www.1Nichi1Kai.com & www.TheJapanesePage.com
By Clay Boutwell
Learn Hiragana—Your First Step into the Wonderful World of Japanese—Quickly and Painlessly!
Feel free to distribute this eBook to your friends or you may place it on your website provided the PDF is
unchanged. We would greatly appreciate a link back to either www.theJapanesePage.com or
www.1nichi1kai.com (or both!) but it isn’t required.
Introduction:
Japanese has three writing systems: Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji. It is important to master all three
as they are all used and often used together. Kanji are the imported Chinese characters which have
meaning and pronunciation (usually multiple pronunciations). There are about 2000 of these deemed
necessary by the Japanese government. Before you despair, know Hiragana and Katakana each only
have 46 characters. Also unlike kanji, but similar to our alphabet, hiragana and katakana do not have
meaning, but only a single pronunciation each.
Katakana is usually used for foreign words and names or for special emphasis.
Hiragana is used in conjunction with kanji. You can think of it as the generic writing system that is fallen
back on when kanji or katakana isn‘t used. Therefore Hiragana, in my opinion, is most important and
should be the first step in learning Japanese.
This_eBook:
Each page covers two hiragana. Use the extra space to practice writing each character. Be careful to
follow the stroke order as given. It is easy to make up your own stroke order, but I can‘t stress enough
how important it is to get it right from the start.
This eBook covers just about everything you need to know to learn hiragana, but if you need further help,
please check out our Hiragana & Katakana section in our online store where you will find books and our
downloadable Hiragana Learning Pack which includes sound files and a 48 page PDF with mnemonics,
illustrations and much more: http://www.thejapanshop.com/home.php?cat=67
Thank you for downloading and here‘s to your Japanese success!
-Clay & Yumi Boutwell
2|Page
HIRAGANA
v.9
THE INTRODUCTION
This chart shows all the hiragana you will learn in the coming weeks. If
you are just starting, take a quick look now, but don‘t let it overwhelm
you! You will begin to see a clear structure as you learn the characters.
THE STRUCTURE
Note how the columns represent the vowels a, i, u, e, o and the rows
represent the consonants. For example, the first row would just be the
vowels—a, i, u, e, o. The second row would be the ―k‘s‖: ka, ki, ku, ke, ko.
th
The 7 ―m‖ row would be ma, mi, mu, me, mo.
The red characters are slightly irregular, but we will get to that in a future
chapter.
The spaces without characters mean modern Japanese doesn‘t have
characters for those sounds. The sounds can be made or at least
mimicked by combining hiragana, but that is beyond the scope of this
eBook.
Chapter
Chapter
Chapter
Chapter
Chapter
Chapter
Chapter
Chapter
Chapter
Chapter
Chapter
Chapter
One: The Vowels………………………………………………………………………… Page
Two: The K‘s……………………………………………………………………………… Page
Three: The S‘s…………………………………………………………………………… Page
Four: The T‘s…………………………………………………………………………………… Page
Five: The N‘s…………………………………………………………………………………… Page
Six: The H‘s…………………………………………………………………………………… Page
Seven: The M‘s…………………………………………………………………………….… Page
Eight: The Y‘s………………………………………………………………………………… Page
Nine: The R‘s………………………………………………………………………………… Page
Ten: The W‘s and N……………………………………………………………………… Page
Eleven: Combining Characters and Links for More………………………………… Page
Twelve: Final Thoughts………………………………………….………………………… Page
www.1Nichi1Kai.com
www.TheJapanesePage.com
3
6
9
12
15
18
21
24
26
29
31
34
www.TheJapanShop.com
3|Page
HIRAGANA
v.9
AND so begins your journey! Be sure to write each character many times
HOW TO WRITE IT
[Follow the red strokes from left to right]
ROMAJI - a
SOUND - [as in fAther]
MEMORY: it looks like a cross with a sideways #9. "Ah... number 9"
EXAMPLES: How do you say them?
- Ah!
With only 2 Hiragana under your belt, you can begin to read real Japanese words!
HOW TO WRITE IT
[Follow the red strokes from left to right]
ROMAJI - i
SOUND - [as in fEEt]
MEMORY: It looks like two arms -- It will get me... EEk!!
EXAMPLES: How do you say them?
