·
TUTTLE
Learning Japanese
e
Ira ana
and
a a ana
Learning Japanese
and
Hiragana
Katakana
Learning Japanese
Hiragana
andKatakana
(WORKBOOK AND PRACTICE SHEETS)
Takagaki & Henshall
TUTTLE PUBLISHlNG
Tokyo · Rutland, Vermont · Singapore
Published by Tuttle Publishing, an imprint of Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd. , with editorial offices at
61 Tai Seng Avenue, #02-1 2 Singapore 534167 and 364 Innovation Drive, North Clarendon, Vermont 05759 U.S.A.
Copyright © 1990 by Charles E. Tuttle Publishing Company, Inc.
All rights reserved.
LCC Card No. 90-70374
ISBN-IO: 0-8048-3815-1
ISBN-13: 978-0-8048-3815-3
Previously published in 2005 as A Guide to Learning Hiragana & Katakana ISBN 0-8048-3391-5
First edition, 1990
Printed in Singapore
Distributed by:
North America, Latin America and Europe
Tuttle Publishing
364 Innovation Drive,
North Clarendon, VT 05759-9436, USA
Tel : (802) 773 8930
Fax: (802) 773 6993
E-mail: info@tuttlepublishing.com
www.tutt1epublishing.com
Japan
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www.periplus.com
II 10 09 08
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3
T UTT LE PU BLl SH I N G ®
is a registered trad emark of Tuttle Publishing, a di visio n of Periplus Edi tions (HK) Ltd .
CONTENTS
How to Use This Book
An Explanation of Kana
PART I: HIRAGANA
Practice a - ko
Mini Review a - ko
Practice sa - to
Mini Review sa - to
Practice na - ho
Mini Review na - ho
Practice rna - yo
Mini Review rna - yo
Practice ra - n
Mini Review ra - n
Voiced and Half-Voiced Sounds
Review of Voiced and Half-Voiced Sounds
Review of Double Vowels and Consonants
Combined Sounds
Review of Combined Sounds
Review through Place Names and Period Names
General Review
PART II: KATAKANA
Practice a - to
Mini Review a - to
Practice na - n
Mini Review na - n
Voiced and Half-Voiced Sounds
Review of Voiced and Half-Voiced Sounds
Combined Sounds
Review of Combined Sounds and Double Consonants
Review through International Place Names
7
9
17
19
24
26
31
33
38
40
44
46
50
52
54
57
59
61
63
65
69
71
81
83
96
98
100
102
104
106
109
111
113
114
115
116
117
118
120
PART nl: FINAL REVIEW
About Japan
Food Items Quiz
Rora and Fauna Quiz
Personal Names Quiz
Kana Word Search
Quiz Answers
Do-It-Yourself Kana Charts
The Iroha Verse
6
HOW TO USE THIS BOOK
The main aim of this book is to help students achieve competence in reading and writing
kana, the phonetic symbols that are fundamental to written Japanese. The book starts with
a section entitled An Explanation of Kana, which contains everything the student will need
to know about the two kana systems of hiragana and katakana. Part I of the workbook section then systematically introduces each hiragana symbol, voiced form, and combination,
and provides ample practice and review. Part II does the same for katakana, while Part III
provides an overall review.
The Explanation of Kana outlines the function and origin of kana, the difference between
the two kana systems, the various sounds, the combinations, and the conventions of usage.
It attempts to be detailed and thorough so that it can be used for reference at any stage.
Though all the information about kana is grouped together in this one section for ease of
reference, it is not expected that the student will read it all before starting on the practice
pages. In fact, to do so might give the impression that kana are perhaps rather formidable,
which is not really the case at all. (Just ask any Japanese child!) We recommend that the
student start work on the hiragana practice pages after reading the first three subsections on the function, origin, and basic sounds of kana . After fmishing practice of the forty-six
basic hiragana symbols the student should go back to the Explanation and read the subsection on additional sounds, then work through the rest of the hiragana practice pages before
moving on to the katakana practice. The final subsection, on other points to note, is mostly
concerned with special katakana combinations and can be left until the appropriate point in
the katakana practice pages, just prior to the final review. Students may modify this order,
but we recommend fmishing practice of one kana system before moving on to the next.
In the practice pages of Parts I and II each kana symbol is allotted half a page, permitting
plenty of writing practice in the boxes given. We suggest working in pencil, rather than
ink, as this will allow for erasing and repeated use. Stroke order and a pronunciation guide
are also given for each symbol. In addition, for each symbol there is an illustration of its
graphic evolution from its "parent" character (see Explanation of Kana) and a reference
number for that character as it occurs in A Guide to Remembering Japanese Characters
(Charles E. Tuttle Company, 1988), together with the character's pronunciation. This may
be of interest to readers wishing to continue their studies of written Japanese to an advanced
level. (However, some of the original characters are no longer commonly used and therefore are not included in A Guide to Remembering Japanese Characters.)
7
After approximately every ten symbols there are "mini review" pages for further practice,
this time using whole words. These are cumulative, containing symbols not only from the
group just completed but from earlier groups. The mini reviews can be used purely for
copying practice, or, by covering the cue kana on the left side of the page, as more challenging writing exercises. They can also be used as vocabulary exercises.
Part III, the Final Review, contains exercises, quizzes, and "do-it-yourself' charts. Unlike
the reviews in the fIrst two parts it combines the two kana systems, as is natural in Japanese
texts. And for a more natural effect the boxes used earlier in the book to help achieve even
spacing and proper stroke lengths are dispensed with in this fInal part.
The words appearing in the reviews have been carefully chosen in keeping with an additional aim of this book, which is to expose readers to key words related to Japanese society
and culture. The prime criterion for selecting review words was their suitability for practicing the kana symbols, but we thought it would be helpful to students if in addition these
words could, whenever possible, have particular relevance to Japanese culture. About half
of the 450 or so vocabulary items in the book fall into this category. It is beyond the scope
of the book to explain these in detail, but students who take the trouble to fInd out more
about them will be rewarded with a broadened appreciation of Japan's society and culture.
In short, we intend that these words should be used as a sort of checklist for an exploration
of Japan, rather than simply memorized as isolated vocabulary items.
Readers will occasionally encounter a semicolon between English equivalents given for a
Japanese review word. This indicates that the Japanese word is a homophone, that is, a
word having a different meaning but the same sound as another. Normally these homophones would be written with different characters, but when expressed in phonetic kana
script or romanization such differentiation is not possible. The English words separated by
a semicolon thus refer to different Japanese words sharing the same kana form. (Commas
between English words simply indicate nuances of the same word.) It should also be noted
that there is sometimes a subtle difference in intonation between "homophones," which cannot be determined from the kana or romanization.
Finally, readers are advised to seek specialist or native-speaker guidance on intonation and
pronunciation. It should be appreciated that the pronunciation guides given in this book can
only ever be approximate, owing to the variety in pronunciation of the same English word
in different parts of the world. Also, some Japanese sounds cannot be precisely represented
by English letters. The Japanese "r," for example, actually falls between the English "r"
and "d" But remember that, with both speaking and writing, practice makes perfect!
8
AN EXPLANATION OF KANA
The Function of Kana
Kana are purely phonetic symbols. That is, they are written representations of pronunciation. They can express the entire Japanese language in writing, though in practice the writ-
ten language uses a mixture of kana and kanji (characters taken from Chinese).
There are two kana systems: katakana and hiragana. Katakana is now mainly used for
words taken from languages other than Chinese. Hiragana is the more important of the two
systems, and is used for everything not written in katakana or kanji. Kanji show meanings
of words, though they also have pronunciations. Normally they are used for nouns and the
the unchanging part (the stem) of verbs, adjectives, and adv~rbs, while hiragana symbols
are used for the changing parts (notably endings). For example, the verb iku means "go,"
while ikanai means "not go." The stem is i-, and this is usually written with a kanji, while
the variable endings -ku and -kanai are written in hiragana. Hiragana is also used to \\rite
particles, and other words where kanji are not appropriate. To all intents and purposes the
two kana systems are not interchangeable, and are rarely mixed within a given word. The
rule is: katakana for non-Chinese loan words, hiragana and kanji for the rest.
The student of Japanese should ideally aim to learn all the two thousand kanji in common
use. They playa very practical role in graphically and distinctively conveying the meaning
of a written statement, unlike a purely phonetic script, and thereby aid rapid understanding.
And naturally, no one can expect to read unedited Japanese texts without a knowledge of
kanji. However, learning the kanji is a time-consuming task. Many of them are structurally
complex, and many have a wide range of meanings and pronunciations.
Kana, on the other hand, are much fewer in number, with only forty-six basic symbols in
each of the two systems. They are simple to write, and, with very few exceptions, they
have fixed pronunciations. If you don't know the kanji for a particular word, but know the
pronunciation, you can just express that entire word in kana (hiragana, that is; remember
that katakana is for non-Chinese foreign words). In other words, while not ideal, kana
(hiragana) can substitute for kanji. This means that even beginners can express
themselves in functional written Japanese with relatively little effort.
9
The Origin of Kana
The word kana derives from karina, meaning "borrowed name," for the kana symbols are
simplified forms of certain borrowed Chinese characters used for their sound (though, confusingly, the same characters lent their meaning in other contexts). The prefix hira- means
"ordinary," with connotations of "informal" and "easy," and in this particular case
"cursive." Thus hiragana means "ordinary (cursive) kana," and indeed hiragana has traditionally been the more commonly used of the two systems, and the more cursive. The hiragana symbols are simplifications of whole Chinese characters. For example, the kana ~
(pronounced like the "a" in "car") derives from a cursive rendition of the character ~
(pronounced "an"). Kata- means "one side" or "partial," pointing to the fact that katakana
symbols derive from one part of a Chinese character. For example, ~ (pronounced like
"ee" in "meet") is the left-hand part of the character
(also pronounced "ee").
1t
Both systems evolved around the end of the eighth century. In those early days hiragana
was used mostly by women, while men preferred to use the more angular katakana. However, these associations have long since disappeared.
The Basic Sounds Represented by Kana
Kana symbols basically represent syllables, and the kana systems are therefore syllabaries
rather than alphabets. Generally the syllables are crisp and clear combinations of one consonant and one following vowel, or one vowel by itself. There is only one consonant that
exists as a syllable and kana symbol in its own right, n.
The use of English letters to refer to Japanese sounds and symbols can produce a number
of apparent irregularities. Among other things a combination of consonant and vowel in
Japanese will not necessarily have the same pronunciation as in English. For example,
while ",~, is found in the h group (see the table that follows), its pronunciation is actually
closer to the English sound "fu" than "hu." To facilitate pronunciation the romanization
used in this book is a version of the Hepburn system, which transcribes ~~, asfu rather
than hu, but readers should appreciate that there is no direct equivalent in Japanese to an
English "f." Similar cases of convenient but seemingly irregular romanization are found in
the s group and t group. This may begin to seem complicated, but in fact correspondence
in Japanese between kana spelling and pronunciation is much simpler than in the case of
English and its alphabet. Attempts to express certain loan words in katakana can seem
10
awkward, but that is really a problem relating to the Japanization of non-Japanese words,
rather than to the kana system itself.
Each of the two kana systems contains the same basic forty-six syllables, arranged in the
same order. The basic syllabaries are as follows (combined for convenience, with the katakana written slightly smaller).
VOWELS
a
J\
k
s
-p
a
1)\ tJ
ka
~
"-
....,..
sa
t
~
(2 ~ta
n
t-d- -tna
h
I \
0tI)
5
u
m
y
r
w
y
n
~~
~
ha
:7
rna
~
~
ki
l
'l
-J?
