Intensive Japanese I, Beermann. Hiragana Handbook 1 Introduction to Hiragana (reading practice) 1. First Step to Read the 46 Basic Hiragana 2. Reading

H i r a g a n a

Handbook

ひらがな読み書き練習帳

by

Rafael E. Beermann

copyright 2006

Introduction to Hiragana (reading practice)

1. First Step to Read the 46 Basic Hiragana

2. Reading Additional Hiragana

2.1 How to read voiced and plosive sounds written in Hiragana

2.2 How to read long vowels written in Hiragana

2.3 How to read double consonants written in Hiragana

2.4 How to read palatal consonants written in Hiragana

Introduction to Hiragana (writing practice)

3. First Step to Write the 46 Basic Hiragana

4. Writing Additional Hiragana

4.1 How to write voiced and plosive sounds in Hiragana

4.2 How to write long vowels in Hiragana

4.3 How to write double consonants in Hiragana

4.4 How to write palatal consonants in Hiragana

Introduction to Hiragana (reading practice)

Hiragana (ひらがな or 平仮名) is one of the three main Japanese writing systems along with

Katakana (かたかな or 片仮名) and the Kanji (かんじ or 漢字, name for Chinese characters in the

Japanese language). Both Hiragana and Katakana belong to the syllabary Kana (かな or 仮名), the

generic term for these two writing systems. Each symbol of Kana represents one sound like the letters of the alphabet, although it is mostly a combination of a consonant and a vowel, e.g. k + a =/ka/ か, m + o =/mo/ も, p + u = /pu/ ぷ etc., but there are also five vowels a,i,u,e,o あ、い、う、え、お

and the consonant /n/ ん.

Kana represents every sound in the Japanese language. Therefore, you can theoretically write everything in Hiragana (or in Katakana). However, since Japanese is written with no spaces between single words, this will create nearly indecipherable texts. So nowadays Hiragana are used only for Japanese words * for which no Kanji exist (particles, suffixes, some adverbs) or for verb and adjective endings (known as Okurigana 送り仮名), and as a reading aid of too difficult

Kanji (Furigana 振り仮名  or Rubi ルビ). Hiragana are also widely used in materials for children,

textbooks, animation and comic books. * Non-Japanese words are written in Katakana. The contemporary system of ordering the basic Hiragana is as follows:

Table of basic Hiragana

あ

a

い

i

う

u

え

e

お

o

か

ka

き

ki

く

ku

け

ke

こ

ko

さ

sa

し

shi

す

su

せ

se

そ

so

た

ta

ち

chi

つ

tsu

て

te

と

to

な

na

に

ni

ぬ

nu

ね

ne

の

no

は

ha

ひ

hi

ふ

fu

へ

he

ほ

ho

ま

ma

み

mi

む

mu

め

me

も

mo

や

ya

ゆ

yu

よ

yo

ら

ra

り

ri

る

ru

れ

re

ろ

ro

わ

wa      

   

を

o

ん

n please notice:

Although you can learn this table easily and systematically by combining the ten sounds of the vertical row a,k,s,t,n,h,m,y,r,w together with the vowels a,i,u,e,o (and the last sound n) you must consider following exceptions: s-row: the Hiragana し is to be pronounced /∫i/ and not /si/

t-row: the Hiragana ち is to be pronounced /t∫i/ and not /ti/ h-row: the Hiragana ふ is to be pronounced /fw/ and not /hw/ y-row: there is neither a /ji/ nor a /je/ in contemporary Japanese

w-row: there are no /wi/, /wu/, /we/ and instead of /wo/ for the Hiragana を one uses the pronunciation /o /. So there is no phonetical difference between お _{/o / of the first row and this} を_{. Do not forget the very last sound} ん _/N/.

1. First Step to Read the 46 Basic Hiragana

Exercise 1. Try to read line by line the following Hiragana by using the table of basic

Hiragana as a key. Since Japanese is written either horizontally or vertically,

you can read the lines from the left to the right or top-down beginning on the right side.

あ  い  う  え  お  あ  お  う  い  え あ う い お  い  え  あ  う  い  え  お  う  あ お き け え  あ  う  お  い  え  う  あ  お  い え か き か  あ  い  え  お  う  か  い  お  あ お く か お  い  か  あ  う  か  い  う  え  か こ け こ き  あ  え  か  お  あ  き  え  か  う き く か く  か  う  き  え  き  く  え  お  か き こ く け  あ  え  い  か  け  お  き  え  き く あ う き  く  か  け  え  き  う  い  か  く け こ お あ  か  い  こ  き  く  い  け  こ  う く き あ

Exercise 2. Now read Japanese words composed of あいうえお かきくけ and こ. え  （絵）picture け  （毛）hair き  （木）tree あさ （朝）morning あか （赤）red あき （秋）autumn いえ （家）house うえ （上）above えき （駅）station かお （顔）face かこ （過去）past あお （青）blue かい （貝）shell いけ （池）pond こけ （苔）moss  

Exercise 3. Try to read line by line the following new and already studied Hiragana.