- This means 'love'
- This means 'good'
Find websites or books with Japanese and search for the Hiragana you know
www.1Nichi1Kai.com
www.TheJapanesePage.com
www.TheJapanShop.com
4|Page
HIRAGANA
v.9
As we build the number of characters learned we will increase the vocabulary as well
HOW TO WRITE IT
[Follow the red strokes from left to right]
ROMAJI - u
SOUND - [as in fOOd]
MEMORY: It looks like a nose and an opened mouth looking for fOOd
EXAMPLES: How do you say them?
- This means 'to meet'
- This means 'to say'
Later we will see that sometimes this character is used to make characters longer in pronunciation - keep that in mind, but don't
worry, be happy
Do your best to correctly pronounce each vowel - it will be very important later on
HOW TO WRITE IT
[Follow the red strokes from left to right]
ROMAJI - e
SOUND - [as in hAte]
MEMORY: It looks like a person running a race - I hAte running races!
EXAMPLES: How do you say them?
- This means 'no'
- This means 'house'
- This means 'a picture'
You are doing great! Are you writing these characters down?
You are up to your last vowel! Congrats!
www.1Nichi1Kai.com
www.TheJapanesePage.com
www.TheJapanShop.com
5|Page
HIRAGANA
v.9
HOW TO WRITE IT
[Follow the red strokes from left to right]
ROMAJI - o
SOUND - [as in OH nO!]
MEMORY: It looks like '
- a' but "OH! it's different
EXAMPLES: How do you say them?
- This means 'the color blue'
- This means 'hey!' or 'Come here' - kind of rude...
- This means 'king'
All other Hiragana letters are consonants + a vowel (except n)
Congratulations! You have made great headway! You have learned all 5 vowel sounds in Japanese.
English has 5 letters that are vowels (a, e, i, o, u) but some 15 vowel sounds squeezed out of those
letters. Japanese only has 5 vowel sounds period.
You may want to make flashcards of the hiragana as you learn them. Once you’ve reviewed enough to
where you can name the character at sight, proceed to Chapter 2—ka ki ku ke ko
www.1Nichi1Kai.com
www.TheJapanesePage.com
www.TheJapanShop.com
6|Page
HIRAGANA
v.9
HOW TO WRITE IT
[Follow the red strokes from left to right]
ROMAJI - ka
SOUND - [as in CAr]
MEMORY: I remembered it because it looks like a 'K' - well sort of...
EXAMPLES: How do you say them?
- This means 'face'
- This means 'squid'
- This means 'to buy'
- This means 'red'
HOW TO WRITE IT
[Follow the red strokes from left to right]
ROMAJI - ki
SOUND - [as in KEY]
MEMORY: It looks like a skeleton KEY
EXAMPLES: How do you say them?
- This means 'big'
- This means 'train station'
- - This is the sound monkeys make in Japanese
Hiragana has many curves; Katakana is very sharp
www.1Nichi1Kai.com
www.TheJapanesePage.com
www.TheJapanShop.com
7|Page
HIRAGANA
v.9
This is not your average less than sign
HOW TO WRITE IT
[Follow the red strokes from left to right]
ROMAJI
- ku
SOUND
- [as in COol]
13 k wav
MEMORY: It looks like paKU man (Pac-man)
EXAMPLES: How do you say them?
- This means 'the number 9'
GO
- This means 'to go'
- This means 'air'
Kanji, the 3rd writing system in Japanese, has about 2000 characters to learn - aren't you glad you are
!
HOW TO WRITE IT
[Follow the red strokes from left to right]
ROMAJI
- ke
SOUND
- [as in CAve]
9 k wav
MEMORY: It looks like an entrance to a CAve
EXAMPLES: How do you say them?
- This means 'pond'
GO
- This means 'hair'
...
www.1Nichi1Kai.com
www.TheJapanesePage.com
www.TheJapanShop.com
8|Page
HIRAGANA
v.9
HOW TO WRITE IT
[Follow the red strokes from left to right]
ROMAJI
- ko
SOUND
- [as in COld]
11 k wav
MEMORY: It looked like a 'COke can' to me...
EXAMPLES: How do you say them?
- This means 'child'
- This means 'airport' NOTE: the
in this word only makes the
character before it longer (It isn't pronounced as a separate syllable)
GO
- This means 'love' or 'carp (fish)' or a rude form of 'Come here!'
