Learn the Japanese Alphabet: A Guide to Hiragana (Part 1)

This article will be part 1 of a 3 part series. The first part will focus on learning hiragana, the second katakana, and the third kanji.

Have you ever wanted to learn Japanese? Well, learning to write and read Hiragana is a great place to start!

Welcome to this quick and easy guide to learning Hiragana, the most basic characters and one of three writing systems, or "kana," used in the Japanese language.

This article covers how Hiragana and Katakana are used differently, how to read and write the characters, and tips on pronunciation. It also includes exercises as well as a few learning resources to enrich your Japanese studies.

You're probably just starting out your Japanese learning journey and if you want to make sure to make the best choices and choose the best options out there then check out our ultimate guide to learning Japanese.

What is Hiragana? A Quick Background to the Japanese Language

Originally developed to sound out Chinese characters, this curvy script was used primarily by women and referred to as "onnade," or "women's hand." Men typically wrote in Kanji or Katakana.

Over the course of time, Japanese Hiragana was eventually simplified into a one-to-one relationship between written and spoken syllables. In 1946, the Japanese government codified the current orthography. Today, it is the most basic building block of the modern Japanese language.

Hiragana is a phonetic alphabet that can represent every sound in the Japanese language. This makes it very easy to read and write Hiragana.

In theory, you could write everything in Hiragana. However, the text would be indecipherable (or at least very difficult to interpret) because Japanese words are written with no spaces between them.

Therefore, Japanese Hiragana is used in combination with Katakana and Kanji characters to separate each word and create grammatically functional sentences.

How are Hiragana & Katakana Used in Japanese?

Hiragana and Katakana characters are both phonetic alphabet systems, where each written character represents one syllable sound. However, there are some stark differences between the two writing systems.

Hiragana, which literally means "flowing" or "simple" kana, is depicted with curvy lines and can be written almost like a cursive English word.

Katakana characters are more angular and simple. Beyond the differences in the way the characters look, the two scripts also hold different functions in the Japanese language.

All the Hiragana characters can be used to write a native Japanese word or name, signify grammatical particles, and illustrate furigana (the phonetic pronunciation of Kanji characters).

In Japan, young children are first taught Hiragana to spell out their names and basic vocabulary in Kindergarten and Elementary school. Some text written with Kanji can also be accompanied by its furigana spelling.

In contrast, Katakana is used to represent foreign or borrowed words, articulate onomatopoeia, or otherwise add emphasis to a native word or phrase (as you would with ALL CAPITAL LETTERS in English, for example on a public sign or advertisement).

How to Learn Hiragana - The Basic Hiragana Characters

The Japanese Hiragana alphabet consists of 46 phonetic characters, with each one representing a key sound or syllable.

There are five vowel sounds represented as a (あ), i (い), u (う), e (え), and o (お), and pronounced as 'ah', 'ee', 'ooh', 'eh', and 'oh'.

Other characters depict a consonant sound followed by a vowel sound, with the Japanese sound 'n' (ん).

A basic Hiragana chart will usually have the vowel sounds located in the starting column or row. All of the other characters are organized by consonant sounds in the order of the original vowel sounds.

For example, after 'a', 'i', 'u', 'e', 'o', we would learn 'ka', 'ki', 'ku', 'ke', 'ko', and then 'sa', 'shi', 'su', 'se', 'so', etc..

Sometimes a single character can depict a word, and other times multiple characters are strung together to create a word.

Let's take a look at some examples:

HA - HI - HU/FU - HE - HO

HA (は):

hai - yes
haru - Spring
hana - flower; nose
hanabi - fireworks
hare - good weather; sunny
hashi - bridge; chopsticks
hanasu - to talk; to speak
hayai - fast; quick; soon
hachi - eight
hashiru - to run

HI (ひ):

hi - flame; fire
hitori - one person; alone
hime - princess
hito - person
hikouki - airplane
hiru - daytime; midday
hirugohan - lunch
hikari - light
hige - mustache; beard
hiji - elbow

HU/FU (ふ):

fuyu - Winter
futari - two people
futon - Futon; floor bed
futoru - to become fat
furo - bath
futou - envelope
fune - boat
futsuu - normal
fuku - clothes
fukuro - bag

HE (へ):

he - to; for
hebi - snake
heiwa - peace
hen - strange
heya - room; chamber
heta - unskillful
henji - reply; response
henken - prejudice; bias
heishi - soldier
hensou - disguise

