☆ WELCOME TO THE K ROW! ☆
In Lesson 2, you learned the five basic Japanese vowel sounds:
a i u e o
Now we can use those same vowel sounds to learn an entire new row.
ka ki ku ke ko
Notice the pattern: each sound begins with K and ends with one of the five vowels you already learned.
☆ MEET THE K ROW ☆
KA
Sounds roughly like “kah.”
kao
face
KI
Sounds roughly like “kee.”
eki
station
KU
Sounds roughly like “koo.”
kuu
to eat
KE
Sounds roughly like “keh.”
ike
pond
KO
Sounds roughly like “koh.”
koe
voice
☆ SAY THEM OUT LOUD ☆
Read the K row slowly from left to right:
ka ki ku ke ko
Try reading the row several times. Then cover the romaji and see if you can still remember each sound.
☆ CHARACTER REVIEW ☆
| Hiragana | Romaji | Built From |
|---|---|---|
| か | ka | k + a |
| き | ki | k + i |
| く | ku | k + u |
| け | ke | k + e |
| こ | ko | k + o |
☆ WRITING PRACTICE ☆
Copy each character several times on paper. Say the sound aloud while you write it.
☆ WORDS YOU CAN READ ☆
Now that you know the vowel row and the K row, you can read even more Japanese words!
Try reading the hiragana first before looking at the romaji.
face
voice
red
pond
station
to write
to listen / ask
here
☆ SPOT THE PATTERN ☆
Hiragana is organized into rows based on sounds.
あ い う え お
a i u e o
K row:
か き く け こ
ka ki ku ke ko
The vowel at the end stays in the same position. This pattern will make learning future hiragana rows easier.
☆ RECOGNITION PRACTICE ☆
け く き
こ か け
Now mix them with characters from Lesson 2:
く い か お
け う こ ん
☆ MINI QUIZ ☆
1. Which sound does か represent?
2. Which hiragana represents “ki”?
3. What sound does け represent?
4. Which character represents “ko”?
5. How would you read かお?