The 46 basic hiragana, one sound each, set out in a table of five vowels and ten rows. As particles, は, へ and を read wa, e and o: わたしは watashi wa, うみへ umi e, ほんを hon o
Summary
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| Point | Rule | Example | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| The table | 46 kana: five vowels across, ten rows down | あ / か / さ / た / な a, ka, sa, ta, na | |
| Vowels | five kana, five vowels | あ / い / う / え / お a, i, u, e, o | |
| Rows | a consonant plus the vowels, in the order a i u e o | か / き / く / け / こ ka, ki, ku, ke, ko | |
| Irregular | し, ち, つ and ふ have their own sounds | し / ち / つ / ふ shi, chi, tsu, fu | |
| Direction | horizontal left to right; vertical top to bottom, columns right to left | — | |
| Particles | は, へ, を read wa, e, o | わたしは watashi wa | |
| Trap | write the particle は, say wa | わたしはほんをよみます。 watashi wa hon o yomimasu | |
| Trap | write the particle を, say o; the o of words is お | ほんをよみます。 hon o yomimasu |
Hiragana and the table
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- Hiragana has 46 basic kana, and each kana stands for one sound.
- The table is called ごじゅうおん; it has five vowels across and ten rows down.
- A row keeps its consonant and runs through the vowels in the fixed order a, i, u, e, o. か / き / く / け / こ ka, ki, ku, ke, ko
- Romaji spells Japanese in Latin letters; this guide uses modified Hepburn, which writes し as shi.
- Voiced sounds, small kana and long vowels follow in Kana Sounds.
The vowels
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| Kana | Sound | Example | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| あ | a /a/ | あさ asa /asa/ | morning | |
| い | i /i/ | いえ ie /ie/ | house | |
| う | u /ɯ/ | うみ umi /ɯmi/ | sea | |
| え | e /e/ | えき eki /eki/ | station | |
| お | o /o/ | おかし okashi /okaɕi/ | sweets |
The K, S, T and N rows
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| Kana | Sound | Example | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| か | ka /ka/ | かさ kasa /kasa/ | umbrella | |
| き | ki /ki/ | きつね kitsune /kitsɯne/ | fox | |
| く | ku /kɯ/ | くち kuchi /kɯtɕi/ | mouth | |
| け | ke /ke/ | けさ kesa /kesa/ | this morning | |
| こ | ko /ko/ | こえ koe /koe/ | voice | |
| さ | sa /sa/ | さかな sakana /sakana/ | fish | |
| し | shi /ɕi/ | しろ shiro /ɕiɾo/ | white | |
| す | su /sɯ/ | すし sushi /sɯɕi/ | sushi | |
| せ | se /se/ | せかい sekai /sekai/ | world | |
| そ | so /so/ | そら sora /soɾa/ | sky | |
| た | ta /ta/ | たこ tako /tako/ | octopus | |
| ち | chi /tɕi/ | ちち chichi /tɕitɕi/ | my father | |
| つ | tsu /tsɯ/ | つき tsuki /tsɯki/ | moon | |
| て | te /te/ | てら tera /teɾa/ | temple | |
| と | to /to/ | とり tori /toɾi/ | bird | |
| な | na /na/ | なつ natsu /natsɯ/ | summer | |
| に | ni /ɲi/ | にく niku /ɲikɯ/ | meat | |
| ぬ | nu /nɯ/ | いぬ inu /inɯ/ | dog | |
| ね | ne /ne/ | ねこ neko /neko/ | cat | |
| の | no /no/ | のり nori /noɾi/ | seaweed (nori) |
- し, ち and つ differ from the pattern of their rows: they read shi, chi and tsu. し / ち / つ shi, chi, tsu
The H, M, Y, R and W rows, and ん
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| Kana | Sound | Example | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| は | ha /ha/ | はな hana /hana/ | flower | |
| ひ | hi /çi/ | ひと hito /çito/ | person | |
| ふ | fu /ɸɯ/ | ふね fune /ɸɯne/ | ship | |
| へ | he /he/ | へや heya /heja/ | room | |
| ほ | ho /ho/ | ほし hoshi /hoɕi/ | star | |
| ま | ma /ma/ | まち machi /matɕi/ | town | |
| み | mi /mi/ | みち michi /mitɕi/ | road | |
| む | mu /mɯ/ | むし mushi /mɯɕi/ | insect | |
| め | me /me/ | あめ ame /ame/ | rain | |
| も | mo /mo/ | もり mori /moɾi/ | forest | |
| や | ya /ja/ | やま yama /jama/ | mountain | |
| ゆ | yu /jɯ/ | ゆき yuki /jɯki/ | snow | |
| よ | yo /jo/ | よる yoru /joɾɯ/ | night | |
| ら | ra /ɾa/ | さくら sakura /sakɯɾa/ | cherry blossoms | |
| り | ri /ɾi/ | りす risu /ɾisɯ/ | squirrel | |
| る | ru /ɾɯ/ | くるま kuruma /kɯɾɯma/ | car | |
| れ | re /ɾe/ | これ kore /koɾe/ | this | |
| ろ | ro /ɾo/ | ろく roku /ɾokɯ/ | six | |
| わ | wa /wa/ | わたし watashi /wataɕi/ | I | |
| を | o /o/ | ほんをよむ hon o yomu /hoɴ o jomɯ/ | to read a book | |
| ん | n /ɴ/ | ほん hon /hoɴ/ | book |
- ふ reads fu, a soft puff of air between the lips. ふね fune
- The や row has three kana: や, ゆ and よ.
- The ら row starts with a quick tap of the tongue, between r and l.
- を reads o and writes the object particle; ん follows another kana, as in ほん.
Writing direction
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- Horizontal text runs left to right, line after line.
- Vertical text runs top to bottom, and its columns run from right to left; books and newspapers use it.
- Words follow each other without spaces. わたしはほんをよみます。 watashi wa hon o yomimasu /wataɕi wa hoɴ o jomimasɯ/I read a book.
Particles は, へ, を
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| Kana | Sound | Example | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| は | wa /wa/ | わたしはほんをよみます。 watashi wa hon o yomimasu /wataɕi wa hoɴ o jomimasɯ/ | I read a book. | |
| へ | e /e/ | わたしはうみへいきます。 watashi wa umi e ikimasu /wataɕi wa ɯmi e ikimasɯ/ | I go to the sea. | |
| を | o /o/ | わたしはほんをよみます。 watashi wa hon o yomimasu /wataɕi wa hoɴ o jomimasɯ/ | I read a book. |
- Inside words they keep their own sounds: はな hana, へや heya, おかし okashi. はな hana /hana/ · へや heya /heja/ · おかし okashi /okaɕi/flower / room / sweets
- The greeting こんにちは ends in the particle は, so it reads konnichiwa. こんにちは konnichiwa /koɲɲitɕiwa/Hello.
Typical errors
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| Wrong | Right | Rule | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| わたしわほんをよみます。 | わたしはほんをよみます。 watashi wa hon o yomimasu | the particle is written は, though it is read wa | |
| わたしはうみえいきます。 | わたしはうみへいきます。 watashi wa umi e ikimasu | the particle is written へ, though it is read e | |
| わたしはほんおよみます。 | わたしはほんをよみます。 watashi wa hon o yomimasu | the object particle is written を, though it is read o | |
| こんにちわ | こんにちは konnichiwa | the greeting keeps the particle は in writing | |
| れこ | ねこ neko | ね ends its last stroke in a loop; れ ends in an outward flick |