~ ~
ya
, _:L
? ra v)
h
shi
~
chi
,
t7
1
u
<
er-:J
t: -- t/J
V
J-J-
e
U
\" \ Ii"1
tI)
z
Iv
1
I]
ku
A
su
\\I
tsu
)l.
ni
nu
t:
-;
hi
~
....:
ffil
...
.... )
\
~
fu
~
mu
;t
0
:Ie
I)
"1
tJ
-"'"
ttJ
_.::r-_
te
;t
ne
~
he
lme
W yu
~
'J
)1/
ru
...,
~t ' 1 '-,tz
1:t se Yc
;:L
ri
;h~
t
(f)
~l
t
J:
t1
}...re
J:;
R
wa
;t
0
.:l
ko
'/
so
lto
)
no
It,
ho
;f;
mo
3
yo
0
ro
::j
wo
n
This order is known as the gojiionjun, meaning "the fifty sounds order." In fact, there are
now only forty-six basic symbols (sounds) officially in use. Yi, ye, and wu do not exist.
Wi
and we (J!., /
were officially removed from the list in 1946 since the
sounds were considered sufficiently close to i and e to be represented by the symbols for
these. However, the symbols for wi and we are still encountered on rare occasions.
(k /J/:-)
.::e.)
The gojiionjun is the standard order followed by dictionaries and other reference works. It
11
is therefore particularly important to remember it. To this end, the following mnemonic,
which is a modified version of one taught by Professors Dunn and O'Neill of the University of London, may be helpful.
Ah, kana signs! Take note how many you read well (n).
The reader will have taken note of the fact that the first letters of these words follow the
gojUonjun consonant headings. With apologies to mathematicians, even the syllable n (Iv)
is represented, by the mathematical symbol "n" indicating the utmost number (in this case
92, the sum of the two kana systems).
The syllable n (Iv) is sometimes called the "independent n" but in fact it can never be used
truly independently. Nor can it ever start a word. When working from romanization it is
sometimes difficult to tell whether a non-initial n followed by a vowel is a syllable from the
n- group, or whether it is n (Iv) followed by an independent vowel. For example, tani
could be either r-l:::.(valley) or t-:.Iv~ \(unit). Context usually makes this clear. To avoid
ambiguity some romanization systems use an apostrophe after the n that represents Iv.
Thus t:. ~ '" I can be romanized as tan'i. Note also that in romanization Iv is sometimes
written as m before a p, b, or m, as in shimbun for shinbun (newspaper). This practice is
by no means universally followed (and is not followed in this book), but its existence does
indicate one of the exceptional cases where the pronunciation of a kana symbol could be
said to vary slightly according to context.
Additional Sounds Represented by Kana
In addition to the forty-six basic symbols, there are sixty-one classified modifications and
combinations in each system, and a few further special combinations as well. This may
sound alarming, but in fact it involves only a handful of new points to learn.
The first is the dakuon, meaning "voiced sound" or "hardened sound." Sounds starting
with the unvoiced consonants k, s, t, and h are voiced as g, zlj, dlzlj, and b respectively if
the diacritical marks \' are added to the upper right side of the basic kana symbol, as
shown in the following table. (See also pp. 52-56.) The table also shows handakuon,
meaning "half-voiced sound," which applies only to sounds starting with h. The addition
of a small circle 0 to the upper right side of the appropriate basic kana symbol changes the
pronunciation from h to p (as opposed to changing it to b in the case of the full dakuon ).
12
VOWELS
a
1
fill
li~'
g
z/j
dlzlj
b
ga
~"
'-
r-
"
-t-..
gi
, .'
C
9"
-is''
4-"
V:'
t:,"
)
\"
ba
J \0
L~f
P
-....;..
..
-fT"
za
da
Lt"
~
pa
I
;/
ji
ji
bi
CO
pi
yO
e
U
<"
r"
zu
,~"
~
zu
,"
ittl
1t'
1"
"7"
bu ~
\
0
7
, PU
~
.. Q
..... )
gU
A"
"
v~
'J"
0
'1"
:J"
~,.
ge
gO
'-
~.'
1Z" ~~
zo
ze
:;-at
de 2::"
-'"' Ll"
be
~
tlO
De
F'
do
it,'
bo
;KG
PO
t';
Ji and zu are written C' and
except when they clearly derive from chi (1? ) and tsu (-:;)
in compounds or repeated symbols. For example, hanaji (nosebleed, from hana [nose] and
chi [blood]) is ~1"J:Ij'; and tsuzuku (continue, from tsutsuku ) is -?
,?"< .
A combination of a consonant and y- is known as a yoon, meaning "contracted sound."
Any of the seven basic consonants k, s, t, n, h, m, or r, or voiced or half-voiced consonants, can be used. The symbol that represents these consonants plus i, for example ~
(ki) or l (shi), is followed by a symbol from the y- group - either ya, yu, or yo as appropriate. This second symbol is written smaller, while the i sound is barely pronounced and is
dropped in romanization. Thus kyo is expressed as ~ J: and shu (syu in some romanization systems) as
If the J: or ,.p of our examples were written the same size as the
preceding symbols, then they would be treated as uncombined symbols and read kiyo or
shiyu respectively. Full tables are given below. (See also pp. 59-62.)
L'tP .
a
ky
sh
ch
u
~~
kya
~~
7k'
L~ sha L~
~:L..
k-v
.4-1
1~
?~
cha
ny ~::~ "::-v
nya
hy
my
ry
1h
J+~
l)
iJ.p
kyu
.5/1
shu
chu
"::::'.:L
hya
~:~ nyu
1::.1(}ij> hyu
~Jr!
~.:L
l:::..-v
mya
I, J.l(f
-t' rva
.....
Jj-~
L)~
~ci
~3
Let
3/3
iJJ:
l:J:
VI.
kyo
sho
.4-~
hyo
rvu
1/3
J
C~
'i~
ia
C~
'l~'
- .1
1?t 14-'-V
ia ~'~
A-J'.J.
iu
ju
C~
13'~
5''';I
-
io
:4-'9
jo
py
~3
l).t
..
~"\1 ~
~'~ ~" ~'3
~"
~~ gya ~\f gyU -.1: gyO
by
t::::."3
J-t.;. myo
0
gy
J
cho
;::'3
nyo
mvu
Ib_
u
a
0
Note that
rvo
13
..,f' combinations rarely occur.
Some consonants - essentially k, s, t, and p - can be doubled by inserting a small tsu (..,
or \~) in front of them. This combination is known as a sokuon (double consonant). Thus
gakki (school term) is expressed as 1) \'~ ~. The little -? or 'v is not pronounced as such,
but the consonant that follows it is given, as it were, a double amount of time for its pronunciation. It is important to apply this extra time to the consonant only, and not to the following vowel. Thus the word in our example should be pronounced gakki and not gakkii.
These double consonants can never begin a word. (See also pp. 57-58.)
Students commonly make the mistake of trying to write a double n, as in words like annai
(guide), with a small...,. The correct way is to use Iv to represent the flrst n. Thus annai
should be written ~ Iv ~ l.- \.
The lengthening of vowels (including the vowel sound of syllables in which a consonant
precedes the vowel) can also cause errors, especially in the case of the long o. In romanization long vowels are usually indicated (if at all) either by writing the vowel twice or by a
macron, as in uu or for a long u. For loan words in katakana, a barlike symbol _ . (or I
with vertical script) is used. Thus rOOl! (rubber) is written =; /''-. In hiragana, the vow-
u
els a, i, u, and e are doubled by simply writing if" ~ " ? ' or ik. respectively after the preceding symbol. Thus okasan (mother) is written 1,'IJ'a, ~ Iv. (The doubling of a and e
actually occurs infrequently in hiragana. What sounds like a long e is usually e followed by
i, as in 1:t Ivitt.. " sensei [teacher].) A long 0 can sometimes be formed by doubling in the
same way as with other vowels, that is, by adding h', but it is more commonly formed by
adding ~ (u). Thus so (so, thus) is written ~., . The long 0 that takes J;' was once pronounced slightly differently from the long 0 that takes /;, but that is no longer true, and it
is necessary to learn each word with a long 0 sound case by case. Fortunately, there are
only a few common words that require the addition of 'jJ' as opposed to ~. These include
okii (big, JJ' ~,~",), oi (many, f,'''/J' \- \), toi (far, tri~ to (ten, t ;;'), and tori (way,
road,
LJ). Students should take particular care not to be misled by the common romanization practice of writing a long 0 as 00, when in hiragana it is usually
(0) plus ~ (u).
\),
tn'
n'
Caution is also needed when transcribing from kana to romanization. Always check that an
apparent long vowel really is a long vowel, and not two unlinked vowels. A typical case of
the latter is a verb whose variable ending starts with the same vowel as the last vowel of the
stem, or appears to combine with it to make a long o. For example, the verb ':t 1, meaning
"go with," should always be romanized as sou and not so or soo. (By contrast, ~-? meaning "thus," being a genuine long vowel, is romanized as so or soo.) Similarly, suu is the
romanization for the verb
(suck), rather than SU, and kiite is the way to romanize the
suspensive ~ ~ \ 1. (listening), rather than kIte.
-t ?
14
Other Points to Note
There are three common cases where kana usage is distinctly irregular. They all involve
particles, namely the topic particle wa, the object particle o,and the directional particle e
(meaning "to"). These words are written ~<t, "t ,and /'\. respectively, and not t?, -h"
and
as might be expected. The irregularities result from the failure of writing conventions to keep pace with pronunciation changes over the last century or so.
1
Certain further usages need to be noted with regard to katakana loan words only. These are
relatively recent attempts to express non-Japanese words with greater accuracy, and tend to
be an extension of the yoon principle (,J.t etc.) seen earlier. That is, they combine two
kana symbols, the fIrst one lending only its consonant sound and this fact being indicated
by the small size of the second symbol. For example, "f' sounds can be approximated by
followingfu (7) with a small vowel. Thusfa,ji,fe, andfo are written as 7-r, 7f, 7r.,
and 7;t respectively. Similarly, "q" can be represented by ku ('7) plus a small vowel, as in
7~-1- (quarter).
A German-style "z" (as in "Mozart") can be shown by tsu (0/) plus a small
vowel, Le.,=E,- 'YI'Jt.f<Mozart). "She" (as in "shepherd"), "che" (as in "check"), and the
:Ys:..
voiced version "je" are written as 7J:, *~and
Though not a consonant, u ('7) is
used in a similar type of combination, to produce "w" sounds. As mentioned earlier, the
sounds wi and we are still occasionally found expressed by.:zt: and.::e respectively, but
'7{
nowadays are usually written as
and'1.x:.. Thus "whisky" (uisukT) is usually written
as ~.( A ~ -. Theoretically =J could be used for wo, but this has become so associated
'7;;r
with the object particle 0 that
is used instead. (Wa, however, is represented by '7 .)
In similar fashion, i (1) can be followed by a small I- to express "ye." Thus "Yemen" is
1:t. - j./ . Remarkably, an extension of the use of "]
in order to express "v." Thus "Venus" is r7~- fA.
has seen diacritical marks added to it
The English sounds "ty" or "ti" (as
in "party") and their voiced equivalents "dy" and "di," which were once expressed rather
f
unfaithfully by
and ~\. respectively, are now written as :::;-1 and ::;-~ . Thus "party"
and::;-';,..,
is 1\°- 71-. The "tu" of "tuba" and the "du" of "due" can be expressed by
=r:l-
giving -1";L- },' (tuba) and .:;:~ I'/Kduet), while the "Tou" of "Toulouse" can be s~~wn
by
~ '1
(a voiced version is also possible).
