Japanese is notorious for having the world's most complicated writing system in the world. One reason for this is because it is actually composed of multiple writing systems put together. Of these systems, two are known as Kana syllabaries, which write out the sounds of Japanese not as an alphabet but in morae (syllables). As such, rather than having separate letters for /a/ or /k/, it has separate letters for /a/, /ka/, etc.
There are three types of symbols in these Kana syllabaries. Symbols that stand for a vowel (V), symbols that stand for "consonant + vowel" (CV), and symbols that stand for a "consonant" (C).
The names of these Kana syllabaries are Hiragana and Katakana. As there are many symbols and rules to learn per syllabary, we will only focus on Hiragana in this lesson. Now, let's get started!
Hiragana ひらがな
As we learned in Lesson 1, Japanese pronunciation is based on the concept of the "mora," which divides speech into units of equal time. The purpose of Hiragana is to write out each possible mora in Japanese. Although that may sound like a lot, with there only being five vowels and a limited consonant inventory, there aren't that many possible mora combinations.
When Japanese speakers learn how to read and write Hiragana, they study the symbols with a chart called the Gojūonzu (Table of 50 Sounds). Though not exactly 50 sounds, they are deemed to be the most basic sound combinations, and they are designated with the name seion 清音.
General Handwriting Rules 書き順の基本的なルール
1. Write strokes from top to bottom and left to right.
2. Make sure the end of the second stroke in あ is crossing the curve of the final stroke.
3. Make sure that the final stroke in け is slightly farther down than the first.
4. For せ, the second stroke usually doesn't have a hook.
5. For い, こ, た, ふ, り, and ゆ, don't connect the strokes together.
6. For む, if you connect stroke 2 and 3, do not add another slash.
7. Make sure the stroke 3 for お is not positioned far away from the rest of the character.
8. In more proper handwriting, the last stroke in さ and き is not connected with the rest.
Examples of Hiragana 「ひらがな」の例
The best way to learn how to read Hiragana is by practicing with actual Japanese words written in it. Below is a list of 30 common words written without romanization. Utilize the chart above to look up any symbol that you don't know how to read.
かたち (shape) | ゆめ (dream) | にほん (Japan) | ふつう (usual) | おわり (end) |
ゆき (snow) | こねこ (kitty) | あかし (proof) | やくそく (promise) | いす (chair) |
くさ (grass) | さら (plate) | しはらい (payment) | せき (cough) | みず (water) |
かめ (turtle) | ちから (strength) | つうろ (pathway) | てんいん (clerk) | たに (valley) |
ひみつ (secret) | ほし (star) | ふんいき (atmosphere) | のみもの (drink) | よる (night) |
なまり (accent) | うみ (sea) | さかな (fish) | すみれ (violet) | からて (karate) |
The Diacritics ゛& ゜ 濁点・半濁点
Diacritics are markings that are attached to glyphs to alter the pronunciation of said glyph. There are two such diacritics in the Kana syllabaries. These diacritics are 「゛」and 「゜」. When 「゛」 is attached to an unvoiced consonant Kana, the Kana becomes pronounced as the voiced equivalent (ex. か ＝ /ka/, が＝ /ga/). As for 「゜」, it attaches to /h/ Kana to represent /p/.
※When writing these characters, you follow the same stroke orders as before but you add the diacritics at the very end.
※If you recall from Lesson 2, you will realize that ぢ and づ are, in fact, the Hiragana for /dji/ and /dzu/ respectively, but they are rendered in this chart as [ji] and [zu], reflecting the fact that they are pronounced the same way as じ and ず respectively.
※The Japanese name for 「゛」 is だくてん. It's also colloquially known as てんてん or にごり.
※The Japanese name for 「゜」is はんだくてん.
Examples of Words with Diacritics 濁点・半濁点を使った単語の例
かず (number) | どく (poison) | かぐ (furniture) | かべ (wall) | ごぜん (A.M.) |
がくせい (student) | かんぱい (cheers) | ふじさん (Mt. Fuji) | でかい (huge) | ごご (P.M.) |
かぎ (key) | はなぢ (nosebleed) | かば (hippo) | ぜん (Zen) | かび (mold) |
さんぽ (walk) | まつげ (eyelash) | うず (whirlpool) | ずつう (headache) | ふで (brush) |
ぶんか (culture) | かがみ (mirror) | かぜ (wind) | ひじ (elbow) | ぜんぶ (all) |
のど (throat) | かぞく (family) | ちず (map) | はだ (skin) | ぶぶん (part) |
Palatal Sounds in Hiragana 拗音の平仮名
Palatal sounds are represented in Hiragana by following a /i/-sound symbol with a small-sized /y/-sound symbol. These small-sized /y/-sound Hiragana are ゃ, ゅ, and ょ, and they make the following combinations.
※Just as before, there are two ways to write [ja], [ju], and [jo], but remember that those written with ぢ correspond to the consonant /dj/ and those written with じ correspond to the consonant /j/.
Example Words with Palatal Sounds 拗音を使った単語の例
きゃく (customer) | きょじん (giant) | にゅうよく (bathing) | きょく (song) |
ちゅうごく (China) | じゅうしょ (address) | ひょうじ (display) | りゅうがく (studying abroad) |
おちゃ (tea) | しゃかい (society) | ぎゃく (opposite) | ちょくせつ (directly) |
じゃくてん (weak point) | ぎゅうどん (Gyudon) | きゅう (nine) | しゅう (week) |
※The symbols ぢゃ, ぢゅ, and ぢょ are actually quite rare. This is because they must be the starting sound of the second element in a compound word to be used.
Mispronouncing Palatal Sounds 拗音の誤発音にご注意を
Although it may be difficult to properly pronounce these palatal sounds, mispronouncing them as separate morae will result in the word either becoming a different word altogether or a non-word.
i-sound + や・ゆ・よ | i-sound + ゃ・ゅ・ょ |
じゆう (Freedom) | じゅう (Ten/gun) |
りゆう (Reason) | りゅう (Dragon) |
きゆう (Needless anxiety) | きゅう (Nine) |
しゆう (Private ownership) | しゅう (Week/state) |
Long Consonants with Small "tsu" 長子音を示す促音「っ」
Long consonants are represented by preceding an unvoiced Kana with what's called a small "tsu," or sokuon 促音 to be precise. It is very important not to confuse it with a full-sized つ as they are not pronounced the same.
まっか (bright red) | よっか (four days) | こっか (nation) |
みっか (three days) | さっか (author) | たっきゅう (ping-pong) |