さ  し  す  せ  そ  あ  い  し  せ  う  す  そ  か  く  こ  し  さ  い  せ  そ せ  す  し  さ  い  お  そ  こ  く  け し  せ  そ  す  さ  き  く  し  い  う す  あ  う  お  え  せ  さ  す  そ  え く  こ  い  し  さ  そ  か  こ  け  す え  す  さ  お  あ  く  し  い  せ  こ う  し  か  こ  そ  す  そ  せ  く  さ そ  す  う  い  し  そ  せ  く  さ  せ

Exercise 4. Now try to read following words composed of あいうえお かきくけこ       さしすせ and そ:

いし （石）stone あさ （朝）morning せき （席）seat くし （櫛）comb こし （腰）hip あし （足）leg, foot すいか（スイカ）watermelon すこし（少し）a little うそ （嘘）lie

えさ （餌）bait すし （寿司）Sushi あそこ（あそこ）over there いす （椅子）chair あせ （汗）sweat きそ （基礎）basics

Exercise 5. Here you find ten more Hiragana and fifteen already studied Hiragana.

Try to read them all:

た  ち  つ  て  と  ち  し  こ  い  う て  か  た  ち  し  つ  そ  あ  す  さ さ  ち  く  し  お  う  す  つ  て  と い  お  か  け  こ  た  て  ち  と  つ え  そ  た  そ  さ  せ  い  こ  し  す と  て  つ  ち  し  す  た  お  せ  く ち  さ  し  つ  い  こ  た  て  と  そ な  に  ぬ  ね  の  ね  ぬ  に  な  の ぬ  お  な  あ  に  こ  し  そ  と  て の  な  つ  に  ね  な  ぬ  の  た  う い  こ  に  ぬ  ね  ぬ  お  の  な  く な  ぬ  の  こ  え  せ  そ  し  こ  い ち  た  に  か  た  こ  け  ぬ  な  ね す  し  こ  い  せ  に  つ  な  の  ぬ に  な  う  す  せ  ね  の  き  く  お う  た  の  ぬ  つ  し  さ  ち  し  こ こ  い  と  て  す  そ  た  あ  お  う た  ち  つ  し  そ  き  か  け  う  す う  い  こ  ち  さ  ね  せ  ぬ  な  に こ  な  つ  た  し  ね  の  す  く  と  

Exercise6. Here we have more Japanese words composed of

あいうえお かきくけこ さしすせそ たちつてと なにぬね and の.

Can you read them all?

て  （手）hand ち  （血）blood あし （足）leg, foot なつ （夏）summer てつ （鉄）iron ねつ （熱）fever ねこ （猫）cat いぬ （犬）dog うし （牛）cow くし （櫛）comb こし （腰）hip かた （肩）shoulder おなか（お腹）stomach せなか（背中）back かさ （傘）umbrella たこ （蛸）octopus いか （イカ）cuttlefish なす （茄子）eggplant  かい （貝）shell いけ （池）pond こけ （苔）moss

なし （梨）pear かき （柿）persimmon すし （寿司）Sushi しお （塩）salt とち （土地）land, ground くち （口）mouth  

Exercise 7. Here you find some more new and already studied Hiragana. Try to read them:

な  ぬ  の  あ  お  い  こ  に  ね  か  し  う  き   は  ひ  ふ  へ  ほ  ひ  は  ほ  け  へ  ふ  は  ぬ へ  く  て  こ  に  け  ふ  は  ほ  し  つ  ぬ  ね す  ぬ  な  さ  き  へ  し  こ  は  な  ほ  そ  て と  に  ひ  ほ  は  せ  の  ふ  な  す  ね  な  た の  ね  ぬ  に  な  ち  し  き  い  の  と  そ  こ ほ  へ  は  ひ  ち  さ  き  く  し  ふ  ほ  は  ひ ま  み  む  め  も  め  む  み  ま  む  め  も  み め  ね  ま  は  へ  て  く  み  も  ま  は  へ  せ え  は  と  む  ひ  め  ほ  ま  は  ほ  め  そ  ち も  そ  ぬ  な  み  そ  む  ふ  ほ  ま  も  む  み へ  む  の  も  な  た  み  と  ち  さ  め  ま  も こ  く  ま  は  す  む  ぬ  め  ね  み  に  む  ま め  も  み  ま  む  ほ  へ  ふ  せ  ち  そ  き  あ す  つ  ぬ  も  め  み  ま  な  ね  ぬ  め  ち  と

Exercise 8. You find some more Japanese words here consisting of

あいうえ おかきくけこ さしすせそ たちつてと なにぬねの はひふへほ まみむめ

and も. Are you able to read them all?

