Ha Hi Fu

Katakana 1

Chapter 11 · Ha Hi Fu

🌿 The H Row Begins — ハヒフ

Three new characters: ハ (ha), ヒ (hi) and フ (fu). The big payoff today is コーヒー, coffee, the example from Chapter 1 that you can finally read yourself. Romaji is shown for everything.

✨ Your Three New Characters — ハヒフ

ハ

like "ha" in ha-ha ("hah")

2 strokes · stroke order ▸

Memory hook: ha-ha: two strokes spreading apart like the corners of a laughing mouth. Hiragana twin: は.

ヒ

like "hee" in heed, short ("hee")

2 strokes · stroke order ▸

Memory hook: a high-heeled shoe seen from the side: a flat sole and a curved heel. Hiragana twin: ひ.

フ

a soft "foo", made by blowing gently with rounded lips, not by touching teeth to lip

1 strokes · stroke order ▸

Memory hook: a funnel: one stroke with a flat top and a spout bending down. Hiragana twin: ふ.

Katakana	Hiragana twin	Romaji
ハ	は	ha
ヒ	ひ	hi
フ	ふ	fu

The Japanese "F" Is Not the English "F" The Japanese fu is made by blowing air between your lips, as if cooling soup, rather than by pressing your top teeth on your lower lip. In romaji it's spelled fu, but it sounds like a softer cousin of "h". You'll hear this in words like ナイフ and ハーフ.

Look-Alikes: フ, ウ and ワフ (fu) is a single stroke. ウ (u), which you learned in Chapter 1, has an extra tick on top, and ワ (wa), which comes in Chapter 18, has an extra short stroke on the left. If you see a plain bent line with no extras, it's フ. Also, ハ (ha) will have a close relative in Chapter 12: ヘ (he).

📖 Read It — Real Words

#	Word	Romaji	English	Note
1	コーヒー	kōhī	coffee	ko-o-hi-i: four beats
2	ハート	hāto	heart	ha-a-to
3	ナイフ	naifu	knife	na-i-fu: the English "k" is silent, and so it is here
4	ヒーター	hītā	heater	hi-i-ta-a: four beats
5	ハーフ	hāfu	half	ha-a-fu
6	ソフト	sofuto	soft; software	so-fu-to
7	シフト	shifuto	shift (work shift)	shi-fu-to
8	ハイ	hai	yes; hi	ha-i; the everyday "yes" is usually written in hiragana
9	ハイテク	haiteku	high-tech	ha-i-te-ku

Listen for the English Look at コーヒー: the English coffee has an "f" sound in the middle, but basic katakana has no "fi" sound, so Japanese substitutes hi: ko-o-hi-i. A good habit is to read each katakana word aloud, quickly, and listen for the English: with ヒーター, "heater" appears almost at once.

✍️ Try It Yourself — れんしゅう

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

1. Read aloud: ハ · ヒ · フ

Show answer

ha · hi · fu

2. Read aloud and translate: コーヒー · ハート

Show answer

kōhī (coffee) · hāto (heart)

3. Read aloud and translate: ナイフ · ヒーター · ハーフ

Show answer

naifu (knife) · hītā (heater) · hāfu (half)

4. Read aloud and translate: ソフト · シフト · ハイテク

Show answer

sofuto (soft; software) · shifuto (shift) · haiteku (high-tech)

5. How can you tell フ from ウ?

Show answer

フ is a single bent stroke; ウ has an extra tick on top.

6. Write in katakana: kōhī · hāto · naifu (check the stroke order).

Show answer

コーヒー · ハート · ナイフ

Coming Up in Chapter 5 Two more H sounds: ヘ (he) and ホ (ho), completing the H row. You'll read ヘア (hair) and ホース (hose), and see how ヘ differs from ハ.

Ha Hi Fu

🌿 The H Row Begins — ハ ヒ フ

✨ Your Three New Characters — ハ ヒ フ

📖 Read It — Real Words

✍️ Try It Yourself — れんしゅう

🌿 The H Row Begins — ハヒフ

✨ Your Three New Characters — ハヒフ