- This means 'voice'
Excellent work! You have learned the vowels
and the first row with consonants.
Just keep plugging away and remember to review often.
www.1Nichi1Kai.com
www.TheJapanesePage.com
www.TheJapanShop.com
9|Page
HIRAGANA
v.9
HOW TO WRITE IT
[Follow the red strokes from left to right]
ROMAJI - sa
SOUND - [as in SOlitude]
MEMORY: It looks like a person who sits in SOlitude
EXAMPLES: How do you say them?
- This means 'sake' - (watch the pronunciation)
- This means 'morning'
- This means 'this morning'
- This means 'umbrella'
If you understand Hiragana's pattern, I believe you have mastered the hardest part
NOTE: This is pronounced as the English 'SHE' not 'SEA' as you would expect!
HOW TO WRITE IT
ROMAJI - shi
SOUND - [as in SHE]
MEMORY: It looks like a woman's hair flowing in the wind (SHE)
EXAMPLES: How do you say them?
- This means 'stone'
- This means 'leg'
- This means 'delicious'
- This means 'cow'
Keep trying to find Hiragana you know on the Internet
www.1Nichi1Kai.com
www.TheJapanesePage.com
www.TheJapanShop.com
10 | P a g e
HIRAGANA
v.9
HOW TO WRITE IT
[Follow the red strokes from left to right]
ROMAJI - su
SOUND - [as in SUE]
MEMORY: It looks like a girl named SUE wearing a hat
EXAMPLES: How do you say them?
- This means 'chair'
- This means 'sushi'
- This means 'to like (someone or something)'
Try to make silly memory associations for yourself
HOW TO WRITE IT
[Follow the red strokes from left to right]
ROMAJI - se
SOUND - [as in SAY]
MEMORY: It looks like someone wearing a hat SAying something
EXAMPLES: How do you say them?
- This means 'sweat'
- This means 'chair' or 'seat' (another word for seat is isu)
www.1Nichi1Kai.com
www.TheJapanesePage.com
www.TheJapanShop.com
11 | P a g e
HIRAGANA
v.9
HOW TO WRITE IT
[Start from the top]
ROMAJI - so
SOUND - [as in SO]
MEMORY: It looks SO abstract like PicaSO
EXAMPLES: How do you say them?
- This means 'a lie' or 'not true'
- This means 'there'
You are doing great! Remember to practice the correct stroke order when writing the characters. As a
general rule, always start your strokes from the top to the bottom; from the left to the right.
www.1Nichi1Kai.com
www.TheJapanesePage.com
www.TheJapanShop.com
12 | P a g e
HIRAGANA
v.9
CHAPTER 4: The 'T' line has a few that aren't "regular" - so be careful
HOW TO WRITE IT
ROMAJI - ta
SOUND - [as in TOddler]
MEMORY: It looks like a TOddler reaching for a toy
EXAMPLES: How do you say them?
- This means 'down' or 'below'
- This means 'octopus'
- This means 'cel phone '
- This means 'song'
Try saying "ta chi tsu te to" 5 times fast
I know my memory associations are getting worse... UGH!
HOW TO WRITE IT
ROMAJI - chi
SOUND - [as in CHEAp]
MEMORY: It looks like a CHEAp version of the number 5
EXAMPLES: How do you say them?
- This means 'the number one'
- This means 'the number seven'
- This means 'mouth'
- This means 'father'
One of the easiest Hiragana to write & hardest to pronounce
www.1Nichi1Kai.com
www.TheJapanesePage.com
www.TheJapanShop.com
13 | P a g e
HIRAGANA
v.9
HOW TO WRITE IT
ROMAJI - tsu
SOUND - [as in caT'S SOUp (not a natural sound in English)]
MEMORY: It looks like a wave from a TSUnami (tidal wave)
EXAMPLES: How do you say them?
- This means 'when?'
- This means 'hot'
- This means 'shoes'
Hiragana!
HOW TO WRITE IT
ROMAJI - te
SOUND - [as in TAble]
MEMORY: It looks like a TErrible seven
EXAMPLES: How do you say them?
- This means 'hand'
- This means 'enemy'
- This means 'nice'
AGANA TO
www.1Nichi1Kai.com
www.TheJapanesePage.com
www.TheJapanShop.com
14 | P a g e
HIRAGANA
v.9
HOW TO WRITE IT
ROMAJI - to
SOUND - [as in TOE]
MEMORY: It looks like someone's big TOE
EXAMPLES: How do you say them?
- This means 'sound'
- This means 'outside'
- This means 'later'
You may want to listen to sound files especially for つ.
Please go to www.thejapanesepage.com and click on ‘Hiragana’ under
beginner’s resources for sound files.
www.1Nichi1Kai.com
www.TheJapanesePage.com
www.TheJapanShop.com
15 | P a g e
HIRAGANA
v.9
HOW TO WRITE IT
ROMAJI - na
SOUND - [as in kNOt]
MEMORY: It looks like a rope all tangled in a kNOt
EXAMPLES: How do you say them?
- This means 'summer'
- This means 'sweet memory' or 'reminiscent'
- This means 'hole'
Hiragana NI
HOW TO WRITE IT
ROMAJI - ni
SOUND - [as in kNEE]
MEMORY: It looks like a person sitting on his kNEEs (as seen from above)
EXAMPLES: How do you say them?
- This means 'west'
- This means 'older brother'
- This means 'smell'
- This means 'what?'
Hiragana NU
www.1Nichi1Kai.com
www.TheJapanesePage.com
www.TheJapanShop.com
16 | P a g e
HIRAGANA
v.9
HOW TO WRITE IT
ROMAJI - nu
SOUND - [as in NEw]
MEMORY: It kind of looks like
a but with a tail and no hat
EXAMPLES: How do you say them?
- This means 'dog'
- This means 'to die'
- This means 'raccoon'
Hiragana NE
HOW TO WRITE IT
ROMAJI - ne
SOUND - [as in NAY]
MEMORY: If you look carefully you will see a '1', '+' and a '2' but, NAY, no '3'
EXAMPLES: How do you say them?
- This means 'fever'
- This means 'older sister'
- This means 'cat'
www.1Nichi1Kai.com
www.TheJapanesePage.com
www.TheJapanShop.com
17 | P a g e
HIRAGANA
v.9
This hiragana by itself means 'apostrophe S' (Possession)
HOW TO WRITE IT
ROMAJI - no
SOUND - [as in NO]
MEMORY: It's a circle! NO it's almost a circle...
EXAMPLES: How do you say them?
- This means 'apostrophe S' (possession)
- This means 'cat's hand'
- This means 'this''
The の when used as a grammatical particle basically is used like an apostrophe S to show possession:
わたし の ねこ
watashi no neko
My cat.
(I ‘s cat)
www.1Nichi1Kai.com
www.TheJapanesePage.com
www.TheJapanShop.com
18 | P a g e
HIRAGANA
v.9
HOW TO WRITE IT
ROMAJI - ha
SOUND - [as in HA!]
MEMORY: It has two parts to make memorizing it HArd
EXAMPLES: How do you say them?
- This means 'yes'
- This means 'bridge' or 'chopsticks'
- This means 'tooth'
When used as a particle it is pronounced as wa - but don't worry about it now :)
It almost looks like a smiley face without eyes
HOW TO WRITE IT (from top- left to right)
ROMAJI - hi
SOUND - [as in HE]
MEMORY: It looks like HE has both hands raised
EXAMPLES: How do you say them?
- This means 'day'
- This means 'person'
www.1Nichi1Kai.com
www.TheJapanesePage.com
www.TheJapanShop.com
19 | P a g e
HIRAGANA
v.9
Be careful! You would think "HU" but it is pronounced as "FU"
HOW TO WRITE IT (from top to bottom)
ROMAJI - fu
SOUND - [as in FOOd]
MEMORY: It looks like a snake looking for some FOOd
EXAMPLES: How do you say them?
- This means 'ship' or 'boat'
- This means 'skin'
Say 'HA HI FU HE HO' several times
Hiragana
HOW TO WRITE IT
ROMAJI - he
SOUND - [as in HEY!]
MEMORY: HEY it's an upside down 'V' (almost)
EXAMPLES: How do you say them?
- This means 'not good at' or 'poor at'
- This means 'calm' or 'peaceful'
Like ha when this is used as a particle it is pronounced as just e (drop the h) - but more on that later...
www.1Nichi1Kai.com
www.TheJapanesePage.com
www.TheJapanShop.com
20 | P a g e
HIRAGANA
v.9
HOW TO WRITE IT
ROMAJI - ho
SOUND - [as in HOle]
MEMORY: HO OH! It is more complicated than
ha!