ひ  （火）fire は  （歯）tooth め （目）eye なみ （波）wave うみ （海）sea はね （羽）feather

はは （母）own mother ちち （父）own father あね （姉）own elder sister むすめ（娘）daughter むすこ（息子）son あに （兄）own elder brother おはし（お箸）chopsticks ひみつ（秘密）secret はちみつ（蜂蜜）honey ひも （紐）string, cord にもつ（荷物）load, luggage はな（花）flower ほね （骨）bone ほし （星）star むね（胸）breast はなし（話し）story むし （虫）insect もも（桃）peach ねむい（眠い）sleepy つち （土）earth ちかい（近い）near まめ （豆）bean おむつ（おむつ）nappies うむ（産む）to bear

Exercise 9. There are three more Hiragana や ゆ よ among the old ones. Try to read them:

や  ゆ  よ  ゆ  や  む  や  と  よ  ふ  や  ほ  は め  ぬ  ゆ  つ  ね  や  す  な  ま  よ  む  ゆ  よ う  よ  む  ゆ  ま  き  ふ  ひ  つ  そ  し  み  め へ  よ  ぬ  む  す  ゆ  せ  た  な  や  え  せ  や ゆ  ね  の  ち  さ  き  ま  や  ち  そ  ひ  よ  ま あ  や  お  よ  ゆ  よ  も  め  む  か  そ  み  や と  に  や  ほ  よ  せ  ゆ  ふ  な  や  ね  ゆ  た や  ね  ぬ  よ  な  ち  き  や  い  よ  と  そ  ゆ ほ  よ  は  ひ  や  さ  き  ゆ  や  ふ  ほ  よ  や ま  や  よ  め  す  め  や  み  け  む  や  も  ほ め  ね  ま  は  や  て  ゆ  み  も  ま  は  よ  せ ち  さ  や  し  つ  ゆ  い  こ  た  よ  て  と  そ な  に  ぬ  ね  や  の  ね  ぬ  ゆ  に  な  の  よ や  ぬ  お  な  あ  に  ゆ  こ  し  そ  よ  と  て の  な  や  つ  に  ね  や  な  ぬ  の  た  う  よ よ  い  ゆ  こ  よ  に  ぬ  ね  ぬ  お  や  よ  く

Exercise 10. There are more Japanese words including やゆよ :

や  （矢）arrow ゆみ （弓）bow やま （山）mountain なみ （波）wave うみ （海）sea はね （羽）feather よなか（夜中）midnight ゆめ （夢）dream やね （屋根）roof ゆき （雪）snow まゆ （眉）eyebrow やすい（安い）cheap ふゆ （冬）winter やさい（野菜）vegetable よい （良い）good

Exercise 11. Now we try to read the rest of basic Hiragana all together with the others:

や  ゆ  よ  ら  り  る  れ  ろ  ん  ら  ろ  る  ゆ ろ  れ  る  り  ら  を  り  ろ  ら  る  ゆ  れ  ろ あ  ゆ  ろ  わ  り  ろ  る  ら  れ  ん  ね  ぬ  み わ  を  ん  も  ま  は  わ  ろ  を  ら  ほ  は  く り  い  ね  れ  わ  ん  と  ん  て  り  へ  ろ  る ら  を  ん  す  と  つ  て  り  き  さ  れ  り  ん を  お  せ  そ  や  ら  ゆ  む  す  ふ  や  を  け ぬ  お  な  ら  あ  に  こ  り  し  そ  と  て  り の  な  つ  に  ね  る  な  ぬ  れ  の  た  う  ら い  こ  に  ぬ  ね  ぬ  お  の  な  く  ろ  ら  る な  ぬ  わ  の  こ  え  を  せ  そ  し  こ  い  ろ ち  た  に  か  た  ん  こ  け  ぬ  な  ね  る  ら す  し  こ  ら  ん  い  せ  に  つ  な  の  ぬ  わ こ  に  れ  ゆ  な  す  ね  ぬ  る  よ  し  い  を り  ん  ひ  つ  ろ  り  い  ち  め  ま  む  る  ん ほ  ゆ  ん  ら  わ  や  ま  な  た  さ  こ  の  わ れ  ね  し  み  ひ  に  ち  き  さ  け  は  を  ん せ  そ  さ  も  み  り  ん  ら  う  ぬ  め  か  ふ わ  み  ね  す  を  お  あ  ぬ  ゆ  わ  め  ね  ぬ を  な  す  に  ら  ふ  さ  ち  と  つ  へ  ゆ  も へ  く  て  こ  に  け  ふ  は  ほ  し  つ  ぬ  ね す  ぬ  な  さ  き  へ  し  こ  は  な  ほ  そ  て と  に  ひ  ほ  は  せ  の  ふ  な  す  ね  な  た の  ね  ぬ  に  な  ち  し  き  い  の  と  そ  こ ひ  を  ん  わ  り  ろ  れ  み  さ  ち  し  さ  か り  ぬ  ゆ  つ  ね  や  ら  な  ま  よ  む  ゆ  ん う  を  む  わ  ま  き  り  ひ  る  そ  れ  み  ろ

Exercise 2. Let’s read Japanese words composed of sounds of 46 basic Hiragana:

わら （藁）straw いわ （岩）rock わに （ワニ）crocodile よる （夜）night はる （春）spring ふゆ （冬）winter くろ（黒）black しろ （白）white わた （綿）cotton