These combinations have very recently received official approval, particularly when used in
proper nouns such as place names and personal names. However, there is also official recognition of established usage, such as of b for v. This means that in practice some words
can be written in a number of ways. "Violin" can be eitherryp.t{ It I) :; or I \'1 I) /. for
example. In cases where a certain usage has become particularly fIrmly entrenched in the
it
Japanese language the old rendition is favored, such as ~ ) 1..--7 ~ -
15
.:f (mirukuseki) for
"milkshake" (but note that "Shakespeare" is ;;~ -1 A t:,.°r). At the same time, it is also
possible to make up new combinations as appropriate, such as :::- (ni) plus a small ~ (e)
to express the nye sound of the Russian nyet. In short, the student should be prepared for
a range of creative and sometimes inconsistent usages.
Katakana is very occasionally used for words other than loan words. For example, it can
be used to emphasize or highlight words, such as entries in academic reference works, and
is also used in telegrams and certain military and official documents. In such cases, when
used for purely Japanese or Chinese-derived words, its conventions of usage are identical
to those of hiragana. Long vowels, for instance, are formed by adding the appropriate
rather than t}':,/ :l -.
vowel and not by a bar. Thus gakkO (school) is 1t'/ :1
'7,
A kana symbol can be repeated by the special symbol \. This can also be used when the
second symbol is a voiced version of the first, in which case it becomes \". Where more
than one syllable is repeated, in vertical script only, \ (or { ' if the first of the repeated
sounds is voiced) can be used, with the symbol covering two spaces. These repetition symbols are known collectively as odoriji (jump symbols). Students need to recognize them,
but should only use them, if at all, with caution. They are not compulsory, and have a number of restrictions on their usage. For example, they cannot be used where the first symbol
of one word is the same as the last symbol of the word that precedes it (as in kuroi ishi
meaning "black stone"), or similarly in compound words where the first symbol of the second word coincides with the last symbol of the first word (as in tama-matsuri meaning
"festival of the dead"), or where the-first symbol of a variable word ending is the same as
the last symbol of the word stem (as in ki-kimasu meaning "listen"). Some examples of
correct usage:
v,
IJ'"
.'
Jr
7;,
~
mimi
(ear)
<
iroiro
(various)
kagami
(mirror)
~
'-
j:
<-
samazama
(various)
Finally, students should learn the basic Japanese punctuation marks, known as kutoten.
Full stops are written 0 (maru), and commas are written \ (ten). Quotation marks (kagi),
are written r J in horizontal script and
in vertical script
,
L.
16
I
HIRAGANA
IDRAGANA
ORIGIN
(AN 223)
STROKE ORDER
a
as "a" in "car," but
shorter
PRACTICE
......... .
... :'"
.. :-.':'''''
..
I.
..
ORIGIN
(I 419)
IY~ 1~ 71 ~ >Il )1
2
1
STROKE ORDER
I\;
~'v
'\
\
\.
•
Il )I I I
I
as "ee" in "meet,"
but shorter
PRACTICE
.'
19
HIRAGANA
~
ORIGIN
,
Itltl 7 11 1
1
'5
j
U
(U 811)
2;
STROKE ORDER
I
as "u" in "hula," but
shorter
"
10 1
1 1
PRACTICE
"
. ....:
ORIGIN
(F)I 420)
1
~
STROKE ORDER
e
as "e" in "get"
PRACTICE
"
.:
,
~. o. o.
20
HIRAGANA
ORIGIN
(0)
1+~~~
STROKE ORDER
o
as " 0" in "or," but
shorter
PRACTICE
• 0"
... ...
"
• ~'.
' .~
. .. ,
,.!
ORIGIN
(KA 431)
Ino IVV11 b') I I)' I
STROKE ORDER
ka
as "ca" in "car," but
shorter
PRACTICE
. ..
'.
21
HIRAGANA
ORIGIN
I~'I! I~ I~
3
1~
2~
ki
(KI 1129)
I
STROKE ORDER
4~,--
as "ki" in"k eep, "
but shorter
PRACTICE
..-:',
~.
. .. :
ORIGIN
(KU 647)
I~I~I~I<I
STROKE ORDER
ku
I<I I I I
as "Ku" in "Kuwait,"
but shorter
PRACTICE
"
I
I
22
HlRAGANA
ORIGIN
(KEI 105)
l~tlnlttlLtl
STROKE ORDER
ke
as "ke" in "keg"
PRACTICE
.i --.
.:~ .
"I
:
ORIGIN
~
(KO 855)
1r:IGILI21
STROKE ORDER
1
~
}
2~\.....,
~
1 121
1 1
\.
ko
as "co" in "core,"
but shorter
PRACTICE
.....
:
...... ..
~
23
HIRAGANA
MINI REVIEW
ct -
ai
1&>: l
'I
:
:2 / A -
KO
love
1
:
1
: I : I :
ue
1
above, top
I-?: il : I : I : I : I : I
oka
1;no: 1) \1
:
1
:
1
:
:Ltl :
I
1
:
1
:
1
:
1
hear, ask; chrysanthemum
I : I
:
koke
12
:
hill
kiku
I~:< I :
: I
I
:
I
:
I
:
I
:
1
:
1
:
1
:
I
:
I
:
I
:
I
moss
1
:
1
:
ike
1
pond
lit ,: It I : I : I : I : I
kau
11)': -? I : 1 : I : I : I
buy
i: ~ I
1
eki
:
station
1
:
1
:
iku
1
::1
1
1
:
1
:
1
:
1
1
:
1
:
1
:
1
:
1
:
1
:
1
I
:
I
:
I
here
1
: I
au
1~:11 :
:
go
: :
<1 koko
12:
:
:
I" ':
I
meet
I : I : I
24
:
HIRAGANA
koe
1-::
itl
VOIce
:
1
1
:
kaku
11)\:
<1
:
n":ltl
1
1
:
1
1
:
kao
1
1
:
Ie
:
: I :
1
:
1
1
:
iu
1
1
:
akai
: :
aoi
IJ?: ;h:~ ,I :
:
~: ;h": <I : :
: :
1
:
1
1
:
1
:
1
:
1
1
:
1
:
1
:
1
I : I
1
1
:
1
:
1
:
1
:
1
:
1
:
1
:
1
1
:
:
:
1
I
I
I
1
:
:
:
1
memory
1
: :
ekaki
A-: 1)\: ~
1
blue
kioku
1
:
red
1;h:/;":\, 'I : :
1
:
1
say
:
1 \, ': 11
1
I
I
I
autumn
:
11
1
house, extended family
aki
Icb:
:
face, honor
:
It-\:;tl
:
wooden bucket
:
11)':.n-1
1
write
oke
1
:
1
1
: :
1
: :
1
:
1
: :
1
painter
1
: :
25
1
:
HIRAGANA
ORIGIN
(SA 22)
2
I~
sa
as "sa" in "sarcasm,"
but shorter
3
STROKE ORDER
"''PRACTICE
. ... ..
,t.'.
ORIGIN
(Sill, part of 1335)
ILl iii III
1
~
STROKE ORDER
shi
I LI
as "shee" in "sheep,"
but shorter
PRACTICE
... .
26
HIRAGANA
ORIGIN
(SUN 909)
Itltlt!g-!
2
~
STROKE ORDER
su
as "Su" in "Susan,"
but shorter
PRACTICE
....-.., ...
.,~
" ':
ORIGIN
(SE 327)
2
J,
STROKE ORDER
se
as "se" in "set"
PRACTICE
27
HIRAGANA
ORIGIN
(SO, part of Z0741)
STROKE ORDER
so
as "so" in "sore,"
but shorter
PRACTICE
... .
'
.....
• •• •
I
.
ORIGIN
(TA 164)
STROKE ORDER
ta
as "ta" in "tar," but
shorter
PRACTICE
.;.,
:
.'
... .
"".'
28
HIRAGANA
ORIGIN
(CHI 169)
STROKE ORDER
chi
as "chee" in "cheek,"
but shorter
PRACTICE
ORIGIN
(SU 304)
1~
STROKE ORDER
tsu
I
as "tsu" in "tsunami"
PRACTICE
...
29
HIRAGANA
ORIGIN
(TEN 58)
STROKE ORDER
te
as "te" in "ten"
PRACTICE
ORIGIN
(TO-maru 129)
STROKE ORDER
to
as "to" in "tore,"
but shorter
PRACTICE
,
~
•
I
•
...... ...
~
30
HIRAGANA
MINI REVIEW ~ -
C / SA -
sushi
sushi
11: II : 1
TO
I: 1 : 1 :
tsuchi
soil
1-::>: 1? 1 : 1 : 1 : 1 : 1 :
outside
solo
11: (:"1
: 1 :
1
:
sake
I : I :
1 : 1
sake; sahnon
1~ :It 1 : 1 : 1 : 1 :
letsu
I : I :
1
iron, steel
I(:~I : 1 .: 1 : 1 : 1 : 1 : 1
seki
seat; cough
Itt: ~ I : I : I : I : I : I :
tatsu
1
stand, leave; dragon
Ir::i~1 : 1 : 1 :
Iochi
I :
1 : 1 : 1
llind
I(::~I : 1 : 1 : 1 : 1 : 1
uta
song, poem
1-7 :t ~I : 1 : 1 : 1 : 1 : 1
thing; Japanese harp
kolo
12: tl : 1 : 1 :
suso
I :
hem
1 : 1 : I
It: ~ I : I : I : I : I : I : I
31
HIRAGANA
~
~brerun
Ir~: I:
I: I : I
t \
teld
enemy
shichi
seven
: I
I : I : I
I : I : I
I~ itl i I I: I : I : I : I
10: ~ 1 : 1 : 1 : 1 i 1 : 1 : 1
I~ :-tt: ~I : : I : : I : : I : : I
ose
sweat
sam
thrust; indicate
uso
untruth
~e~u
~on
ashita
tomorrow
1c9J: L: r~1 : : 1 : : 1 : : 1 : : I
satoi
1~:C:~11
clever, sharp (of senses)
: : I : : I : : I : :
sekitei
rock garden (Japanese style)
1-tt:~:(:~'1 : : :
chikatetsu
32
I : : : I
subway
HIRAGANA
ORIGIN
(NA)
STROKE ORDER
oa
as "na" in "narcotic,"
but shorter
PRACTICE
ORIGIN
(NI 906)
11~1121 L21l =I
STROKE ORDER
II It-I t=-I I
. . . . .21.
j
1
13~
~'--
.: .......
'..:
'-•
01
as "nea" in "neat,"
but shorter
PRACTICE
. .
2
.'
"t ....... •
33
HIRAGANA
ORIGIN
(NU/DO 1638)
1
~
STROKE ORDER
nu
as "noo" in "noon,"
but shorter
PRACTICE
ORIGIN
(NE)
STROKE ORDER
ne
as "ne" in "net"
PRACTICE
34
lllRAGANA
ORIGIN
(NO/NAD
STROKE ORDER
no
I I
as "no" in "north,"
but shorter
PRACTICE
.'. .
.0 ·-,'"
,
,
: ."
"
'
.' ,
ORIGIN
(HA 367)
STROKE ORDER
ha
as "ha" in "harm,"
but shorter
PRACTICE
.
' .. ... ~ 0'
~
..
'
'.,
.....
.
