course Complete — 読んでみよう

The last chapter has no new characters. Instead, you will read: real signs, a café menu and a short text, using everything from the three hiragana courses. Romaji is shown for everything, but try to read the Japanese first.

🪧 Read the Signs — 看板

Real signs you will see in Japanese stations, shops and car parks (in real life most are written in kanji, with hiragana versions on signs for children, in learner materials and as readings beside the kanji). Read each one aloud first.

#	Sign	Romaji	English	Note
1	いりぐち	iriguchi	entrance	i-ri-gu-chi
2	でぐち	deguchi	exit	de-gu-chi
3	おてあらい	otearai	toilet; restroom	o-te-a-ra-i: lit. "hand-washing"
4	えき	eki	station	e-ki
5	あぶない	abunai	danger; careful	a-bu-na-i
6	きんえん	kin'en	no smoking	ki-n-e-n
7	ひじょうぐち	hijōguchi	emergency exit	hi-jō-gu-chi
8	ちゅうしゃじょう	chūshajō	car park	chū-sha-jō: three combined sounds in one word

🍵 Read the Menu — メニュー

A small sample café menu with prices in hiragana. This is a good test of the hundreds from Chapters 6 and 7.

#	Menu line	Romaji	English	Note
1	おちゃ　ひゃくえん	ocha hyakuen	Tea, 100 yen	ひゃく
2	ぎゅうにゅう　にひゃくえん	gyūnyū nihyakuen	Milk, 200 yen	ぎゅうにゅう: ぎゅ and にゅ
3	たまご　ごじゅうえん	tamago gojūen	An egg, 50 yen	ごじゅう = 50
4	おにぎり　ひゃくごじゅうえん	onigiri hyakugojūen	Rice ball, 150 yen	ひゃく + ごじゅう
5	ごはん　ひゃくえん	gohan hyakuen	Rice, 100 yen
6	ぎょうざ　ろっぴゃくえん	gyōza roppyakuen	Gyoza, 600 yen	ろっぴゃく: small っ + ぴゃ
7	てんぷら　はっぴゃくえん	tenpura happyakuen	Tempura, 800 yen	はっぴゃく

📄 A Short Text — 短い文章

Six sentences using everything you have learned in the three courses: particles, combined sounds, small っ and long vowels. Read the Japanese aloud before looking at the romaji and English.

#	Sentence	Romaji	English	Note
1	わたしはやまだたろうです。	Watashi wa Yamada Tarō desu.	I am Yamada Tarō.	は = wa; です
2	とうきょうのかいしゃへいきます。	Tōkyō no kaisha e ikimasu.	I go to a company in Tokyo.	の; へ = e
3	きょうはいいてんきです。	Kyō wa ii tenki desu.	It's nice weather today.	は = wa
4	ひるごはんをたべます。	Hirugohan o tabemasu.	I eat lunch.	ひるごはん = lunch; を = o
5	おちゃをのみます。	Ocha o nomimasu.	I drink tea.	を = o
6	しゅみはりょこうです。	Shumi wa ryokō desu.	My hobby is travel.	は = wa

Real Japanese Tip — Hiragana Is Only Part of Real Japanese In everyday Japanese, hiragana appears next to kanji and katakana: とうきょう is normally written 東京, and ひるごはん as 昼ご飯. Hiragana is the glue: it carries the grammar, the particles and the endings, and it is the script children read first. Because you can read it all, every kanji and katakana you learn from now on will fit into a sentence you can already read.

Review: Words from the Last Chapter わたしはがくせいです。 · とうきょうへいきます。 · ほんをよみます。 · みずをのみます。 · ごはんをたべます。

✍️ Try It Yourself — れんしゅう

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

1. Read aloud and translate: いりぐち · でぐち · おてあらい

Show answer

iriguchi (entrance) · deguchi (exit) · otearai (toilet)

2. How much is the ぎょうざ on the menu, and the てんぷら?

Show answer

ろっぴゃくえん (600 yen) · はっぴゃくえん (800 yen)

3. Read aloud: とうきょうのかいしゃへいきます。 What are the two particles, and how are they read?

Show answer

Tōkyō no kaisha e ikimasu. の (no) and へ (read e): I go to a company in Tokyo.

4. What is Yamada Tarō's hobby, according to the text?

Show answer

りょこう (ryokō): travel.

5. Which three things did Hiragana 3 add to the 46 + 25 characters you knew?

Show answer

Small っ, long vowels and combined sounds, plus the particles はへを.

6. Write in hiragana: Kyō wa ii tenki desu. (with the right particle)

Show answer

きょうはいいてんきです。

🎓 Course Complete — おめでとう！

You have finished all three hiragana courses. Here is what each one gave you, and the journey through this course.

Course	What it taught	Characters
Hiragana 1	the 46 basic characters, with romaji	あ … ん
Hiragana 2	voiced and semi-voiced characters (゛゜)	が … ぽ (25)
Hiragana 3	small っ, long vowels, 33 combined sounds, the particles はへを	っ · きゃ … りょ

Chapter	Topic	You can now…
1	Small っ	You can now hear and read the one-beat pause: きっぷ, がっこう.
2	Long vowels	You can now read and say two-beat vowels: おかあさん, せんせい.
3	きゃきゅきょ · ぎゃぎゅぎょ	You can now read the K and G combined sounds: きょう, ぎょうざ.
4	しゃしゅしょ · じゃじゅじょ	You can now read the sh and j combined sounds: かいしゃ, しゅみ.
5	ちゃちゅちょ · にゃにゅにょ	You can now read ch and ny: おちゃ, ちょっと.
6	ひゃひゅひょ · びゃびゅびょ	You can now read hy and by, and the hundreds: ひゃく, びょういん.
7	ぴゃぴゅぴょ · みゃみゅみょ	You can now read py and my, and 600 and 800.
8	りゃりゅりょ	You can now read all 33 combined sounds: りょこう.
9	はへを	You can now read particles as wa, e, o in real sentences.
10	Reading practice	You can now read signs, a menu and a short text.

What Next? You can read all of hiragana. Next steps: Katakana 2 (the voiced katakana, the small ッ, and the extra foreign sounds), then Japanese Basic Conversation 1, where you will start using the language: greetings, introductions, numbers, ordering food and more.