Lesson Ten: Kana 3
It’s time for even more hiragana! There are a total of 46 hiragana characters. You’re halfway through now!
Don’t forget to listen to the pronunciation and check how to write it. Stroke order is important!
na | な |
ni | に |
nu | ぬ |
ne | ね |
no | の |
Pay attention to the (fu) character. It’s not a hard f sound, but it’s not really an h sound either. It sounds more like a breath out.
ha | は |
hi | ひ |
fu | ふ |
he | へ |
ho | ほ |
Ready for more practice?
GAME: Fading characters
Is it getting a little easier to pick up new characters? They’re get easier with practice! Try to write more words in hiragana at home, at school, anywhere you can! Switch over from romaji as soon as possible!
The n characters can’t use the dakuten, but the h characters can! The h characters with a dakuten turn into b sounds. The h characters can also use another symbol, the handakuten (also called a maru). The handakuten is a little circle placed in the same area as the dakuten. An h character with a handakuten gets a p sound. The dakuten and handakuten cannot be used at the same time.
Only the h characters can use the handakuten. Look below to see how they are used.
pa | ぱ |
pi | ぴ |
pu | ぷ |
pe | ぺ |
po | ぽ |
How well do you remember the new hiragana characters you learned? It’s time to test them out!
GAME: Write cards
Great! Get those mastered and then we can start making sentences! Then you’ll be able to start speaking Japanese rather than just knowing a few words.