35
HIRAGANA
ORIGIN
(HI 771)
I I I
I~L Vt L~ V I
STROKE ORDER
Ivl I I
hi
as "hea" in "heat "
but shorter
'
I
PRACTICE
~
,,~,
ORIGIN
(FU 572)
l7f I~IJ;I~~, I
3~V :s ~
I I I~~ Iv), I
1
~
STROKE ORDER
fo
as "foo" in"~00,
1"
but with softer "ft
)
~
)
PRACTICE
.... . ,..
~
:
'.'
~
"
36
HIRAGANA
ORIGIN
(HFJBU 384)
STROKE ORDER
1~
he
I I
as "he" in "hen"
PRACTICE
..,""..".
ORIGIN
(HO 787)
STROKE ORDER
ho
as "ho" in "hom,"
but shorter
PRACTICE
! .... ! .
.. ,:..
:,...
,"':"
- ,
:
37
HIRAGANA
-rJ.. -
MINI REVIEW
nani
I~:L:::I :
:
I : I
:
:
I
:
I
:
:
I : I
:
:
1
:
I
:
:
I : I
:
1
:
I
:
: I : I
:
:
:
hashi
I~i: ~I :
1
:
1
:
:
I
I
:
I
:
I
:
I
1
:
1
:
1
:
1
I
I
I
I
:
I
:
1
I : I
1
:
1
:
I
:
I
:
:
1
:
1
:
I
I
I
I
1
:
1
doll, fledgling
I : I
I : I
:
I : I
I : I
:
:
I
I
I
I
:
1
:
:
:
chopsticks; bridge; edge
:
kinu
I~:~I :
I
:
crab
lUna
ItA:rJI
I
boat
kani
11.J': l :::1
I
I
I
I
flower, blossom; nose
June
I·~,:nl
I
clumsy
Iuma
I ~j:: 1"J 1
:
skin
heta
I"": t::1
I
cloth
hifu
I U':·~,I
:
I : I
bone
nUIW
I&'J: (f) I
HO
what
hone
I L~:tdl
L~/ NA -
silk
1
:
1
:
38
1
:
1
HIRAGANA
hoshi
star
hito
person
Iv: (:1 : I : I : I :
Id):~ I : I : I : I : I
It::: L-I : I : I : I : I
It~: l ': <I : : I : : I : : I : : I
nold
eaves
nishi
west
haiku
haiku
katana
curved sword
ItJ\: ~: ~ I : : I : : I : : I : : I
netsuke
carved figurine
tanuld
raccoon dog
Ir~: &'J: 1 I : : I : : I : : I :
seifu
government
inoshishi
wild boar
heisotsu
soldier
IlI:d): l: II : : : I : : : I
39
HIRAGANA
ORIGIN
(MATSU 587)
STROKE ORDER
rna
as "rna" in "mark,"
but shorter
PRACTICE
.
........
.. ..:...
P
t.
::: "'.
ORIGIN
(BI 376)
STROKE ORDER
rnl•
as "mea" in "meat,"
but shorter
PRACTICE
. .;
~
.. :..•t
.0· ..
• • •0
.
"
40
HIRAGANA
ORIGIN
(MU 781)
2
~
3
'{
STROKE ORDER
mn
as "moo" in "moon,"
but shorter
PRACTICE
'.,1
,
~
.....
'
I
ORIGIN
(ME 35)
STROKE ORDER
me
as "me" in "met"
PRACTICE
. .
.;.-...-:......
...
... .
..
41
HIRAGANA
ORIGIN
(MO 210)
STROKE ORDER
mo
as "mo" in "more,"
but shorter
PRACTICE
.
.. , .
.,. . .... .
ORIGIN
(YA, part of CHI 167)
STROKE ORDER
ya
as "ya" in "yard,"
but shorter
PRACTICE
..\.~.:::;
42
HIRAGANA
ORIGIN
(YU 399)
2
~
1
1
STROKE ORDER
yu
1Y-JIYjJI
as "you" in "youth,"
but shorter
PRACTICE
ORIGIN
(YO 1873)
2
.i-
1
~
STROKE ORDER
yo
as "Yo" in "York,"
but shorter
PRACfICE
··,...
::....·:. ..
'
43
HIRAGANA
i -
MINI REVIEW
mountain, hill
yama
I~:il
:
I
:
1
:
ywne
lyp:~1 :
I
: I :
1
:
1
:
I
: I :
1
:
1
:
I
: I :
I
:
I
:
I
:
I
:
I
I
:
I
:
I
1
:
I
:
I
I :
I
:
!
1
:
1
:
I
: I
:
1
:
I
:
I
:
1
I : I :
1
:
I
I
:
I
tV: GI :
I
:
dew
1
:
mushi
1
:
I
I : I
tsuyu
I :
insect
: I
:
matsu
I
pine; wait
1
:
1
:
wne
:<V/I :
1
uncooked rice
12:<VJ1 : ! :
I-:>:vpl : I :
11
:
shrine
kome
li:-JI :
1
peach
miya
:
:
read
nwnw
IJt:~1
I : I
dream
yomu
IJ-:ctl :
It:tl :
~ / MA - YO
I
:
1
Japanese plum
1
:
1
:
chest, breast
mune
!cG:tJ! : I : ! : I : I : I : I
44
HIRAGANA
kinwno
1~:t:if)1 : :
1~:
l: 011
kimono, clothing
I : : 1: : 1: : I
sashimi
sliced raw fish
: : 1 : : 1 : : 1 : : 1
Yamato
:
:
old name for Japan
1
:
:
1
:
:
I : : I
yukata
cotton kimono
sumie
India-ink drawing
: : 1 : : 1 : : 1
e maki
picture scroll
hanami
blossom viewing
: 1
1~~: ~:~I : : 1 : : 1 : : 1
mikoshi
portable shrine
ukiyoe
woodblock print
11 :~ :J: : itl : : : 1 : :
setomono
porcelain
1-e::c:t:d)1 : : : I: : : 1
sukiyaki
sukiyaki
It: ~ :~: ~ I : : : I : : : I
45
HIRAGANA
ORIGIN
(RA/RYO 598)
STROKE ORDER
ra
as "ra" in "mirage,"
but shorter
PRACTICE
,...
:.-.--.
.'
,
ORIGIN
1
J
J~
I~)J Ih I~ IL)
2
~
I
STROKE ORDER
I~ I~) I I I
rl•
as "ree" in "reek,"
but shorter
PRACTICE
.: ..,
!,
(RJ 596)
.
..
-
46
HIRAGANA
ORIGIN
(RU 805)
STROKE ORDER
ru
I I
as "m" in "rule,"
but shorter
PRACTICE
......,
.
.....
.. ....: :
'
'
ORIGIN
(REI 413)
STROKE ORDER
II
re
l:hl
as "re" in "red"
PRACTICE
47
HIRAGANA
ORIGIN
(RG 256)
1
STROKE ORDER
ro
as "ro" in "roar, "
but shorter
PRACTICE
.... ::
.. ...
. , ..,,
.' .
ORIGIN
(WA 416)
1
-l,.
STROKE ORDER
wa
II ItJ I
as "wa" in "watt"
PRACTICE
..."., ....
..':':~
.. -:
48
lllRAGANA
ORIGIN
(ONIEN 79)
3
STROKE ORDER
o
as "0" in "or," but
shorter
PRACTICE
..:....
.....
"
'
~.,
.. :...
ORIGIN
(MU)
STROKE ORDER
n
as "n" in "sin"
PRACTICE
.: ' " ~
.
~-
... '
,-
49
HIRAGANA
,
MINI REVIEW
!? -Iv / RA -
wan
Ib:lvl
l-z: sl
{;'I
1-::>:
bowl; bay
:
:
1
:
1
I
I : I : I : I
:
I
tsuru
:
I·),:
Id): ~) I
61
1
:
I
I
:
furo
.
1
1
:
I
I
:
non
:
:
1
:
1
I
:
I
:
I
:
I
:
1
:
I
:
:
I : I
:
1
1
1
edible seaweed; paste
:
1
I : I
I
: I
I: I : I : I : I
shiro
castle; white
Nihon
: :
:
1
1
1
politeness; soul; example
Il:l:71 : 1 : I :
1L::: L~: A-I
1
spring; to stretch
rei
L\
I :
bath
IL~: ~I :
fl:
1
this
haru
I
1
temple
crane; to fish
1
:
:
:
1
lera
:
:
1
kore
12::n1
N
1
:
1 : 1 :
1
Japan
1 : :
sakura
I : : I : :
cherry blossom
50
1
HIRAGANA
uchiwa
11 :s:t71
Ij: :-=>: L) I
round fan
: : I
matsuri
: :
festival
I
: I : : I
:
Iwtaru
ILl:k:~1 : :
:
I : :
I
I
I
: :
1 : : 1
: :
I
1 : :
I
I
I
:
: I
:
:
Japanese clothing
I:b:.~': <I : . : I
: :
1~ :~:lvl
: :
won
I
:
I
I
I
: :
theory
I
furoshiki
I· ~ ': ~: L: ~ I
:
history
wafuku
:
1 :
: :
II : : I
:
I
futon
rekishi
IfL:~:
: :
fuefly
futon
I·~': c :lvl :
: I
: : 1 : : 1 :
:
:
harakiri
I : : I
:
cloth wrapper for parcels
:
I
: : :
I
harakiri
: ! : I : : : I
IV:(J): 1:{;>1 : : : I : : : I
Ilj::~:~:!J1
Hinomaru Rising Sun Flag
samurai
51
samurai
HIRAGANA
VOICED AND HALF-VOICED SOUNDS
ga
as "ga" in "garden" but shorter
IJJ~ol I I I I I I
gi
I I I I I
I I I I I I I I I I
I I I I I I
I I
I I
I I I I I I I I I I I
I I I I I
I I I
I I
I I I I
I I· I I I
I I I I I
as "gee".in "geese" but shorter
I~"I I I
I{O
I I I
gu
as" goo" in "goose" but shorter
ge
as "ge" in "get"
go
as "go" in "gore" but shorter
I~"I I I
za as "za" in "bizarre" but shorter
ji
as "jee" in "jeep" but shorter
I[I I I
ItI I I
l{t°l I I
I~"I I I
zu as "zoo" but shorter
ze as "ze" in "zest"
zo as "zo" in "Azores" but shorter
52
HIRAGANA
da
as "da" in "dark" but shorter
I(::1 I I I I I I
ji
I I
as "jee" in "jeep" but shorter
It"l I I
I"?"I I I
1-(1 I I
Ic··1 I I
ILf"1 I I
Itil I I
Ivq I I
1'"'1 I I
Iufl I I
I I
I I
I I
II
I I
I I
I I
I I
I I
zu as "zoo" but shorter
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I I
I I
I I
I~1"1
I~·I
I·q
de
as" de" in "desk"
do
as "doo" in "door" but shorter
ba
as "ba" in "bark" but shorter
I I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
as "pa" in "park" but shorter
pa
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
bi
as "bea" in "beak" but shorter pi
as "pea" in "peak" but shorter
bu
as "boo" in "boot" but shorter pu
as "poo" in "pool" but shorter
be
as "be" in "beg"
bo
pe as "pe" in "peg"
I~I
as "bo" in "bore" but shorter po
I It;i"1
53
as "po"
~
I
"pork" but shorter
I
HlRAGANA
REVIEW OF VOICED AND HALF-VOICED SOUNDS
waist sash for kimono
obi
I : I : I : I :
Jude
writing brush
Zen
Zen
soba
buckwheat noodles; side
biwa
lute; loquat
geta
wooden clogs
1
"I
1
:
Obon
Buddhist festival
Kabuki
Kabuki drama
ojigi
bow (head)
;h: C'::i
I:! :Iv: 1~rl : : 1 : :
1
:
:
:
1
:
sanpo
monpe
1
:
:
1
1
1
I
:
:
walk, stroll
I : : I : :
1
old-style work pants
It: Iv: ~I : : I : : I : : I : : I
54
HIRAGANA
keigo
Ili :~ \: 2"1
: :
mikado
Idt-: 0': c"l :
I~ :!v: 1)\"1 :
:
polite language
I
I
I : : I
: I : : I
: I : : I
:
I
:
I
I
: :
nigiri
.!": l) 1 :
:
I
gangster
yakuza
I ~::
1 : :
written oracle
: 1 : : I :
I~: <:~"I : :
: :
I
I
: :
cartoon
mikuji
IJt: <: c'l :
: I
old word for emperor
manga
:
:
: :
: I
:
:
rice ball
I
I
I
: 1 : : 1 :
tengu
1 :
long -nosed goblin
11 :A--: <"I : : I : : I : : 1 : :
hanaji
IlJ: ~: :;"1 : : I. : . : I : : I :
IJt:t$"":h: ~) I : : I : : : I
..
l;f:lv: C: ~I : : : I : : : I
nosebleed
mzzuwan
whisky and water
I
I
I
I r~': It' :.~~: /1
ZOn./ITU
know, believe
daibutsu
large statue of Buddha
:
: :
55
I
: :
:
1
1
HIRAGANA
kamikaze
11)\ :;Jf-: 1] \ : it"l
kamikaze
i
i
i
Iii
i
..
..
origamI
onganu
.
senpal
senIor
bonsai
bonsai
ikebana
ikebana
I\'\ ivr: ~~r: ~ Ii: : I : : :
171 :A-: lAo: "'? I : : : I : : :
enpitsu
pencil
yokozuna
sumo grand champion
tenpura
tempura
11 :Iviv)~i sIi: i I : : :
senbei
rice cracker
I~ :Iv: ~: l ) I : : : I : : :
hanafuda
flower cards (game)
IL~: fj:: v) \: r=' I : i : I : i :
j
Fujisan
Mt. Fuji
56
HIRAGANA
REVIEW OF DOUBLE VOWELS AND CONSONANTS
il (aa)
like that; Oh!
I : I : I : I :
ii
good
e(ee)
yes ·
I : I : I : I : I
kii
sky, void, nothingness
I : I : I : I : I
eat
1<: -71
: I
to
I : I : I : I : I
ten
to
tower, pagoda
I : I : I : I : I
wu
~k
Ie: 11 : I : I : I : I : I : I
mythical creature
kappa
11)\:
-:> :
I~rl
: : I
: I : : I : : I
shikki
lacquerware
IL:'?::51 : : I: : I · : : I: 1 I
Iif:
b: 11
sumo
swn.O
: : I : : I : : I : : I
57
HIRAGANA
ziJri
sandals
I;Z-::;, : £JI
: : I : : I : : I : : I
11:-7: [I : : I : : I : : I : : I
numeral
suji
yilgen
tranquil beauty
gakkiJ
school
kiJyo
red leaves
okii
big
I1;: tJ: ~ :v'I
Iii :~: t": -? I
IL:' :~: {': -71
I·) \: -7 : ~) :A-I
I L:Iv: C: 21
: : :I : : :
: : : I : : :
: : : I : :
: : : I : :
: : : I :: I
kendo
kendo
jingii
shrine
larin
wind chime
shinto
Shinto
kuko
allport
58
HIRAGANA
COMBINED SOUNDS KYA-RYO/ ~~-
kyo
kyu
kya
I
I
~I~
I
I
I
I
I
~~yp
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
shu
sha
I
I
L I~
I
I
I
I
I
S:~
I
I
I
ll~
I
I
I
1
I
I
~:.p
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
chu
l'-'1Jt"
"
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
~Ic:t
I
I
I
I
L~ct
I
•
I
I
I
I
~: J:
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
nyo
t:ll-P
I
I
I
t""'l
-I~
I
I
I
I
I
hyu
hya
I
I
cho
nyu
nya
I
sho
I
1
cha
L}et
I
I
I
I
hyo
I
I
I
I
VI~
I
I
VI~p
I
VI
I
I
I
I
I
I
1
I
I
I
I
I
I
1
I
I
I
I
I
dtl~
I
mya
I
I
•
I
I
d-t1J:.
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
~) ; ~
I
I
') ;~
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
ryu
I
1
I
I
rya
~); ~
J:
I
myo
myu
J-tl>r
I
I
ryo
59
I
lllRAGANA
!!£"i(; -
VOICED COMBINED SOUNDS GfA -Bfa /
gya
gyu
7):~
gyo
...
~";~
I
~";~
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
~
~
C' ;~
I
I
I
.
Ja
Ja
t":~
I
I
I
,I
I
I
-:J
.
JU
ILi~1 i I
.
~
JO
L'; vp
I
I
•
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
~" :l
I
ju
.
JO
~": Y'
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
byu
I
"I
V
I
I
,
I
,
I
I
I
I
1
lA1vP
I
I
.,1
V'~~
I
I
J:.
HALF-VOICED COMBINED SOUNDS PYA-PYa / V~
pya
pyu
,
,
,
I
I
I
I
I
byo
I
'~
I
I
bya
VOl
I
I
I
,
,
I
I
vt'~
60
I
pyo
"(}Ol
'J:
,
I
I
,
1
- 1J..().t
,
,
I
~
HIRAGANA
REVIEW OF COMBINED SOUNDS
guest, visitor
kyaku
I~:~:<I
: : 1: : 1: : 1: :
shoji
sliding screen
IL:J-:1:cl : : : I : : :
IV":J-:-7: q : : : I: : :
byobu
folding screen
jinja
shrine
v
1c:~ll'l ~ 1 1
:
chanoyu
1
11
1 :
tea ceremony
12:k:(/)hpl : : : 1 : :
t:
1L
geisha
t, \ 1
L1~I
geisha
1 1 1 I
:
shodO
calligraphy
yakyu
baseball
1
1~: 1 :~ :01 : : : 1 : :
;t:
enryo
I A-: L) : J: 1
:
reserve, restraint
:
myoji
:
1
:
:
:
:
:
family name
Jt: J: : -2 :l'l : : :
1
kingyo
1
goldfish
61
:
HlRAGANA
nyiishi
entrance examination
:
1
i :
:
Jukyo
Confucianism
chOchin
paper lantern
i
hyozan
: I
I
i i i i
I
iceberg
: : I : : : : I
ryagaku
overseas study
i i
kiJjiJ
I :
i
i
I
factory
: : I : :
jUdO
: I
judo
i i
Bukkyo
1
i
: I
Buddhism
: : I
shOgun
:
I
shogun
i
IL:: i J: i -2 iLf: 11 i i i i i i i i i
: : I
nyOoo
wife
happyij
announcement
62
HIRAGANA
REVIEW THROUGH PLACE NAMES AND PERIOD NAMES
place, period 710 - 794
N ara
I~: sl
: I : I : I : I : I : I
place, period 1603 - 1868
E do
t'OI : I : I : I : I : I : I
12-: 1 :~I : : I : : I : : I : : I
I~:
1~":fv::(1
Kobe
place
Yayoi
period c. 250 B.C. - c. A.D. 250
Ginza
place
: : I : : I : : I : : I
place
Hakone
ItJ: 2 :hi: : I : : I : : I : : I
I~: ~ ': t I : : I : : I : : I
I
11d:: :":~I : : I : : I : : I :
11:"':): L: 11 : : : I : : :
I-"':l ':~:fvl : : : I : : i I
period 1868 - 1912
Meiji
0:
place
Nagoya
Matsushima
place
Heian
period 794 - 1185
ShOwa
period 1926 - 1989
63
:
HIRAGANA
Nikkii
It:::
-? : : : : : ;
place
I : : : I : : :
Sapporo
place
Osaka
place
: : : I : : :
I~:J::-?:tl : : : I : : :
I~: ~ :1 :-S I ; ; : I : : :
1~':h:~:zj'l
J(yoto
place
Muromachi
period 1392 - 1573
Heisei
period 1989 -
J(amakura
period 1185 - 1333
It]': 1- :<:sI : : : I : : :
Honshu
place
Taisho
period 1912 - 1926
1~:~':L:J::-71
I
::::I: : : :
}omon
period c. 8000 - c. 250 B.C.
IL:.t:0:t:1v1 : : : : I : : : : I
place
Tokyo
64
HIRAGANA
GENERAL REVIEW
No
Noh
I : I : I : I : I
sabi
elegant simplicity; rust
semi
cicada
l-tt: Jt I : I I: I : I : I : I
I.f: l) I : I I: I : I : I : I
Ir::: =- I : I: I : I : I : I : I
girl
duty, honor
IiIko
kite; octopus
hakama
divided skirt
I~1: 1)\: ;f.1 : : I : : I : : I :
urushi
lacquer
honne
one's real intent
ItI:k:t,}1 :
12:tt: II :
I
: I
It1:~=:;b1 : : I
I?: t":lvl : : I
:
I : :
: I : :
: I : :
: I : :
: :
kokeshi
I
I
I
I
:
sty lized wooden doll
:
haniwa
clay figurine
:
udon
wheat noodles
:
65
:
: :
: :
I
I
lllRAGANA
brazier, footwarmer
kotatsu
12:~i-:>1
: :
I i i
1
: :
i
1
:
:
:
: I
1
I
: :
I
name of god of wealth
Ebisu
I
i i
miai
IJt:;b:l;11 :
i
childlike dependence
amae
l.h: :1: 7(1 : :
I ili v"i It 1 i i
1
I
i i
I
i i
I
interview for marriage
: 1 : : 1 : : 1 : : 1
tofu
tofu
i -1 i-), 1 i i I i I i i I i I
l-tt: Li"l : I : I : : I : I
1L i,,~~'i Jt 1 i i 1 i i 1 i i 1
l;hihiYlI i i 1 i 1 i i 1 i 1
~'i t1-ilvl i i
i
i i i
I tJ"" it]1:'i <1 i i I i i I i i I i : I
It
year-end gift
seibo
It I :
I
I
I
shibumi
astringency
aware
pathos
gohan
meal, cooked rice
1
1
1
gagaku
ancient court music
OOTen
shop curtain
1tJ):ft:1v1 : : I
: :
66
1
1
I : : I
: :
I
HIRAGANA
haori
short coat
I~j:i j)'i~) I
: : Iii Iii Iii I
I!0: v \: ~ I : : I : : I : : I : : I
IB: c': L) I : : I : : I : : I : :
me~hi
nruneaud
odori
dance
kaisha
company
menboku
reputation, "face"
shinju
pearl
.
I L: Iv: C: ~ I : : : I : : :
mugicha
barley tea
tenno
emperor
11 :Iv: t1) : 11 :
! :
shOgi
I
L : J: !~ :~ "I
Japanese chess
! : :
onsen
Ih': Iv: -Ii: :Ivl
Ii:
1
:
:
hot spring
! : :
misoshiru
67
I : : :
mlSO soup
HIRAGANA
..
ninja
nInja
Il:: :;J, C': ~ I: : I : : :
It::::d):11 : : : I : : :
1
~
:"
I~:
:
~-i: Iv
tokonoma
decorative alcove
soroban
abacus
1
:
:
I : : :
:
bunraku
puppet theater
bento
box lunch
/v: C: -71 : : :
dantai
It==':/v:r~:"\1
I : : :
group
: : :I : : :
shamisen
sanusen
Shogatsu
New Year
shakuhachi
flute
koinobori
carp streamer
janken
"scissors-paper-stone" game
12-:~ \:11) :tf': l) 1 : : : : 1 : : : : 1
68
II
KATAKANA
KATAKANA
ORIGIN
(A)
I~Ofl ~ I17 171
1~
~
2J
STROKE ORDER
I~IYI
I I
7
a
as "a" in "car," but
shorter
PRACTICE
,. ...
