Introduction:

The Japanese alphabet can be a little daunting to learn as a total beginner. There are not just three distinct alphabets, it is a whole new language! Although it seems difficult at first, it is good that it is much easier to master when you take its steps. Hiragana should be mastered at the first of these stages.

• What is Hiragana?

Hiragana is a part of a Japanese script or writing system. The characters of Hiragana represent 46 sounds in the Japanese language, but extend the Japanese alphabet to 81 in combination with other elements including diacritic sounds. Each Japanese alphabet symbol is just one sound with a few exceptions.

A grid of five vowel sounds on the right (a, i u, e, o) is sometimes shown to learners, which corresponds with the ten consonants above. (n, w, r, y, m, h, n, t, s, k). Often, the hiragana grid is called “gojūon” or “fifty sounds.” Characters are created in Japanese using a vowel combined with the respective sound and symbol.

• Is it difficult to learn the Japanese alphabet?

Although the Japanese alphabet might seem at first daunting because it is based on an unknown character system, it is surprisingly easy to apply hiragana. After you have learned only one vowel and a consonant combination, you can speak several shorter Japanese words.

Another feature that facilitates the pronunciation of the sounds of the Japanese alphabet is that, although the Japanese language has two distinct pitches (low and high), the syllables have similar stress. You can also break spoken words down phonetically and translate words into written characters with a minimum effort using your Hiragana grid.

Start with the Hiragana grid:

The hiragana grid shows just how sound and character can be composed of consonants and vowels in Japanese. This 5×10 grid with consonants in the top and vowels on the right should display the original fifty Japanese sounds, even though 4 of the sounds are unused in modern language. These 46 hiragana sounds and characters are read from right to left and from top to bottom.

Although Japanese is mostly phonetic, there are some exceptions, when you combine the vows and the consonants, which are detailed below.

•       ti (ち) is pronounced as “chi”
•       hu (負) is pronounced as “fu”
•       ha (は) is pronounced as “wa”

Don’t be afraid to sing it:

It always helps to establish a routine to emphasize the rhythm of the sounds in the song tonne as you begin to study the Japanese alphabet. This singing training will at first feel a little stupid, but it will help you to remember the terms easily. It can also help you grow a pronunciation and tone ear which is very useful when you learn Japanese.

Slowly add in modifications:

In addition to hiragana, some traits or idiomatic phrases extend the alphabet from 46 to 81 characters or sounds. Start slowly, each of your vocabularies grows rapidly, and you can learn the basics of the alphabet.

• Dakuten- In Japanese, the letter sounds for G, Z, D, and B are characterized by character variations for K, S, T and H known as dakuten. Dakuten is the method of adding a little double dash to the character’s upper right, often referred to as the ten-ten-tune, meaning “dots.”
• Handakuten – Handakuten are tiny circles that are attached to the top of each character only in the “H” grid column. The reader signals to transform “h” into a “p” sound by adding this small circle. It is often not used in Japanese with the exception of loan words and the formation of words associated with sound.

Sound it out:

One of the easiest ways to learn hiragana is simply to try to divide Japanese into characters by listening to them. You should listen ‘o ha you’ or “good morning,” for example, and if you remove the grid of your hiragana, the characters along the grid can be phonetically traced and the word is written for you.

Practice makes perfect:

Like any language, it is important that you continue to practice. In particular, it will help to break the words apart and write them for some time before you feel confident when it comes to learning the Japanese alphabet. The placing of the Hiragana grid in one position will also allow your brain to remember the characters the next time you have to phonetically break a word into written Japanese, as in the case when your teeth are brushed.

• Conclusion

You can learn Hiragana pretty quickly, but it’s up to you! Please ensure that you dedicate some time to daily language practice including learning the chart, writing with practice sheets, and reading aloud, both for understanding and pronunciation. To make your progress in learning quickly the Japanese language Multibhashi can help, it would be simple for you to practice skills through an online course.