わたし（私）me へいわ（平和）peace らいねん（来年）next year りか（理科）science りす（リス）squirrel れい（例）example

ゆき（雪）snow もり（森）forest こおり（氷）ice ひみつ（秘密）secret わらう（笑う）to laugh よわい（弱い）weak みる（見る）to see うしろ（後ろ）back むらさき（紫）purple れきし（歴史）history れんらく（連絡）contact,inform ほん（本）book ろんり（論理）logic けんさ（検査）inspection れんらく（連絡）liaison よみかき（読み書き）reading and writing わすれもの（忘れ物）thing left behind せつめい（説明）explanation こくせき（国籍）nationality

Exercise 13. Now read phrases composed of basic Hiragana:

ちちとはは （ 父と母） my father and my mother

あにとあね （兄と姉） my elder brother and my elder sister やまとうみ （ 山と海） the mountain and the sea

いぬとねこ （犬と猫） a dog and a cat とりとさかな（鳥と魚） a bird and a fish はるとなつ （春と夏） _{spring and summer} あきとふゆ （秋と冬） autumn and winter すきなもの （好きな物） things I like にほんのうた（日本の歌） _{Japanese songs} きれいなはな（きれいな花） a beautiful flower しんせんなやさい（新鮮な野菜） fresh vegetables やさしいせんせい（優しい先生） _{a friendly teacher} きらいなもの（嫌いな物） things I don’t like おおきなくも（大きな蜘蛛）   a big spider

さむいふゆのよる（寒い冬の夜） _{a cold winter night}

2. Reading Additional Hiragana

In addition to these 46 Hiragana, which you should be able to read fluently now, there are some more Hiragana to learn. They have been derived from the basic syllables.

2.1 How to read voiced and plosive sounds written in Hiragana

が

ga

ぎ

gi

ぐ

gu

げ

ge

ご

go

ざ

za

じ

ji

ず

zu

ぜ

ze

ぞ

zo

だ

da

ぢ

ji

づ

zu

で

de

ど

do

ば

ba

び

bi

ぶ

bu

べ

be

ぼ

bo

ぱ

pa

ぴ

pi

ぷ

pu

ぺ

pe

ぽ

po

As you can easily notice, the unvoiced sound-units become voiced by placing a symbol like a italicized double quotation mark: ゛. ( か→が, き→ぎ, く→ぐ etc.)

Further, there are five p-sounds (plosives) derived from the already mentioned h-sounds

はひふへほ. These Hiragana are mentioned in the last row. They are marked by the symbol º (は→ぱ).

Please be careful to pronounce じ as /dzi/ and not /zi/. The ぢ in the next row is also pronounced

as /dzi/ and not /di/. The Hiragana づ is to be pronounced as /zu/ and not /du/ ! Anyway, ぢ and づ

are very rarely used. Instead of them じ and ず are commonly used. Only if the Hiragana ちwith

thesound /t∫i/is changed into /dzi/ in a compound word or the sound /dzi/ is preceded by the sound /t∫i/in one word, ぢ can be used.

ち（血）blood → はなぢ（鼻血）nosebleed; ちぢれげ（縮れ毛）curly hair; ちぢむ（縮む）to shrink;

In the same way, the rare Hiragana づ _{can be used, if the sound /tsú/ is changed into /zú/ in a}

compound word or the sound /zú/ is preceded by the sound /tsú/ in one word:

つき（月）moon →みかづき（三日月）the new moon; つづき（続き）continuation; つきづき（月々）monthly;

Exercise14. Try to read the following additional Hiragana together with basic Hiragana:

が  ぎ  ぐ  げ  ご  げ  ぐ  ぎ  が  ぐ  ご  げ が  か  ぎ  き  ぐ  く  げ  け  ご  こ  さ  ぎ か  げ  ま  げ  な  ぐ  れ  ご  つ  す  ぬ  が ざ  じ  ず  ぜ  ぞ  ぜ  ず  じ  ざ  ぜ  ず  ぞ ざ  さ  じ  し  ず  す  ぜ  せ  ぞ  そ  が  じ ぎ  ぜ  ぞ  そ  と  て  げ  ぐ  ず  が  じ  ぞ げ る ろ が り ら ぎ よ や ぐ ゆ ご

Exercise 15. Read now Japanese words including the Hiragana がぎぐげご ざじずぜぞ : まんが（漫画）comics かぎ（鍵）key かぐ（家具）furniture まゆげ（眉毛）eyebrows えいご（英語）English language かげ（影） shadow がけ（崖）cliff えいが（映画）movie あご（顎） chin かご（籠）basket ごはん（ご飯）meal, cooked rice うさぎ（兎）rabbit ひざ（膝）knee ひじ（肘）elbow みず（水） water ぞう（象）elephant もじ（文字）letter, character かぜ（風） wind

Exercise 16. Now try to read more additional Hiragana together with other Hiragana:

だ  ぢ  づ  で  ど  で  づ  ぢ  だ  づ  で  だ だ  た  ぢ  ち  づ  つ  で  て  ど  と  だ  が ぐ  ぎ  じ  ぢ  ち  げ  ぞ  ど  ご  だ  ず  づ ざ  ち  み  う  で  ん  も  を  ど  ぜ  ろ  る や  ぬ  む  よ  ご  の  ざ  ぎ  ぞ  ら  や  ぬ ん  ぢ  ぜ  ざ  ぎ  ぐ  だ  ど  す  ゆ  ね  じ

Exercise 17. Here are some more Japanese words including the Hiragana だぢづでど : えだ（枝）branch うで（腕）arm まど（窓）window かど（角）corner つづき（続き）continuation ともだち（友達）friend ひので（日の出）sunrise なみだ（涙）tears こども（子供）child

Exercise 18. There are five more voiced sounds and five p-sounds (plosives) together with

others: ば  び  ぶ  べ  ぼ  べ  ぶ  び  ば  ぱ  び  ぷ  ぺ ぽ  ぺ  ぷ  ぴ  ぱ  び  ぴ  ぽ  ぼ  べ  ぺ  ぷ  ぶ ば  ぱ  は  び  ぴ  ひ  ぶ  ぷ  ふ  べ  ぺ  へ  ぼ   ぽ  ほ  ま  ば  ふ  を  ぺ  で  ぼ  ざ  ぎ  ゆ  ぜ ぷ  ぬ  よ  ん  べ  ま  わ  れ  せ  ぞ  ぐ  ば  ぼ ゆ  り  ろ  る  う  ぽ  づ  と  ど  ぬ  す  づ  ず ぐ  ぴ  そ  ざ  ろ  う  ん  げ  じ  ぞ  ろ  ぱ  ほ め  ぬ  れ  ね  ぐ  ご  ぴ  ゆ  わ  ぱ  そ  か  は ぺ  で  の  を  お  り  わ  え  せ  ざ  ち  と  ぽ

2.2 How to read long vowels written in Hiragana

All separate vowels or vowels included in sound-units of the 46 basic Hiragana, and also those voiced and plosive sound-units written in Hiragana can be extended to long vowels by adding either あ,い or う depending on the vowel. え and お are

used very rarely to mark long vowels (→ exceptions). As you can see, え and vowels of sound-units けせてねへめれ and げぜで are extended to long vowels by using the い and not え.

Correspondingly, one uses the う _{instead of} お _{to extend} おこそとのほもよろ _and ごぞどぼぽ_.

Strictly speaking, they are diphthongs and not real long vowels. (see also: Introduction to the Transcription and Pronunciation of Contemporary Japanese, chapter 2.3 )

ああ

aa

いい

ii

うう

uu

えい

ei

おう

oo

かあ

kaa

きい

kii

くう

kuu

けい

kei

こう

koo

さあ

saa

しい

shii

すう

suu

せい

sei

そう

soo

たあ

taa

ちい

chii

つう

tsuu

てい

tei

とう

too

なあ

naa

にい

nii

ぬう

nuu

ねい

nei

のう

noo

はあ

haa

ひい

hii

ふう

fuu

へい

hei

ほう

hoo

まあ

maa

みい

mii

むう

muu

めい

mei

もう

moo

やあ

yaa

ゆう

yuu

よう

yoo

らあ

raa

りい

rii

るう

ruu

れい

rei

ろう

roo

わあ

waa      

   

があ

gaa

ぎい

gii

ぐう

guu

げい

gei

ごう

goo

ざあ

zaa

じい

jii

ずう

zuu

ぜい

zei

ぞう

zoo

だあ

daa

ぢい

jii

づう

zuu

でい

dei

どう

doo

ばあ

baa

びい

bii

ぶう

buu

べい

bei

ぼう

boo

ぱあ

paa

ぴい

pii

ぷう

puu

ぺい

pei

ぽう

poo

Exceptions:

As already mentioned above, え _and お _{are used very rarely to mark long vowels. Following}

common words including a long vowel are written for instance with え or お :

ええ yes, おねえさん（お姉さん）elder sister, おおきい（大きい）big, おおい（多い）many, とお（十）ten, とおい（遠い）far away, こおり（氷）ice, とおり（通り）street

Exercise 19. Try to read the following long vowels: ああ  ゆう  ろう  わあ  りい  るう  れい  ねい  ほう   りい  れい  とう  てい  はあ  ほう  ろう  きい  せい けい  めい  くう  ちい  すう  ごう  びい  ぽう  ろう のう  きい  けい  さあ  せい  ちい  つう  でい  どう ばあ  ひい  びい  ぺい  ぽう  げい  けい  ろう  るう れい  めい  もう  そう  にい  ねい  れい  そう  ああ おう  おお  こう  ごう  ぞう  どう  へい  しい  にい のう  ねえ  ぶう  ふう  ぐう  くう  つう  ずう  すう いい  ええ  えい  かあ  しい  せい  にい  ひい  ふう へい  ほう  ぼう  めい  もう  ゆう  よう  れい  ろう ぐう  げい  ごう  じい  ずう  ぜい  どう  のう  ぺい ぶう  ぷう  けい  そう  もう  すう  ちい  こう  とう