HO (ほ):

ho - sail
hon - book
hontou - truth; reality
houritsu - law; statue
honyaku - translation
houkou - direction
houseki - gem; jewel; precious stone
housou - brodcast; announcement; program
hodou - footpath; walkway
hosoi - thin; slender

NA - NI - NU - NE - NO

NA (な)

nani - what
nana - seven
natsu - summer
naze - why
natsukashi - nostalgia
natto - fermented soybeans
namae - name
naru - to become
nami - ocean wave
namida - tears

NI (に)

ni - two
niku - meat
nishi - west
nichiyoubi - sunday
ningyou - doll; puppet
nikki - diary; journal
ningen - human
ninjin - carrot
ninja - ninja
niwa - garden

NE (ぬ)

ne - right? isn't it?
neko - cat
neru - sleep
nemui - sleepy
nezumi - rat
negi - green onion
nendo - clay
nenpi - fuel consumption; gas mileage
nennen - year by year; annually
nenshyuu - annual income

NU (ね)

numa - marsh; swamp
nuru - to paint; to plaster; to put up (wallpaper)
nuu - to sew or stich; to weave one's way (through a crowd)
nusumi - stealing
nuka - rice bran
nurikaeru - to repaint; to rewrite; to remake
nukumori - warmth
nuigurumi - stuffed toy
nukeana - secret passage; underground passage
nui - embroidery; sewing

NO (の)

no - indicates possessive tense
nou - brain
nori - dried seaweed
nomu - to drink
nomimono - beverage
noru - to get on (a plane, bus, ship, etc.)
noboru - to ascend; to go up
nozomu - to desire
nouryoku - ability; faculty
nokosu - to leave (behind, undone)

MA - MI - MU - ME - MO

MA (ま)

maguro - tuna
mantan - full in capacity
mainichi - every day
mawari - circumference
mado - window
manga - comics
matsuri - festival
mame - beans
matsu - to wait
machi - town, neighborhood

MI (み)

mi - fruit; nut; seed
mimi - ears
midori - green
miru - to look
mirin - rice vinegar
miso - fermented soy paste
mizu - water
michi - road or way
minami - south
mizuumi - lake

MU (む)

mura - village
musuko - son
mune - chest
muryou - free of charge
muzukashi - difficult
mukou - opposite side
mure - group; crowd; cluster
mujyan - contradiction
mugen - infinity
murasaki - purple

ME (め)

me - eyes
megane - eyeglasses
meirei - order; command
menkyo - license
meshi - cooked rice
mensetsu - interview
meishyo - famous place
menseki - area
meishi - business card
meibutsu - famous product

MO (も)

mo - too; also
momo - peach
moyashi - bean sprouts
mori - forest
mokuyoubi - Thursday
mondai - problem
mondainai - no problem
moto - origin; source
monogatari - story; tale
moufu - blanket

TA - CHI - TSU - TE - TO

TA (た)

ta - rice field
tamago - egg
taishikan - embassy
tanjoubi - birthday
taifuu - typhoon
taiyou - sunny
taiho - arrest
tani - unit; denomination
tani - valley
tairiku - continent

CHI (ち)

chi - blood
chisai - small
chikatetsu - underground train; subway
chyuui - attention; notice
chyuushyajyou - parking lot
chyuugakkou - middle school
chikara - power; force; strength
chikyuu - earth
chyuushoku - lunch
chishiki - knowledge

TSU (つ)

tsunami - tidal wave
tsuki - moon
tsukue - desk
tsuri - fishing
tsuugaki - commuting to school
tsuyu - rainy season
tsukau - to use something
tsukuru - to make or produce
tsuyoi - strong or potent
tsutomeru - to work for or to be employed at somewhere

TE (て)

te - hand
tekami - letter; message
tebukuro - gloves
tenrankai - art exhibition
tenki - weather
tenkyohou - weather forecast
tetsudou - railroad
tetsu - iron
tetsugaku - philosophy
tennou - emperor of Japan

TO (と)

to - and; with
tori - bird; chicken
tonkatsu - pork cutlet
tokei - watch or clock
toshyokan - library
tokubetsu - special or particular
toki - time; hour; moment
toshi - city or town
tou - tower; steeple
toshiyori - old person

SA - SHI - SU - SE - SO

SA (さ)

sake - alcohol
san - three
sanpo - a walk or stroll
saifu - purse; handbag; wallet
satou - sugar
sashimi - raw fish
sangyou - industry; livelihood; occupation
saka - slope; incline; hill
sara - plate; dish; platter
saru - monkey