EXAMPLES: How do you say them?
- This means 'star'
- This means 'want' or 'would like'
- This means 'bone'
You are over halfway through!
Keep at it
www.1Nichi1Kai.com
www.TheJapanesePage.com
www.TheJapanShop.com
21 | P a g e
HIRAGANA
v.9
HOW TO WRITE IT
ROMAJI - ma
SOUND - [as in MA MA]
MEMORY:Look MA! I caught a dragon-fly! [It looks like a dragonfly flying]
EXAMPLES: How do you say them?
- This means 'now'
- This means 'island'
- This means 'town'
- This means 'horse'
MA MI MU ME MO
This is one of my favorites...
HOW TO WRITE IT
ROMAJI - mi
SOUND - [as in ME]
MEMORY: It looks to ME like a 2 over a 4 (can you see it?)
EXAMPLES: How do you say them?
- This means 'meaning'
- This means 'tidal wave'
- This means 'paper'
- This means 'ocean'
MA MI MU ME MO
www.1Nichi1Kai.com
www.TheJapanesePage.com
www.TheJapanShop.com
22 | P a g e
HIRAGANA
v.9
HOW TO WRITE IT
ROMAJI - mu
SOUND - [as in MOvie]
MEMORY: It looks like an old film projector showing a MOvie
EXAMPLES: How do you say them?
- This means 'bug
- This means 'to bite'
- This means 'cold'
HOW TO WRITE IT
ROMAJI - me
SOUND - [as in MAY]
MEMORY: It looks like a half closed eye (me means eye in Japanese)
EXAMPLES: How do you say them?
- This means 'business card'
- This means 'rain' or 'candy'
- This means 'eye'
- This means 'princess'
www.1Nichi1Kai.com
www.TheJapanesePage.com
www.TheJapanShop.com
23 | P a g e
HIRAGANA
v.9
HOW TO WRITE IT
ROMAJI - mo
SOUND - [as in MOwer]
MEMORY: It looks like a man with a hat on taking a MOrning's rest
EXAMPLES: How do you say them?
- This means 'potato'
- This means 'if'
- This means 'heavy'
MA MI MU ME MO
A MI MU ME MO
By now you should know enough hiragana to go hiragana hunting on the internet. Try going to a few
Japanese websites and pick out hiragana you have studied! You may not be able to figure out the
meaning, but it will be good practice for sight reading.
www.1Nichi1Kai.com
www.TheJapanesePage.com
www.TheJapanShop.com
24 | P a g e
HIRAGANA
v.9
HOW TO WRITE IT
ROMAJI - ya
SOUND - [as in YAk]
MEMORY: It looks like something a YAk stepped on
EXAMPLES: How do you say them?
- This means 'parent'
- This means 'room'
YA YU YO
Hiragana
HOW TO WRITE IT
ROMAJI - yu
SOUND - [as in YOU]
MEMORY: If you look really close, you may see a Y, O, and U there
EXAMPLES: How do you say them?
- This means 'snow'
- This means 'winter'
- This means 'dream'
- This means 'fame' or 'famous' (note: the u and the i are used here to extend the
characters before it - So really 'dream' and 'fame' have the same sounds but 'fame' is pronounced longer)
YA YU YO
www.1Nichi1Kai.com
www.TheJapanesePage.com
www.TheJapanShop.com
25 | P a g e
HIRAGANA
v.9
HOW TO WRITE IT
ROMAJI
- yo
SOUND
- [as in YO-YO]
9 k wav
MEMORY: It looks like a fancy trick with a YO-YO
EXAMPLES: How do you say them?
- This means 'good'
- This means 'the side'
- This means 'strong'
YA YU YO
This was a short chapter since there isn’t a yi or ye in modern hiragana.
All three of these hiragana are used when making combination characters (to be covered briefly in
chapter eleven)
www.1Nichi1Kai.com
www.TheJapanesePage.com
www.TheJapanShop.com
26 | P a g e
HIRAGANA
v.9
HOW TO WRITE IT
ROMAJI - ra
SOUND - Listen to the sound
MEMORY: It looks like a RAttled # 5
EXAMPLES: How do you say them?