.. . ::
~
I.-
!
/
ORIGIN
(1)
11fl11
STROKE ORDER
•
I
as "ee" in "meet,"
but shorter
PRACTICE
",
,." .,
,
71
KATAKANA
ORIGIN
(U 811)
STROKE ORDER
u
as "u" in "hula," but
shorter
PRACTICE
···. .!.....
...
ORIGIN
(E 1244)
STROKE ORDER
e
as "e" in "get"
PRACTICE
..
••
•
• • II
72
KATAKANA
ORIGIN
(0)
1.-:,
STROKE ORDER
o
as "0" in "or," but
shorter
PRACTICE
~
.. :: ..
. " ..
.'
ORIGIN
(KA 431)
STROKE ORDER
ka
as "ca" in "car," but
shorter
PRACTICE
....
.. ..
73
KATAKANA
ORIGIN
(KI 1129)
STROKE ORDER
ki
as "ki" in "keep,"
but shorter
PRACTICE
",
..;..
",
~
ORIGIN
(KU 647)
STROKE ORDER
ku
as "Ku" in "Kuwait,"
but shorter
PRACTICE
..."..
~
,
.
.:
",
74
KATAKANA
ORIGIN
(KAI 1059)
11I'11'1'fllJl
STROKE ORDER
1
7
ke
as "ke" in "keg"
PRACTICE
:: .... ; ...
ORIGIN
(KO 855)
IGlc121:J1
STROKE ORDER
1:1
2-"
ko
as "co" in "core,"
but shorter
PRACTICE
.... .......
.....
75
KATAKANA
ORIGIN
i
(SAN 492)
3
STROKE ORDER
sa
as "sa" in "sarcasm,"
but shorter
PRACTICE
.
.
. .!...:...
,
I
ORIGIN
(SHI, part of 1335)
STROKE ORDER
shi
as "shee" in "sheep,"
but shorter
PRACTICE
'"
'"
..'
.'
76
KATAKANA
ORIGIN
(SU)
STROKE ORDER
so
as "Su" in "Susan,"
but shorter
PRACTICE
-.-
.: ..
,"
ORIGIN
(SE 327)
1t!t1~ltl~1
STROKE ORDER
2
l{:
1-7ltl I I
se
as "se ".m "set"
PRACTICE
...." -..
l
1
.-....
• • ":
o·t
-
77
KATAKANA
ORIGIN
(SO, part of Z5741)
Ikfl1 I
,?
I ') I
STROKE ORDER
so
as "so" in "sore, "
but shorter
PRACTICE
.
...
,~
,"
ORIGIN
(TA 163)
I~IJ I
I
IS~OT7i11
ta
as "ta ".In "tar"
, but
shorter
PRACTICE
,, \" .. ' ,"
",:.:
.'
I
78
I
I
KATAKANA
ORIGIN
(CHI 47)
1+1+1
chi
as "chee" in "cheek "
but shorter
'
PRACfICE
..............
:
ORIGIN
(SU 304)
1'}·/·/I ~ 1~ } 1'/ 1
STROKE ORDER
tsu
as Ittsu ".m " tsunami"
PRACfICE
'\,
.-........
,.
,.
79
KATAKANA
ORIGIN
2
te
J~3~
(TEN 58)
STROKE ORDER
as "te" in "ten"
PRACTICE
.... . a •
.. . .:- _.
'
"'0lIl
ORIGIN
~
Ikl~I)-I~1
1
,~
t
to
(TO-maru 129)
2
~
STROKE ORDER
II I ~I I I
4
as "to" in "tore,"
but shorter
PRACTICE
: .....
:
80
KATAKANA
MINI REVIEW
-p -
katsu
r /A -
TO
cutlet
111 :/'1 : I : I : I : I : I :
aim
Ice
"isu
ace
IL:-:AI :
:
I
: :
keki
I'T: -::t-I
:
:
1
: :
1
: :
:
1
:
:
koto
:
'Y: 7:-1 :
li:A: 1-1 :
1;/:-:'11 :
:
1
: :
:
:
1
:
:
1
: :
1
1
:
:
1
: :
I
1
:
:
1
: :
1
1
: : I
:
1
: : I
: : I
: :
1
:
1
:
:
:
:
test
:
1
sliltsu
1
sheet (bed)
: I : :
sekuto
:
1
tour
tesuto
1-tz:7:H
I
coat; court (sports)
tsua
1
: :
search
siichi
I:J:-:rl
: I
out (baseball)
Ir:rj: r 1 : :
:
:
cake
auto
l-tt:-:+I
I
1
1
1
sect
: I : : I
81
KATAKANA
kOchi
coach (sports)
1:1:-:+1 : : 1 : : 1 : : I : : I
I'J: - :~ I : : I : : I : : I : : I
l;z:~:-I
sosu
sauce
sukl
ski, skiing
: : I : : I : : I : :
takushl
taxi
sutiki
steak
1;Z:ii-:tl : : : I : : :
se~
svveater
slikasu
CIrcus
1-1:-:1J:/Z1 :
oke
It:-:fJ:-1 :
1.:L:-:1J:-1 :
IT:1J:5-:71 :
: : I : : :
okay
i : I :
eka
akashia
acre
: :
: : I : : :
1
:
acaCIa
skate, skating
suketo
82
:
:
KATAKANA
ORIGIN
(NA)
STROKE ORDER
I-Itl
oa
as "na" in "narcotic,"
but shorter
PRACTICE
:0 ,"
•• '. '
ORIGIN
.,.
(NI 61)
I~I.::-I
I
.",.,.,.
I
1
-"
..-.
STROKE ORDER
2
.--
1.::-1
I
1
--::>r
1
~
~
•
01
as "nea" in "neat,"
but shorter
PRACTICE
.. -."
. ...... ...
83
KATAKANA
ORIGIN
(NUIDO 1638)
14Aloz Ix I~ I
STROKE ORDER
DO
as "noo" in "noon,"
but shorter
PRACTICE
ORIGIN
(NE)
1
~
De
2:f,,4
STROKE ORDER
3
as "ne" in "net"
PRACTICE
..' ..
......: ..
\. ·f
I
84
KATAKANA
ORIGIN
(NOINAI)
1
~
STROKE ORDER
no
1
1
as "no" in "north ,"
but shorter
PRACTICE
.'
ORIGIN
(HAem
I J "-I J \ 1
1
66)
1
2
1
J ~
STROKE ORDER
I; I; \
1
1
1
~
,
ha
as "ha" in "harm,"
but shorter
PRACTICE
. ...
.
85
KATAKANA
ORIGIN
(Ill 771)
Ittlul cit
STROKE ORDER
hi
as "hea" in "heat,"
but shorter
PRACTICE
......
... ..
,
ORIGIN
(FU 572)
STROKE ORDER
fo
as "foo" in "fool,"
but with softer "f'
PRACTICE
... ...;
.'
86
I
KATAKANA
ORIGIN
(HFjBU 384)
I%~I S I~I~I
1~
STROKE ORDER
he
as "he" in "hen"
PRACTICE
ORIGIN
(HO 787)
11~1/7, 1*,1
STROKE ORDER
1
3
1
ho
as "ho" in "hom,"
but shorter
PRACTICE
..... ~ ...
.... .: . ..
..
,
87
KATAKANA
ORIGIN
1~
rna
~'(
2
(MATSU 587)
STROKE ORDER
as "rna" in "mark,"
but shorter
PRACTICE
....... :..
.. ,(
,
,
ORIGIN
~
rnl•
as "mea" in "meat,"
but shorter
I~I~I~
,"
1
2
3
(MI 23)
STROKE ORDER
'"
I ~I I - I I
"'"
.......
PRACTICE
,
I I
.
.' ..
88
.......
-...
KATAKANA
ORIGIN
(MU)
1
STROKE ORDER
~
mn
as "moo" in "moon,"
but shorter
PRACTICE
.. ..
.........
ORIGIN
(ME 35)
I~I->LI )( I) I
STROKE ORDER
me
as "me" in "met"
PRACTICE
...
' .'
'.
89
KATAKANA
ORIGIN
(MO 210)
STROKE ORDER
mo
as "mo" in "more,"
but shorter
PRACTICE
......
.. ....., .
....
ORIGIN
(YA, part of CHI 167)
STROKE ORDER
ya
as "ya" in "yard,"
but shorter
PRACTICE
...... ' :.
•
-It
.'
90
KATAKANA
ORIGIN
(yu 399)
I wi .1-13-1
1
STROKE ORDER
1
I
2:1-
yu
as "you" in "you th ,"
but shorter
PRACTICE
. ...:
.' .... .. .
~
ORIGIN
(YO 1873)
1~1q-1 =j 131
STROKE ORDER
yo
as "Yo" in "York ,
but shorter
It
PRACTICE
•
oL "
.....
....
91
KATAKANA
ORIGIN
1
(RAIRYO 598)
~
STROKE ORDER
ra
as "ra" in "mirage,"
but shorter
PRACTICE
. - ••• 0:
ORIGIN
I
j
1
ItlJ I IJ Ii) I
2
1,
JI
I l I ~) I I
as "ree" in "reek,"
but shorter
PRACTICE
,
..
:
;
I
STROKE ORDER
rl•
,,
(RI 596)
,
92
I
KATAKANA
ORIGIN
(RU 409)
IJfttl }/ L I ! L I)~ I
2
J]/
STROKE ORDER
ru
as "ru" in "rule,"
but shorter
PRACTICE
..
.: . , "
ORIGIN
I
~L
I
(REI 413)
LI L
I
L"
I
STROKE ORDER
I vi
re
I I I
as "re ".III "red"
PRACTICE
93
KATAKANA
ORIGIN
(RO 256)
STROKE ORDER
ro
as "ro" in "roar,"
but shorter
PRACTICE
........ :
·· ..
· .
t ........
ORIGIN
(WA 416)
STROKE ORDER
wa
as "wa" in "watt"
PRACTICE
>
· .
'0.- ....
:
94
KATAKANA
ORIGIN
(KO, part of 856)
J
3
STROKE ORDER
o
as "0" in "or," but
shorter
PRACTICE
.... .
~ ... ...:
"
~
ORIGIN
(NI)
STROKE ORDER
n
as "n" in "sin"
PRACfICE
'., .
.,' .
'
,'
95
KATAKANA
MINI REVIEW
-t -
heri
y / NA -
N
helicopter
I-": I) I : I : I i I : I i :
menw
Ij : 4::1 :
I
t.: vi
1~ : J~: 71
memo
1 :
1 :
:
I
fillet
I : I : I : I : I : I
milk
miruku
:
:
1 :
:
lumu
ItJ:~:-1
I:
1 :
hire
:
I
: :
wanisu
1 :
:
I
:
I :
: I : : I
varnish
I : : I : : I :
ron
:
:
canoe
: : I
:
1 :
:
I
loan
: : I :
:
naifu
l:t: -1 :71 : :
17:~i-1 i :
IJ i-irl i :
1~:1 :-vl : :
: I
: I
:
I
: I
:
I
I
knife
: I :
Jure
Hooray!