SHI (し)

shi - death
shigoto - job
shyukudai - homework
shinbun - newspaper
shyashin - photograph
shyoku - meal; food
shio - salt
shiro - white
shyokudou - dining hall; cafeteria; restaurant
shima - island

SU (す)

su - nest; breeding place; hive
sushi - sushi
suiyoubi - Wednesday
suidou - water supply
suugaku - mathematics
suna - sand
suji - muscle; tendon; sinew
sukoshi - a little bit; a small amount
sukunai - scarce; insufficient; seldom
suki - liking something

SE (せ)

sensei - teacher
senpai - upperclassman; senior or superior
sentaku - washing; laundry
sebiru - business suit
sekken - soap
seikatsu - life; living; livelihood
setsumei - explanation
sekai - world
sensou - war
seiji - politics; government

SO (そ)

so - ancestor; forefather; originator
sora - sky
souji - cleaning; cleanliness
sotsugyou - graduation; completion of a course
soto - outside
sonzai - existence
sokudo - speed; velocity
sozoku - succession; inheritance
sore - that (over there)
soko - there (place relatively near the listener)

How to Learn the Pronunciation of each Hiragana Character

Given that Hiragana is phonetic, the pronunciation of each Japanese word is pretty straightforward and dictated by the syllable each character represents.

However, there are a few exceptions to be aware of.

One common anomaly you might see is a small 'tsu' (っ) in the middle of a word. This is translated into a double consonant in English and depicts a short break in the rhythm of the word. An example of this would be the word for school, 'gakkou' (がっこう).

Additionally, other transformations known as 'dakuten', and 'handakuten' will tweak the original hiragana character to form other sounds.

'Dakuten' are represented with two short strokes to the right of a character to create new sounds. For example, 'ka' (か) written with a dakuten becomes 'ga' (が).

The unvoiced consonant sound changes to a voiced one, and therefore a 'k' sound will become a 'g' sound. You might notice that the characters for 'za', 'da', and 'ba', are similar to 'sa', 'ta', and 'ha', but with a dakuten tacked on to the end.

Similarly, you might sometimes see a small circle to the right of a character, specifically those characters starting with an 'h' sound. These are called 'handakuten' and will transform all 'h' sounds into plosives, or 'p' sounds.

The dakuten and handakuten rules also apply to the same characters in Katakana. A character with one of these marks will appear quite a bit, so it's worth putting into practice if you want to learn hiragana fast.

Let's take a look at some examples to help you master your Hiragana pronunciation:

GA - ZA - DA - BA - PA

GA (が)

ga - indicates subject or occasionally object
gakkou - school
gakushya - scholar, academic
gakusei - student
gaikoku - foreign country
gaikokujin - foreigner
gaman - self control
gakki - musical instrument
ganseki - rock
gake - cliff

ZA (ざ)

zannen - too bad; regrettable or unfortunate
zaisan - propert; fortune; assets
zaseki - seat
zabuton - flat floor cushion used when sitting or kneeling
zaisei - public finance
zaiko - stock; inventory
zai - fortune; riches
zairyou - materials; ingredients
zatsuon - noise; interference; gossip
zaimoku - lumber or timber

DA (だ)

daigaku - university
daisuki - I love you; to like very much
daidokoro - kitchen
dansei - man
daitouryou - president
dare - who
dasu - to take out
daijobu - to be okay; safe; secure
dandan - gradually; by degrees; little by little
daikon - radish

BA (ば)

baka - idiot
bangou - number
ban - evening; night
bangohan - dinner
bangumi - TV program
bashyo - place; location; spot
baachan - grandmother
bakudan - bomb
bassuru - to punish or penalize
baiten - stand; stall; kiosk

PA (ぱ)

*There are no hiragana words that start with PA

yappari - actually; as I thought
denpa - cell signal; radio waves
suppai - sour
shyoppai - salty
ippai - full, a lot

Writing Hiragana Characters

Writing Japanese is essential for learning Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji.

In Japan, good handwriting and stroke order are highly valued and calligraphy is an art praised in Japanese society.

Not only will writing practice help you connect each character to each sound, but it will help you discern between similar-looking ones and greatly improve the speed at which you can read Hiragana.

Here are a few ways to practice writing in Japanese:

Write your own Hiragana chart

This will be the base of your entire Hiragana practice. After you have written it out once, challenge yourself to start from different sections and fill in all the blanks.

Not only will you learn stroke order and teach yourself the sound for each and every character, but you can refer to this Hiragana chart throughout your studies.

Make your own Hiragana flash cards

Flash cards are crucial to teach yourself new Japanese words. Start by writing one syllable at a time; put the Hiragana character on one side and the English letters on the other.

After some time, write an English word on one side, and a Japanese word on the other. Your next task from there would be to make flashcards to practice sentences and phrases.

Create your own mnemonics

Remember silly phrases like "Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally" to memorize the mathematical order of operations PEMDAS? These tricks are called mnemonic devices, where we usually use an English word to represent each letter of a long acronym.

Well, you can apply the same strategy to learning Japanese. The key is trying to ascribe an image to the shape of each Hiragana character.

For example, the 'yo' sound (よ) could look like a person waving for attention and saying "yo!" Maybe the sound 'e' (え) could look like a person running, and you could associate it with a quirky phrase like, "I could never run that fast."

Have fun with it and try to invent your own mnemonics for other sounds!

Learning Hiragana Through Video

Perhaps the best thing you could do to practice your listening and reading is to start watching Japanese movies and TV shows with subtitles.

By engaging with Japanese media, you will be able to hear how Japanese is naturally spoken, and pick up on social cues and colloquialisms you might not find in typical Japanese textbooks.

And if you're going to binge on television for a few hours, you might as well use that time to learn Japanese and teach yourself a thing or two!

A website like Lingopie provides a wide array of Japanese resources to help you learn Hiragana, Katakana, and eventually Kanji while watching Japanese movies and TV shows.

With Lingopie, you can access many popular Japanese anime, movies, and TV shows you might find on Netflix.

However, on top of this, Lingopie also provides online tools like interactive subtitles and flashcards to make learning Hiragana and Japanese as a whole a lot easier and more convenient.

For access to a diverse selection of great Japanese TV shows and films, sign up for Lingopie. This streaming service offers quality Japanese shows and films that are optimal for practicing both Hiragana and Katakana.

FAQs Relating to the Japanese Alphabet and Learning Hiragana characters

So, any questions so far? Hold that thought! Here are some commonly asked and answered FAQs. A lot of these questions address two key gripes that come with learning any language: strategy and time.

Hopefully these will lend some good advice and give you some direction. However, remember that consistency, dedication, and practice are key to learning Hiragana, Japanese, and any alphabet or language for that matter!

Is hiragana easy to learn?

Yes! Hiragana is a phonetic alphabet, so every character depicts one specific sound. There are 46 characters in total in the Hiragana script. A little time and practice are all it takes.

How can I memorize hiragana quickly?

Make a Hiragana chart. Start with all the basic Hiragana characters, and then move on to the transformations.

Make your own Hiragana flash cards. This is perhaps the most crucial exercise to learn Hiragana fast. Start with each individual sound, and then for every new word or phrase you learn.

These two memorization techniques can be applied to Katakana and Kanji as well.

What is a good way to learn hiragana?

Practice writing Hiragana! Keep a dedicated notebook for vocabulary. Sound out the syllables as you write them.

Read manga! Japanese graphic novels are a great place to start learning how to read Hiragana.

Immerse yourself in Japanese TV shows and movies. Use Lingopie's interactive subtitles and flashcards for a deeper understanding of Hiragana.

How long does it take to learn hiragana?

Learning the Hiragana alphabet can take as little as a few hours. After one afternoon of intense memorization, all you need to do is practice.

Summing up: Learn the Japanese Alphabet: A Guide to Hiragana

Now you know how manageable it is to start learning Japanese! Mastering Hiragana only takes a little bit of time and effort and will open the door to learning Katakana and Kanji in the future.

As you've seen, learning Hiragana is a phonetic alphabet organized logically and systematically. There are only a few exceptions and transformations to be aware of.

We've covered a broad foundation up to this point, including basic and modified characters, a few examples of simple vocabulary for each, and some theory behind written Hiragana and how it translates to spoken Japanese.

Hopefully, you've been inspired to learn Hiragana with a few simple strategies. Be sure to practice writing, drill yourself using flashcards, and dedicate yourself to learning the pronunciation of each sound.

And remember, learning can be fun, too! Learning through films and TV shows is probably the best way to get feel for how people actually communicate in Japan using Hiragana.

We also recommend watching lots of Anime. We even made a list with some of the best Anime out there to get you started!

Don't forget to sign up for a 7-day free trial with Lingopie to start learning Japanese and Hiragana script through Japanese movies and TV shows.

がんばってね！

Learn the Japanese Alphabet: A Guide to Hiragana (Part 1)

What is Hiragana? A Quick Background to the Japanese Language

How are Hiragana & Katakana Used in Japanese?