Exercise 20. Read now Japanese words including long vowel:

がくせい（学生）student せんせい（先生）teacher くうこう（空港）airport ゆうれい（幽霊）ghost  ろうどう（労働）labour  ねんれい（年齢）age ていねい（丁寧）polite ほうりつ（法律）law ぶんぽう（文法）grammar せいとう（政党）political party けいさつ（警察）police ちい（地位）status   すうがく（数学）mathematics こうつう（交通）traffic れい（例）example   こうぞう（構造）structure えいご（英語）English language ろう（蝋）wax

どうぞう（銅像）bronze statue  そうぞう(想像) imagination ぞう（象）elephant ほうりつ（法律）law ぜいきん（ 税金）tax えいが（映画）movie   すもう（相撲） Sumo ゆうびん（郵便）mail へいわ（平和）peace こうくうびん（航空便）airmail たいふう（台風）typhoon げい（芸）art けいざい（経済）economy せいじ（政治）politics ねんれい（年齢）age そうじ（掃除）cleaning きのう（昨日）yesterday こうえん（公園）park せんそう（戦争）war おおきい（大きい）big ちいさい（小さい）small

2.3 How to read double consonants written in Hiragana

All consonants included in the sound-units of basic Hiragana, with the exception of the last ん,

and also those voiced and plosive sound-units written in Hiragana can theoretically be extended to double consonants (also called long consonants) by adding a little tsu っ(normal tsu: つ little

tsu: っ). The little tsu precedes the consonant to be held.

Examples: けってん (fault), はっせん (8,000), がっこう (school), めっき (plating), すっぽん (snapping turtle),

てっぺん (top), りっぱ (splendid), しんぞうほっさ (heart attack), ふっかつ (revival), いっち (coincidence) etc.

Generally speaking, long consonants are consonants held for a beat before being released like

fish- show, cat-tail, bad-dream, etc.

Only in case of combination of the last Hiragana ん with a syllable starting with a n- or m-sound

(i.e. ∼ん plus な , に, ぬ, ね ,の, ま , み, む, め or も), there is no addition of this little っ.

Examples: みんな (everybody), はんにち (a half day), せんぬき (cap opener), ほんね (real intention),

せんのう (brainwash), せんまん (ten million), れんめい (federation), じんみん (people), せんむ (director).

Exercise 21. Read now Japanese words including double consonants:

よっか （四日）fourth day  みっか （三日）third day せっけん （石鹸）soap ざっし（雑誌）magazine けっこん （結婚）marriage けっか（結果）result きって（切手）stamp まって（待って）wait けってん （欠点）fault けっせき（欠席）absence こっち（こっち）this side こんなん （困難）difficulty せんにん （専任）exclusive duty せんもん（専門）speciality らっか（落下）fall せっきじだい（石器時代）stone age ほっかいどう（北海道）Hokkaido

あっか（悪化）aggravation ふっかつ（復活）revival ねったい（熱帯）torrid zone せっきん（接近）approach ふっとう（沸騰）boil せっけい（設計）design

ほんのう（本能）instinct はっけん（発見）discovery しっしん（失神）faint

Exercise 22. Read now single and double consonant pairs:

さか（坂）slope さっか（ 作家）writer した（下）down しった（ 知った） known もと（ 元） cause もっとmore かこ（過去） past かっこ（ 括弧 ) parenthesis じけん（ 事件） occurrence じっけん（実験） experiment かさい（ 火災 ) fire かっさい（ 喝采） applause  にし（ 西 ) west にっし（日誌） diary かた（ 肩） shoulder かった （買った) bought いけん（ 意見） opinion いっけん（ 一見） first sight じかん（ 時間 ) time じっかん（ 実感） really feel

2.4 How to read palatal consonants written in Hiragana

The palatal consonants always consist of a consonant plus semi-vowel “y“ and the vowel a, u or o. The pronunciation is a quick and smooth movement, it is a single sound (e.g. kya and not ki-ya, sha and not shi-ya etc). To show the difference between a palatal single sound like kya and the non-palatal two sounds like ki-ya, the syllables や , ゆ, and よ are written small (ゃ ゅ ょ).

 きゃ 

きゅ 

きょ

 ぎゃ 

ぎゅ 

ぎょ

 しゃ 

しゅ 

しょ

 じゃ 

じゅ 

じょ

 ちゃ 

ちゅ 

ちょ

 にゃ 

にゅ 

にょ

 ひゃ 

ひゅ 

ひょ

 びゃ 

びゅ 

びょ

 ぴゃ 

ぴゅ 

ぴょ

 みゃ 

みゅ 

みょ

 りゃ 

りゅ 

りょ

Palatal consonants can appear together with long vowels (きょう, しゅう, ぎゃあ etc.) and double

consonants (-っきょ, -っしょ, -っぴょ etc).