- This means 'from'
- This means 'plate' or 'dish'
- This means 'the sky'
RA RI RU RE RO - are the most difficult to pronounce – Go to www.TheJapanesePage.com for sound files and a lesson on the R‘s
(under the Hiragana section)
Don't confuse this with i
HOW TO WRITE IT
ROMAJI - ri
SOUND - [listen to the file]
MEMORY: It looks like 2 arms REAching for something
EXAMPLES: How do you say them?
- This means 'bird'
- This means 'glue'
- This means 'impossible'
www.1Nichi1Kai.com
www.TheJapanesePage.com
www.TheJapanShop.com
27 | P a g e
HIRAGANA
v.9
HOW TO WRITE IT
ROMAJI - ru
SOUND - [listen to the file]
MEMORY: It looks like a ROOt
EXAMPLES: How do you say them?
- This means 'to come'
- This means 'monkey'
- This means 'delicious'
HOW TO WRITE IT
ROMAJI - re
SOUND - [listen to file]
MEMORY: It is almost in the shape of a RAInbow
EXAMPLES: How do you say them?
- This means 'to bow'
- This means 'beautiful'
- This means 'impolite'
www.1Nichi1Kai.com
www.TheJapanesePage.com
www.TheJapanShop.com
28 | P a g e
HIRAGANA
v.9
HOW TO WRITE IT
ROMAJI - ro
SOUND - [listen to file]
MEMORY: Think of a man in a boat ROWing
EXAMPLES: How do you say them?
- This means 'color'
- This means 'white'
- This means 'interesting'
The R sounds present a challenge to the English speakers since it is different from most English R
sounds. Sometimes it sounds like an ‘R’ and sometimes a ‘D.’
Listen to the sound file and repeat until you are confident. Then find a native speaker and get her to
correct your mistakes!
www.1Nichi1Kai.com
www.TheJapanesePage.com
www.TheJapanShop.com
29 | P a g e
HIRAGANA
v.9
HOW TO WRITE IT
ROMAJI - wa
SOUND - [as in WAsh]
MEMORY: It is a WAshing machine
EXAMPLES: How do you say them?
- This means 'river'
- This means 'garden'
- This means 'cute'
This is the only Hiragana that doesn't have a vowel sound
HOW TO WRITE IT
ROMAJI - n
SOUND - [as in N]
MEMORY: It looks like a cursive "n"
EXAMPLES: How do you say them?
- This means 'gold'
- This means 'three'
- This means 'yes' - more informal than hai
You can't start a word with N
www.1Nichi1Kai.com
www.TheJapanesePage.com
www.TheJapanShop.com
30 | P a g e
HIRAGANA
v.9
This one is only used as a particle meaning Direct Object and is pronounced 'OH'
HOW TO WRITE IT
ROMAJI - wo or o
SOUND - [as in OH]
MEMORY:looks like a guy jumping over someone's attack (the arc is a blade
sweeping by). So "OH! The ninja's katana nearly hit him!"
EXAMPLES: How do you say them?
- This means 'to read a book' - Book (
) is the direct object
Read Hiragana you know on the Interne
And that’s ALL the Hiragana,
but that’s not ALL…
www.1Nichi1Kai.com
www.TheJapanesePage.com
www.TheJapanShop.com
31 | P a g e
HIRAGANA
v.9
There are more sounds in Japanese than just the 46 hiragana. In order to make the other sounds,
all you have to do is take the hiragana you know and 1) add a ‗ten ten‘, 2) add a ‗maru‘ or 3) use a
small ya, yu or yo. We will look at each one briefly:
PART ONE - ADDING THE "TEN TEN" and ―MARU‖
How to make the 'ten-ten' letters. A 'ten-ten' is like a
double- quote (") It changes the sound of the letter to a
harder sound. You can ONLY 'ten-ten' the 'K' row, the 'S'
row, the 'T' row and the 'H' row. (look at the chart to the right the red ones are the ones with slightly difficult pronunciation)
The circle is called a ‗maru‘ and changes the ‗H‘ row to a
‗P‘ sound. After studying the chart and repeating (outloud)
many times, it should start to seem natural to you.
