The hiragana syllabary — 46 basic characters plus voiced, semi-voiced, and combination marks
Can read and write all 46 basic hiragana characters and their modifications
Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?
あいうえお
a-i-u-e-o (the five vowels)
さくら
sakura (cherry blossom)
がっこう
gakkou (school)
Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?
Hiragana is the first writing system to learn. It represents every sound in Japanese and is used for native words, grammatical particles, and verb/adjective endings.
| a | i | u | e | o | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ∅ | あ | い | う | え | お |
| k | か | き | く | け | こ |
| s | さ | し(shi) | す | せ | そ |
| t | た | ち(chi) | つ(tsu) | て | と |
| n | な | に | ぬ | ね | の |
| h | は | ひ | ふ(fu) | へ | ほ |
| m | ま | み | む | め | も |
| y | や | ゆ | よ | ||
| r | ら | り | る | れ | ろ |
| w | わ | を | |||
| n | ん | ||||
Dakuten (゛) voices consonants: か→が, さ→ざ, た→だ, は→ば. Handakuten (゜) changes h→p: は→ぱ. Yōon (combination kana): きゃ, しゅ, ちょ — a small や/ゆ/よ after an i-row kana.
Special readings: は is read 'wa' as a particle; へ is read 'e' as a particle; を is read 'o' as a particle.
Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises
Practice Exercisesあいうえお
a-i-u-e-o (the five vowels)
The vowel row — the foundation of the hiragana chart.
さくら
sakura (cherry blossom)
さ(sa) + く(ku) + ら(ra) — a familiar word using three different consonant rows.
がっこう
gakkou (school)
が(ga, voiced か) + っ(double consonant) + こ(ko) + う(long vowel) — shows dakuten, sokuon, and long vowel.
Practice in course
Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises