ひらがな (Hiragana)
Learning Objectives
- Understand the three Japanese writing systems.
- Read and write the 46 base Hiragana characters.
- Understand voiced marks (Dakuten/Handakuten).
- Read combined characters and basic vocabulary.
Welcome to the first step of your Japanese journey! Japanese uses three distinct writing systems: Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji. To read Japanese, you must first master Hiragana. It forms the grammatical backbone of the language and represents every sound used in Japanese. Let’s explore the 46 base characters!
1. The 46 Base Characters
Japanese pronunciation is highly systematic. Every character (except one) is a combination of a consonant and a vowel (A, I, U, E, O). Start by memorizing the vowel row and the consonant columns.
| a (あ) | i (い) | u (う) | e (え) | o (お) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| K | か ka | き ki | く ku | け ke | こ ko |
| S | さ sa | し shi | す su | せ se | そ so |
| T | た ta | ち chi | つ tsu | て te | と to |
| N | な na | に ni | ぬ nu | ね ne | の no |
| H | は ha | ひ hi | ふ fu | へ he | ほ ho |
| M | ま ma | み mi | む mu | め me | も mo |
| Y | や ya | ゆ yu | よ yo | ||
| R | ら ra | り ri | る ru | れ re | ろ ro |
| W/N | わ wa | を wo | ん n |
[!NOTE] The isolated “n” (ん) is the only consonant in Japanese that can be written on its own without a paired vowel.
2. Voiced Marks (Dakuten & Handakuten)
By adding two small dots called Dakuten (゛) to certain characters, you can change their sound. Adding a small circle Handakuten (゜) changes the “H” characters specifically to “P”.
か (ka) ＋ ゛ ＝ が (ga)
ka -> ga
Unvoiced 'k' becomes voiced 'g'
は (ha) ＋ ゛ ＝ ば (ba)
ha -> ba
Unvoiced 'h' becomes voiced 'b'
は (ha) ＋ ゜ ＝ ぱ (pa)
ha -> pa
Unvoiced 'h' becomes a popped 'p'
| Word | Romaji | Meaning | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| あき | aki | Autumn | Noun |
| かぜ | kaze | Wind (Uses dakuten on se) | Noun |
| えんぴつ | enpitsu | Pencil (Uses handakuten on hi) | Noun |
| おはよう | ohayou | Good morning | Greeting |
| ねこ | neko | Cat | Noun |
3. Combinations (Yōon)
By combining any character from the “i” column (ki, shi, chi, ni, hi, mi, ri) with a small ya (ゃ), yu (ゅ), or yo (ょ), we can create blended sounds.
き (ki) + ゃ (small ya) = きゃ (kya)
kya
Notice how 'ki-ya' blends into a single syllable 'kya'.
し (shi) + ゅ (small yu) = しゅ (shu)
shu
Similarly, 'shi-yu' blends into 'shu'.
ち (chi) + ょ (small yo) = ちょ (cho)
cho
And 'chi-yo' blends into 'cho'.
Chapter Summary
- 1Hiragana represents every sound in the Japanese language.
- 2The baseline alphabet consists of 46 distinct characters.
- 3You can modify sounds by adding dakuten (゛) to change k→g, s→z, t→d, h→b.
- 4You can also use handakuten (゜) to change h→p.
- 5Combinations with small ya (ゃ), yu (ゅ), and yo (ょ) create blended sounds like kya or shu.
Knowledge Check
Test your understanding of the Hiragana writing system!
Quiz
Which of the following is the correct Hiragana for 'A'?