I : : I :
note, notebook
nOlo
I : : I :
i
I : : I
:
1
tire (car)
taiya
1
: :
96
1
:
: : 1
KATAKANA
kamera
1jJ: j : 71
camera
: : I : : I
nemu
I~:-:LAI
: I
name, reputation
: : 1: : 1: : 1: : 1
yur.noa
1~: -:
: : I :
;f:: T' 1
humor
: : : 1 : : :
mainasu
mmus
saran
salary
l-tt: =7 : I) : -J
: : : 1:
hammer
hanma
11 \:/:;7:-1 : : : 1 : : :
yoyo
yoyo
hankachi
handkerchief
1/\:)':17:+1 : : :
yuniku
1
:
:
unlque
1.1:'::': -: 11 : : : 1 : :
*:7 :9 :>1'
1
ne kutai
1
:
necktie
:
homuran
:
J
home run
97
:
:
:
I
KATAKANA
VOICED AND HALF-VOICED SOUNDS
ga as "ga" in "garden" but shorter
11]"1 I I I I I I I I I I I I I
gi as "gee" in "geese" but shorter
I:rl I I I I I I I I I I I I I
gu as "goo" in "goose" but shorter
00
11 1 I I I I I I I I I I I I I
ge as "ge" in "get"
IT-I I I I I I I I I I I I I I
go
as "go" in "gore" but shorter
I:J"I I I I I I I I I I I I I I
za
as "za" in "bizarre" but shorter
l-ifl
..
I I I I I I I I I I I I I
I~ol
I I I I I I I I I I I I I
Jl
zu
as "jee" in "jeep" but shorter
as "zoo" but shorter
1;(1 I I I I I I I I I I I I I
ze as "ze" in "zest"
I{(I I I I I I I I I I I I I I
zo
as "zo" in "Azores" but shorter
I~/I I I I I I I I I I I I I I
98
KATAKANA
as "da" in "dark" but shorter
da
1)7"1
ji
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I I
I I
I I
I I
II
I I
I I
I I
I I
I I
I I I
I I I
I I I
I I I
I I I
I 11\·1
lit."I
I 17°1
I 1-"'1
I 1t~1
as "jee" in "jeep" but shorter
1+'1
zu as "zoo" but shorter
I~:/I
1+1
I~'I
I \'1
It"l
11"1
de
as" de" in "desk"
do
as" doo" in "door" but shorter
ba
as "ba" in "bark" but shorter
J
pa
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I I I I
I I I I
as "pa" in "park" but shorter
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
bi
as "bea" in "beak" but shorter pi
as "pea" in "peak" but shorter
bu
as "boo" in "boot" but shorter pu
as "poo" in "pool" but shorter
be
as "be" in "beg"
I~I
bo
pe as "pe" in "peg"
as "bo" in "bore" but shorter po
IiKI
99
as "po" in "pork" but shorter
KATAKANA
REVIEW OF VOICED AND HALF-VOICED SOUNDS
biro
I C": )L--I
office building
: I
I : I
:
I
zero
zero
l-c':ol : I
I
I : I
:
basu
1/\:1--1
I :
:
I
giya
1
Y:AI
IJr": -: '-'I :
I
I
I
:
1
:
11],,: l' : }-: 1 :
:
:
:
: :
I
: I
:
1
: 1
I
: I
: : 1 :
:
guide, guidebook
: : I :
:
golf
: :
: I :
besu
base
: I : : I :
zubon
>'1 : . :
:
trousers
1 :
:
gonra
I:J"[ I) : 71 :
I
game
gorufu
IA':/K':
1
dance
gaido
1-"': -: xl :
I
:
1
gemu
I :J": )L,,: 71
I
:
gear
dansu
19":
I
:
bus, bath
: I
I~':-YI :
: I : I
I
:
:
I
: : I
:
:
1
: : 1
gorilla
: 1 : :
100
I
KATAKANA
double
daburu
I''': 7": JL-I : : I : : I : : I : : I
zOn
zone
Iy': -: /1 : : I : : I : : I : : I
jiguZilgu
ZIgzag
repoto
report
jinzu
Jeans
wapuro
word processor
I~: -: y: ~(I : : : I : : :
1?:-:7iol : : : I : : :
pachinko
Japanese pinball
deziito
dessert
lof: -if: -: H : : : I : : :
IeO: - :"< : /1 : : : I : : :
piman
1"':1:~:-:AI
green pepper
mai pesu
at one's own speed (limy pace")
arubaito
part-time job
::::I::::
101
KATAKANA
COMBINED SOUNDS KYA-RYO / ~~ -
kya
kyu
I~:~I
sha
- '
,::/' 1 ~
:
,
1
I
=\:;1...
shu
1
I
kyo
,
~'3
,
1
I
1
1
1
1
1
I
I
I
,
,
,
,
~I;L.
1
•
sho
~'3
1
I
1
1
1
1
1
1
I
I
I
I
I
I
cha
l-t:,~
1
1
nya
,
1
,
chu
+~
1
1
1
I
I
I
nyu
,
1
I
1
1
1
1
,
,
~
1
,
1
I
t:1
.:l-
cho
I
-'
---!1"'
,
'
-r:
/.
,
hya
,
l) 3
I
-'
__I
,
::L
hyu
t::;l-
1
,
3
1
I
1
1
nyo
,
-'
_ _ 13
1
I
I
I
1
1
1
1
I
I
,
1
~I :3
,
,
hyo
1
1
1
1
1
1
I
I
I
I
I
I
1
1
mya
..... '
,
myo
myu
......
~I~
1
'::1..:1-
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
I
,
I
I
ryu
rya
I) : ,If
1
I
I
1
1
1
I)
1
.....
I
1
..... 1 '3
'-.
1
1
1
I
ryo
::z...
1
1
1
1
1
102
l) ~
1
1
I
3
I
1
I
KATAKANA
VOICED COMBINED SOUNDS GYA-BYO / ~..~-
gya
,
,
,
I
I
~~: ~
I
gyu
~.. :
,
I
I
I
I
.
ja
-
,I
':;;I~
.
Ja
?
I
,
,
~
I
1
1"-'J(
I
1
~"!
31
....-.
I
.... " I
/ , 1 .:1.
I
I
I
,
I
ju
0.
1
!
/. . 1
-r! ;L
I
1
:/1
I
:I
1
A
I
1
I
.
JO
1
"I
l-T!
1
'3
1
,
1
I
1
I
1
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
byu
bya
l::": ~
,
I
I
I
1
1
I
byo
t.":
,
,
I
:l.
I
I
I
I
t,'1 =I
,
1
I
I
pyu
1
,
,
I
1
I
tQ r -t
I
1:::°
-
I
I
1
I
I
I
tOl1- tOg
HALF-VOICED COMBINED SOUNDS PYA-PYO/
pya
1
jo
JU
I
gyo
I
.:1-
t":!
pyo
1
I
1::1-
1
r
1
I
I
103
0
! !
1t: 31
1
KATAKANA
REVIEW OF COMBINED SOUNDS AND DOUBLE CONSONANTS
shii
show
I~: -I : : I : : I : : I : : I
.It: '/ :l- I : : I : : I : : I : : I
17:?: /1 : : I : : I : : I : :
I'{ ::t-::r:" I : : : I : : : I
I~::l-:-:AI : : : I : : i
;3 :
netto
net
fan
fan (sports)
yeti
yeti
nyiisu
news
JOku
fork; folk
chekku
check
jeri
jelly
chliku
chalk
wotchi
watch
1,/ iif i '/ it Iii i i i i i
disuku
disk
104
KATAKANA
fue
fairu
wibu/wivu wave (hair)
bideo/video video
I')": 1 :f: ;t I : : : I : : : I
1~:>:~:3:/1 : : : : I : : : :
manshon
apartment house
windO
1
window
1'7:1:/:r:-1 : : : : I:
majan
: I
mahjong
1~: - ::;: ~: :;1 : : : : I:
wita
waiter
kyasshu
cash
hyilman
human
pitchii
pitcher (sports)
IC:':J:±:-v:-I : : : : I::
duetto
duet
105
: 1
: I
KATAKANA
REVIEW THROUGH INTERNATIONAL PLACE NAMES
Asia
Ajia
11': V': -p I :
:
Suisu
1;Z:1::z1
ILl: -:-<1
11J:f:rl
IF:1 :'>,1
11':i::ifl
17°: 7 : I
I \
:
:
Roma
: :
Kanada
:
:
Doitsu
:
:
I
I
I
I
I
: :
:
:
Switzerland
: :
I
:
Rome
: :
I :
Canada
: :
I
:
I
: I
: I
: I
:
:
:
:
:
Gennany
: :
I :
: I
I
: I
: I
: I
:
Athens
Atene
:
I
I
:
:
Puraha
I
:
:
I
Prague
: : I : : I : : I : : I
Amerika
America
Oranda
Holland
Jgirisu
England
M ekishiko
Mexico
1;( :~': t) :;z I : : : I : : l I
If: =\: ~: :J I : : : I : : : I
106
KATAKANA
Mosukuwa
Moscow
Betonamu
Vietnam
i ~ ~ I ~ ~ ~
I~ :~': -==-: -I : : : I : : :
1~~~~t~~1
Shidoni
Sydney
Kyuba
Cuba
Win
Vienna
1'7 :-{ :- ~ >I : :
Furansu
~
I : :
France
Europe
Yoroppa
~ I
. Philippines
Firipin
Bagudaddo
Baghdad
Echiopia
Ethiopia
Noruwe
Norway
\L:+: t: to: )7\ : : l l III l l I
107
KATAKANA
Jakaruta
Jakarta
: : : I
Sanchiago
Santiago
: : :
PlJtsumasu
H ariuddo
Guatemara
M aruseyu
i': -( :.:L: 'Y: 7°1
Portsmouth
:
1
:
1
:
1
:
1
:
1
Hollywood
Myunhen
1
I
Munich
Guatemala
Marseilles
Betsurehemu
Bethlehem
Dieppu
Dieppe
: : : : 1
BenechialVenechia
Venice
IrJ'Lt:-::f:±:?1 : : : : 1 ::
Tunisia
ChunijialTunijia
108
1
: 1
In
FINAL REVIEW
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c't
FINAL REVIEW
FOOD ITEMS QUIZ
Fill in the blanks with appropriate romanization.
1.
t=- * .:."
egg
2.
1,°/
bread
3.
:J-t-
coffee
4.
fJ' L.,
confectionery
t:: L:: <
6. l::" - /l-t
5. ..;;~.
7.
~.:t:.
pork
beer
:,; f--( -
lemon tea
8.
<~. ttf)
fruit
9.
L~ ~
soy sauce
10.
,f- - -;1.."
cheese
II. J\"f-
butter
12.
rp
itb.. V'/,
13. J('.!!:.
omelette
v,
vegetable
Chinese noodles
16.
() Iv :"
7-1:/
3 - J',!v ~
17.
~ C '
''1
sugar
18.
t:' A '1''/ }-
biscuit
14.
15.
apple
yoghurt
19. ~-?t:'
fermented soybean
-,'
A
20. :/' ::::z,..-
JUIce
2I.
-b'q"d) 7.
herring roe
22,
7 I) /'
Jt IJ'/v
custard pudding
23.
D
mikan orange
24. J \0 JV ,7~
25. \1~:;';;
parfait
)/
vemson
113
FINAL REVIEW
FLORA AND FAUNA QUIZ
Fill in the blanks with hiragana (H) or katakana (K) as appropriate.
I.
inu (H)
dog
2.
sakana (H)
fish
3.
raion (K)
lion
4.
take (H)
bamboo
5.
kaede (H)
maple
6.
yiikari (K)
eucalyptus
7.
tsubaki (H)
camellia
8.
chiirippu (K)
tulip
9.
maguro (H)
tuna
10. koara (K)
koala bear
II.
Japanese monkey
nihonzaru (H)
12. kangaru (K)
kangaroo
13. nezumi (H)
mouse, rat
14. ajisai (H)
hydrangea
15. haibisukasu (K)
hibiscus
16. hyo (H)
leopard
17. kaneshon (K)
carnation
18. kabutomushi (H)
Goliath beetle
19. hebi (H)
snake
20. pengin (K)
pengum
21. hirame (H)
flatfish
22. botan (H)
peony
23. mahoganT (K)
mahogany
24. suisen (H)
narCISSUS
25. icho (H)
gingko
114
FINAL REVIEW
PERSONAL NAMES QUIZ
Underline the kana error in each name and write the correct version in the blank.
e: J:, ;h'
Jiro (Jiro)
~~O}V
Carole (Kyaroru)
3.
.fd. \; \ 2
Reiko
4.
j-A/
Nonnan (Noman)
5.
tld n'
Teruo
6.
\7£ ')f"A -
Wendy (Wend!)
7.
;j:-ttJ:L--
Masayoshi
1.
2.
'-
l
"
8.
\/,,,r
9.
;1,' [1,J-t
10. }.:'
11.
~ ~
Vanessa (Vanesa)
Akemi
r-
'7 -
Dwight (Dowaito)
(t f.-'v)
G
Kenichi (Ken'ichi)
12. ;/:r- - )
13.
vP ~
\t'
Yukiko
');h. ()
14. +"~
15.
Shane (Shen)
Julie (Juri)
~
Orie
16. ')\771
Sophie (Sofi)
17.
-?l:c6
Tsutomu
18.
'71 ')., -<.... b.
William (Wiriamu)
19.
tA l. ~
Hidemi
20.
;/'~ '~I
Jack (Jakku)
J
21. ~fL~
22. ...,- /("'7
-"?"
23.
24.
25.
Sawako
r:'
David (Deviddo)
d)-'ii:
;r... l) ~''J-.\ A
Nozomu
:7 ~/ 1±:!v
Russell (Rasseru)
Elizabeth (Erizabesu)
115
FINAL REVIEW
KANA WORD SEARCH
~
...... , I
'-
17
'\
/)
~
, Iv 1 +r
7
L) t1J fd.
it' 1j :; ~
l icl li h ~
.? ~ l ~ :f
v, t7 -? )b A"
{:
'\
' 0
to!
,
1
j
~ lv'
~:
~ h ~1."
Iv
1J-':' )v
7° 1t
"
"l ~ v
( ;h'
-
+r
1,
/
-t
~: ;Z
'-
~
t
1.."
~
r..
~,'
-t' vp
<
.....
':(
-1::
/"'
'
/
~
~: j"
r~" t-
1
1
1J~'
Iv
}.,-
A )-.. lid.
¥J.
,"
~ [1" "'),
~
;f
:r...
r
..
C'
*0
) Jr -:J
~,
t
-; -r_"
L '?
;t ~~ t: J\
9 '/ ;t
~ :J V. (/)
r) /
v~,
Iv /-
tJ' Iv ~1"
{
-;h" :; It /
~
'Q
'-
)v
-; \1 )\
'
/'
~"
r-
....
vp
.h t)
~"
'-
./
''/
, 1"
) , <,. -
~lo
~
< tl 7°
~ /)
-? :t" t/)
-7 t " t L
.,
to.
A
J t ~ <t, 1 J\
j
r~
,-
t- :/.'
;f ~t
~
1? £ J- V t:" tJ'
c1
L '7
!)
~
~
, -tt
;n- ft ::L
~
"'-
-
;f ;L /
1 17
b if
-r
til Jt
......
......
........
~
.,
"~
~
n <r
:J"
r,-
......
b..
--V" 17
-:? )
~
~
<"
1)'\
a;
~ ~
n'\ Jt..., l::. n'
a
-
~
\ 'I) ....
Find the fifty words below in the square above, moving in a straight line in any direction
including diagonals. The first thirty words are in hiragana, the rest katakana. (We found
over 200 other hiragana words, most of two symbols and not found elsewhere in this
book. How many can you find? Fifty or more means you have a good vocabulary.)
* * * * tsuridOgu
*
madogiwazoku (staff passed over for promotion),
(fishing gear), haragei (nonverbal communication), shitsurei (rudeness), kanji (character),Jugu (blowfish), hinoki
(cypress), kanemochi (rich person), ganbaru (try your best), daruma (Buddha doll), yuki
(snow), tate (verticality), oya (parent), uchi (home, inner group), sewa (care), ongaeshi
(repayment of favor), tsukimi (moon viewing), umeboshi (pickled plum), nemawashi
(behind-the-scenes maneuvering), musubu (bind), nukeru (be missing),furusato (hometown), ame (rain), hosoi (slender), kaiko (silkworm), heta (unskilled), tanin (stranger),
yoroi (armor), nama (raw), mizu (water); nairon, kiosuku, guraJu, dezain, terebi, hosuteru, warutsu, gasorin,furonto, puropera, purezento, kaunto, pasokon, misairu, tarento,
rajio, gomu, masuto, denimu , yoga. (Look up the katakana words you don't know.)
116
FINAL REVIEW
QUIZ ANSWERS
Food items
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
tamago
pan
kohl
kashi
butaniku
bIru
remon ti
kudamono
shoyu
chizu
bata
omuretsu
yaSal
nngo
ramen
yoguruto
saW
bisuketto
natto
'JUsu
kazunoko
punn
mikan
parufe
benison/venison
Flora/fauna
dG.
l, )
Names
t ' 6 -7
)( h' r,cJ.....
~
71 ;1':/
kL\t\2
*- (:"
--z: .{}"JJ .
t-=- It
1)'
:::L
-13 I)
"'?I
+~
~
.-
-
~
'),/7°
~<"-?
' ;J
-p ::;
L:'I~ ~2. " J;;
17 /t(J'v;b ~"J-t-
.h t;' ~
J \1
v\
t: J. :/J}..
1}J:.~
1]- %- Y:3;/
tJ\~~~'
C:. ~ V
r-.....v.
~~'ClJL/
) - '~
/'
-.;-
r7p 1-+t;i'? Ll' J-f-
F111-
t-tlv~ )~
7':r. - /
vP
~
V':t..
2-
1)-=
~'l) ~
,/-7{
~t i;
-,
'71 I)?.!->..
-v.. -c,,, J-t.. ..
J
"'" ::/ ~.' y
/;'(7 ' / _
JASen
2.h~
1::, ~
-< It, 11 ':'::- -qv)-ti:1v
l-' ~ J: 1
[=1:."
"
?~ /TA~~J:L-
:::;-'7~ '/ F
d)
:t"cC
?
",1 ~)//
:L'T-tt'/'( ~
ENGLISH VERSION OF "ABOUT JAPAN"
Let's look at an atlas. Japan is a long, thin country lying on a north-south axis to the
east of the Asian mainland. It's about the same size as the state of California in
America. It consists of four main islands. The largest is Honshu, with Tokyo at its
midpoint. The beautiful Mount Fuji is also found on this island. The next largest is
Hokkaido, the northernmost island. Summer here is cool, and in winter heavy snow
makes skiing and skating possible. Kyushu, the third largest island, lies to the
south, so it's warm here even in winter. The fourth largest, Shikoku, is noted for
mikan oranges from its northern half and fish from the south.
117
FINAL REVIEW
DO-IT-YOURSELF KANA CHARTS
Fill in the following charts, writing hiragana in the left part of each box and katakana
in the right. Then check your entries against the charts in the Explanation of Kana.
Basic Kana Symbols
VOWELS
a
1
U
e
a
1
u
e
0
ka
ki
ku
ke
ko
sa
shi
su
se
so
ta
chi
tsu
te
to
na
m
nu
ne
no
ha
hi
fu
he
ho
rna
nn
mu
me
mo
k
S
t
n
h
m
ya
-
y
ra
n
.yu
ru
yo
re
ro
r
wa
wo
w
n
n
118
FINAL REVIEW
Basic Voiced Sounds
a
1
U
e
0
ga
gi
gu
ge
go
za
ji
zu
ze
zo
da
ji
zu
de
do
ba
bi
bu
be
bo
pa
pI
pu
pe
po
g
zJj
'P/z/j
b
p
Basic Combinations
a
u
k,a
k u
Voiced Combinations
a
0
k
g~a
0
ky
shu
sho
sh
u
g)O
I
ja
ju
jo
ja
ju
jo
bya
byu
byo
pya
pyu
pyo
J
cha
ny
g~
0
gy
sha
ch
u
I
nya
-"
hya
chu
cho
J
..
nvu
_hyu
nyo
by
hyo
hy
mya
myu
myo
rya
ryu
ryo
py
my
ry
119
FINAL REVIEW
THE IROHA VERSE
The iroha verse was written about a thousand years ago. Though based upon a
teaching of Buddhism its main use is for writing practice, for it includes all of
the kana symbols with the exception of the final n (j..J. In ancient times mu ( if::)
was used where Iv is used today. The order of symbols in the verse - particularly the first half dozen - is important because it is still sometimes followed
in listings, in similar fashion to the English order "a, b, c."
Try copying out the verse in the space at the foot of the page.
v) h t"i l2.
b
1J~'
J:
-r-
~i~
fl ~ .
t"'
1htJ)1J<~1
1J~~vp)i;Jtt
~) C1d ~ E
/t;l(J:~~
1:;;
tt~5 . ~
~ tA
:.
t
~
1t
-r
r"
The modem romanized version is: Iro wa nioedo chirinuru 0 / Waga yo tare zo
tsune naran / Ui no okuyama kyo koete / Asaki yume miji ei mo sezu.
A literal paraphrase is: "Colors are fragrant, but they fade away. In this world
of ours none lasts forever. Today cross the high mountain of life's illusions
[Le., rise above this physical world], and there will be no more shallow dreaming, no more drunkenness [Le., there will be no more uneasiness, no more
temptations]. "
The above translation is given in the appendices of the Japanese - English Character Dictionary (edited by A. Nelson, published by Charles E. Tuttle Company,
1962). Readers who wish to learn more about the historical use of kana, such
as ~ ~~ for the modem ~ ~ /; , are recommended to consult this work.
t \
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
Includes the following useful features:
• Systematic and comprehensive coverage of the two kana systems
needed to read and write Japanese
• Ample provision for practice, review, and self-testing at several levels
• Detailed reference section explaining the origin and function of
kana, and the various kana combinations
• Helpful additional information for language students accustomed
to romanized Japanese
• Pronunciation guidance for all basic sounds
• Vocabulary selected for usefulness and cultural relevance
KENNETH G. HENSHALL is a graduate of the universities of London (B.A. Hons), Sydney
(Ph.D), and Adelaide (Dip. Ed.). and is now a professor of Japanese at the University of
Canterbury in New Zealand. He has also taught at the universities of Auckland, Western
Australia, California and Waikato. He is well-known for his translations of literature and
his history books, and is the author of A Guide to Remembering Japanese Characters.
TETSUO TAKAGAKI is a graduate of the universities of Wakayama (B.A.) and San Francisco
State (M.A.) and until recently was senior lecturer in Japanese at the University of Auckland.
He has also taught at the universities of Hawaii and Maryland, and at Tsuda College in Tokyo.
He is the author of a number of publications on Japanese language and linguistics.
ISBN-13: 978-0-8048-3815-3
ISBN-10: 0-8048-3815-1
I
9 780804838153
'III
US $16.95