Exercise 23. Now try to read the following Hiragana with and without palatal consonants:

きや _— きゃ ひや _— ひゃ みゆ — みゅ りよ _— りょ じゆ _— じゅ しよ — しょ ぎよ _— ぎょ りや _— りゃ みや — みゃ りゆ _— りゅ じゆう _— じゅう ぎゆう — ぎゅう りゆう _— りゅう きよう _— きょう

Exercise 24. Now try to read some words including palatal consonants: かいしゃ（会社）company    じょしゅ （助手）assistant りょこう（旅行）voyage     きゅう （九）9 じゅうしょ（住所）address    ひゃく （百）100 さんびゃく（三百）300     きょねん （去年）last year りょうほう（両方）both     じゅうどう （柔道）Judo おきゃく（お客）guest      きょか （許可）permission じゃま （邪魔）obstacle     ぎゃく（逆）contrary はっぴょう（発表）announcement きゅうしゅう（吸収）absorption しゃちょう（社長）president of a company しゃしょう（車掌）conductor しゅっちょう（出張）business trip   ゆにゅう（輸入）import でんしゃ （電車）train じょせい（女性）woman 

しゅじゅつ（手術）medical operation きゅうじゅうきゅう（九十九）99 ちょきん （貯金）savings   いしゃ （医者） doctor

きょねん（去年）last year じしょ （辞書）dictionary  ひゃく （百） hundred ゆしゅつ（輸出）export しゅみ（趣味）hobby  ひょう （表）diagram やきゅう（野球） baseball   かいしゃ（会社）company  りょうきん （料金）charge りょうり（料理）cooking  みゃく （脈）pulse  ぎゅうにゅう （牛乳）milk しゅうにゅう （収入）income きんぎょ（金魚）goldfish  はっぴゃく（八百）800 しゅしょう（首相）prime minister ぎょぎょう（漁業）fishing  みょうじ（名字）family name きょう（今日）today りゅうこう（流行）fashion  りゅうがく（留学）studying abroad  おちゃ（お茶）tea

ちゅうにゅう（注入）pouring   ちゅうしゃじょう（駐車場）parking lot ひょうしょうじょう（表彰状）testimonial

しゅうちゅうこうざ（集中講座）intensive course きゅうひゃくきゅうじゅうきゅう（九百九十九）999

Introduction to Hiragana (writing practice)

3. First Step to Write the 46 Basic Hiragana

Following sites give good introductions to the stroke order of Hiragana:

www.kanjistep.com

www.thejapanesepage.com www.japanese.about.com

Exercise 25. Now write the following Hiragana as much as you can. It is very important to observe the right direction of the strokes and the stroke order. Generally

speaking, every stroke is going from the top to the bottom and mostly from the left to the right. And all syllables should be written approximately the same

size! Please notice that there are minimal variations in writing of some Hiragana

caused by different types of font.

あ 

あ あ

い 

い い

う 

う う

え 

え え

お 

お お

か 

か か

き 

き き

く 

く く

け 

け け

こ 

こ こ

さ 

さ さ

し 

し し

す 

す す

せ 

せ せ

そ 

そ そ

た 

た た

ち 

ち ち

つ 

つ つ

て 

て て

と 

と と

な 

な な

に 

に に

ぬ 

ぬ ぬ

ね 

ね ね

の 

の の

は 

は は

ひ 

ひ ひ

ふ 

ふ ふ

へ 

へ へ

ほ 

ほ ほ

ま 

ま ま

み 

み み

む 

む む

め 

め め

も 

も も

や 

や や

ゆ 

ゆ ゆ

よ 

よ よ

ら 

ら ら

り 

り り

る 

る る

れ 

れ れ

ろ 

ろ ろ

Exercise 26. Write the following transcribed basic sounds in Hiragana.

わ 

わ わ

を 

を を

ん 

ん ん

a i u u o ri ni n te ma mo chi sa o wa ro ru ra ki sa yu ya me ka ku he shi tsu

ke ha wa re se so hi ya te ro ho mo mu nu ma ro to o (w-row) o (vowel) nu a me no mi yu ru ne ro wa re ra sa ki shi ku i ke ho he ha

re wa ne na ka fu na so mu o (vowel) re e n ro mo hi sa te u chi tsu ri he tsu shi ko ku ra ro wa no me nu mu o (w-row) mu na ta ke ho

ha yo ya ka ra e fu na mu ta ho ma ki mo ko shi so hi te to ya tsu na so su nu re wa ru ro hi me wa nu yu a

Exercise 27. Write the following transcribed words in basic Hiragana. These are all words

from our textbook.

ashi atama anata

ani ane ie

ike isu inaka

inu iro ue

ushiro uta uchi

umi eki okashi

okusan okosan otaku

oto otona kao

kasa katakana kanai

kanemochi kami kawa

kita kinu kimono

kusuri kuchi kutsushita

kuni kuruma kokonotsu

saifu sakana saki

sake sara shiken

shita shima seki

senaka senmon soto

sofu tairiku chikaku

chikatetsu tsukue temae

tenki too tikei

niku nihon nimotsu

niwa neko nomimono

nomiya norimono hako

hasi hachi hana

hitotsu hitori fuku

hoka hon mae

machi matsuri mikan

mise michi minami

mushi musuko musume

men mono yaoya

yasai yasumi yama

yoko yon rei

roku watakushi iya

iroiro kirei kirai

shinsetsu taisetsu tanoshimi

tokui hima heta

ikutsu ikura nan

anshin imi unten

kaimono kaiwa keikaku

shitsumon sentaku hatsuon

yotei kuru suru

yaseru wareru mitsukeru

kakeru kieru kimeru

4. Writing Additional Hiragana

4.1 How to write voiced and plosive sounds in Hiragana

As we already know, the Hiragana sounds become voiced by placing a symbol like an italicized double quotation mark: ゛ ( か→が, き→ぎ, く→ぐ etc.)