Now look at the chart below. You will see that

the 'K' row becomes 'G' (still the same good ole


ka only with a ten-ten ; notice it is a harder
sound)
the 'S' row becomes 'Z' (again harder sound)
the 'T' row becomes 'D'

the 'H' row becomes 'B' or 'P' ('B' is with a ten-ten (ex.
a circle (ex.
ba) and 'P' is with
pa))
NOTE: Actually if you allow it to sink in, the sound changes seem quite logical. You
www.1Nichi1Kai.com
www.TheJapanesePage.com
www.TheJapanShop.com
32 | P a g e
HIRAGANA
v.9
will get used to it quickly
PART TWO - Combinations
Usually easy... BASE + a smaller
ki +
ya =
ya,
yu, or
yo
kya
(be careful with the boldfaced ones)
AND (be careful with the boldfaced ones)
NOTE: Again in time this will seem natural - Really!
Review this page until you feel comfortable with it
www.1Nichi1Kai.com
www.TheJapanesePage.com
www.TheJapanShop.com
33 | P a g e
HIRAGANA
v.9
PART THREE - Small TSU
One more thing... You have learned
tsu - But sometimes it appears smaller than
other letters. This causes a slight pause or break between syllables.
Example:
chotto (which means 'a little') pronounced "cho - to" with a slight
break between syllables. In romaji it is usually written by repeating the next consonant
as with 'choTTo.'
Example:
zasshi (magazine) pronounced "za - shi"
Homework : Try to find some other examples on the internet of the small tsu
www.1Nichi1Kai.com
www.TheJapanesePage.com
www.TheJapanShop.com
34 | P a g e
HIRAGANA
v.9
LAST - Some finishing touches
PRACTICE AT THE HIRAGANA FLASHCARDS PAGE

There are only 5 vowel sounds

All other characters (except
5 vowel sounds.

The not-so-logical-pronunciation letters are
chi,
tsu, and
fu. BE
CAREFUL
The R letters are pronounced somewhere between the R and L sounds of
English - Click here for more

n) are made of a consonant sound and one of the


n cannot be used to start a word
You cannot 'ten-ten' vowels

Combinations are formed using only
ya,
yu, and
yo 'helpers' and the i
column (ki, shi, chi, ni, hi, mi, ri)
A small
tsu causes a slight pause or break between syllables. For example in
English we say a slight pause after "book" in "booK Club"
Here are two examples in Japanese where the small tsu can clear up / cause a
lot of problems!

gakki - musical instrument [with a slight pause]
and
gaki - brat, annoying kid [without the pause]
FUN WITH HIRAGANA
A cute drawing made from hiragana is called Henohenomoheji
The name sounds impossible to learn, but it is simply reading the Hiragana
that makes the character. The eyebrow is 'he.' The eye is 'no.' The nose is
'mo.' the mouth is 'he.' And the face is made by 'ji.'(ji = shi + ") Do you see
it?
www.1Nichi1Kai.com
www.TheJapanesePage.com
www.TheJapanShop.com
35 | P a g e
HIRAGANA
v.9
BOOKS: There are many books designed to help you learn Hiragana and Katakana.
This free PDF covers just about everything you will need to master Hiragana, but if you
are type of learner who needs a book or flashcards, we have a number of excellent
products at our store:
http://www.thejapanshop.com/home.php?cat=67
If you don’t have a textbook yet, I would highly recommend getting one
and sticking with it. Having a textbook helps keep your studying regular
and in a linear progression.
Lastly, you may want to take a look at our Hiragana (& Katakana)
Shitajiki. Japanese students use Shitajiki to use as a hard surface to write
on. Put your paper on top of this and write in style!
http://www.thejapanshop.com/product.php?productid=16189
Have fun learning!
Thank you very much for using this guide! If you haven’t done so already, please join
our Japanese language learning community at www.thejapanesepage.com. Also
please stop by my blog at www.1nichi1kai.com (once a day) for mini lessons, videos
and other free downloads. Lastly, don’t forget our store www.thejapanshop.com for all
your Japanese book needs.
Your purchases give us the time and opportunity to keep working on producing these
free lessons, eBooks, videos etc. It is definitely a joy to produce these resources, but
without your support through store purchases, feedback and donations—freebies like
this eBook wouldn’t be possible. 
Thank you!
Clay & Yumi
11-18-2007
www.1Nichi1Kai.com
www.TheJapanesePage.com
www.TheJapanShop.com