☆ WELCOME TO HIRAGANA! ☆
Hiragana is one of the three writing systems used in Japanese.
In this lesson, you will learn the five characters that represent the basic Japanese vowel sounds:
a i u e o
These sounds are extremely important because nearly every hiragana group you learn later will build from them.
☆ MEET THE VOWELS ☆
A
Think of the a sound in “father.”
ao
blue
I
Similar to the vowel sound in “see.”
ii
good
U
Similar to “oo,” but usually shorter and less rounded than English.
ue
above
E
Similar to the vowel sound in “bed.”
e
picture
O
Similar to the beginning of the English word “open.”
ao
blue
N
ん is special because it can appear without a vowel attached to it.
un
yeah / yes
☆ SAY THEM OUT LOUD ☆
Read this row slowly from left to right:
a i u e o
Try reading the row several times without looking at the Roman letters.
☆ CHARACTER REVIEW ☆
| Hiragana | Romaji | Approximate Sound |
|---|---|---|
| あ | a | ah |
| い | i | ee |
| う | u | oo |
| え | e | eh |
| お | o | oh |
| ん | n | n |
☆ WRITING PRACTICE ☆
If you have paper nearby, copy each row several times. Say the sound aloud while you write.
☆ WORDS YOU CAN ALREADY READ ☆
Even with only these few characters, you can already begin recognizing some Japanese words!
blue
good
above / on top
picture / drawing
yeah / yes
love
☆ WHAT IS SPECIAL ABOUT ん? ☆
ん is different from the five vowels.
Most basic hiragana represent a syllable-like sound such as か (ka) or み (mi).
But ん represents a nasal sound by itself.
うん
u + n = un
Its exact pronunciation can change slightly depending on the sound that comes after it. For now, remembering it as n is enough.
☆ RECOGNITION PRACTICE ☆
い ん う
お え あ
Try reading them again in a different order.
☆ MINI QUIZ ☆
1. Which sound does あ represent?
2. Which hiragana represents the sound “i”?
3. What sound does お represent?
4. Which character represents the special “n” sound?
5. How would you read あお?