Further, there are five p-sounds derived from the h-sounds はひふへほ. They are

marked by the symbol º ( は→ぱ, ひ→ぴ, ふ→ぷ etc.).

Exercise 28. Write the following voiced and plosive sounds in Hiragana.

が 

が が

ぎ 

ぎ ぎ

ぐ 

ぐ ぐ

げ 

げ げ

ご 

ご ご

ざ 

ざ ざ

じ 

じ じ

ず 

ず ず

ぜ 

ぜ ぜ

ぞ 

ぞ ぞ

だ 

だ だ

ぢ 

ぢ ぢ

づ 

づ づ

で 

で で

ど 

ど ど

ば 

ば ば

び 

び び

ぶ 

ぶ ぶ

べ 

べ べ

ぼ 

ぼ ぼ

ぱ 

ぱ ぱ

Exercise 29. Write the following transcribed words in Hiragana. These are all words

from our textbook and include voiced or plosive sounds.

kongetsu kondo konban

dakara dochira aida

anatagata uwagi eigakan

kazoku kaban kudamono

kotoba kodomo jikan

sitagi daigaku daidokoro

chizu tebukuro deguchi

denki denwa tomodachi

hagaki hanbun hidari

hiragana hirugohan hondana

manga mizu miyage

megane mondai anzen

ぴ 

ぴ ぴ

ぷ 

ぷ ぷ

ぺ 

ぺ ぺ

4.2 How to write long vowels in Hiragana

As you already know, long vowels are written as follows:

- long vowels of a are written with あ like in おかあさん (mother)

- long vowels of i are written with い like in おいしい  (tasty)

- long vowels of u are written with う like in くうこう (airport)

- long vowels of e are mostly written with い like in せいかつ (daily life),

but rarely with え like in おねえさん (elder sister)

- long vowels of o are mostly written with う like in こうぎ (lecture),    but rarely with お like in おおきい (big)

Exercise 30. Write the following transcribed words in Hiragana. These are all words

from our textbook including long vowels.

iie imooto eiga

eigo oobei okaasan

ojiisan otoosan oniisan

gakusei kuukoo keisatsu

kooen kookoosei kooban

koomuin sensei tsugoo

denwabangoo doobutsuen hikooki

fuutoo bunpoo bentoo

yoofuku reizooko kekkoo

binboo yuumei atarashii

isogashii oishii kibishii

suzushii tanoshii tooi

4.2 How to write double consonants in Hiragana

You remember that consonants of normal syllables are extended to double consonants by adding a little tsu っ. Only in case of combination of ん with a syllable starting with a

or m- sound (i.e. ∼ん plus な , に, ぬ, ね , の, ま , み, む, め ,or も), there is no addition of this

little っ.

Exercise 31. Write the following transcribed words in Hiragana. Since there are not many

words in our textbook including double consonants, other words are added. gakkoo sekken mittsu

muttsu kekkoo yattsu

bikkuri zasshi kippu

motto kissaten massugu

katte damatte itte

ippai ippon kesshin

honne konnan sennin

mattaku hatten sessuru

mikka yokka hakka

hossa hannin honnoo

hassha ressha gesshuu

kekka kokka sakka

issai hossoku kessan

setchaku suppai itta

kottoo jikkan jikkoo

hassei jisshuu hakken

sesshoku bikkuri shippo

teppen teppoo nesshin

4.4 How to write palatal consonants in Hiragana

We have learnt that palatal consonants always consist of a consonant plus the vowel “y“ and the vowel a, u or o. The sounds ゃ , ゅ, and ょ are written small.

 

Exercise 32. Write the following transcribed words in Hiragana. These are partly words

from our textbook including palatal consonants.

ojoosan kaishain gakushoku

kanojo gyuunyuu kyuuri

kyookasho kyoodai kyoomi

koojoo ryooshin jisho

jitensha jagaimo shashin

shachoo juusho juudoo

jugyoo shukudai shujin

shufu shumi shoosetsu

shokudoo chawan chuugoku

chuushajoo densha toshokan

hyaku byooin yuubinkyoku

joobu chairoi benkyoo

junbi sotsugyoo benkyoo

ryoori ryokoo jama

kyooshitsu kyoodoo kyuushuu

kyoka gyaku gyuu-nyuu

gyogyoo shuushuu kyooiku

juukyo happyaku gyakuryuu