Hiragana is the Japanese syllabary.
It is more correct to call its components not
Japanese letters, but symbols.
The fact is that almost all the characters of the Hiragana alphabet are syllables
, that is, a combination of a consonant and a vowel sound.
For example, in the Russian language there are separate consonant letters and sounds [s], [p], [r], [v], [n] and others. And also vowels: [and], [o], [a], etc. Most of the characters in the Japanese Hiragana alphabet are syllables. For example, な = [na], た = [ta], に = [ni], て = [te], せ = [se], etc. Japanese alphabet characters can also convey vowel sounds separately (see the first row of the table, for example)
To learn Japanese you need to start with the alphabet. Because understanding it opens the way to understanding the mysterious world of Japanese symbols, words, sentences, texts and other linguistic and cultural forms of the Land of the Rising Sun.
Therefore, if you are planning to learn Japanese on your own with us, then the first step you need to take is to learn the alphabet.
So, the sequence of your actions is as follows: 1)
You need to learn the basic alphabet symbols presented in the image.
How to learn them?
Our advice:
firstly,
use our tablet directly and,
secondly,
memory cards. The table has a transcription in Russian for each sign. And the cards only contain alphabet signs without pronunciation tips. Cards can be cut out and actively practiced with them. Write hints for yourself on the back and test yourself every day yourself, or you can ask someone in your household or friends to randomly show you cards, and you will name what kind of sign is depicted on it. Believe me, it is very effective! But don't try to remember all the signs at once. Read more about memorization techniques below.
2)
But before you start learning and
visually
memorizing signs, we strongly recommend that you write them down sequentially in the appropriate copybook or a separate notebook, paying great attention to the CORRECT spelling of each element, each line. Remember! By writing down signs, you remember them many times faster.
To correctly write each character of the Hiragana alphabet, it is important:
firstly,
to geometrically correctly position it in the cell, namely in the center;
secondly,
write all the lines that make up the sign exactly in the sequence as presented in the copybook or video.
Please note that
the き and さ characters
in writing are different
from their printed version!
thirdly,
if you study on your own, then look at the original sign every time, and constantly compare how YOU wrote it, and whether you have any mistakes. Important! Each of us has a different handwriting and writing style. Therefore, from the very beginning, write the characters as perfectly and exactly as in the original. The correctness and beauty of your writing depends on this. You can watch a video on Hiragana spelling.
3)
So, a quick summary.
What you will need
to master the First Lesson of the Japanese Language: a) ABC (in the image above or below) b) Flashcards c) A notebook where you will write the characters d) Information on how to
correctly pronounce
Hiragana characters (see below , after the image with Hiragana) e) Great desire to learn Japanese ^^ Once you have mastered and distinguished all 46 Hiragana characters, proceed to the next step.
Second step
will involve studying the Rules of Reading in Japanese. You can familiarize yourself with them by following the link to the corresponding lesson.
Further
Having learned to read and understand various combinations of signs,
you can move on
to studying grammar itself, the first topic of which will be the Simple Uncommon Sentence.
Japanese language lessons for beginners (section N5) on our website have a clear sequence: Lesson 1, Lesson 2, Lesson 3
, etc. So please follow it. In the intervals between the main (numbered) lessons, additional ones will appear. They will expand your knowledge by providing information about new words, hieroglyphs, expressions, etc.
Hiragana
Below is a table with the Japanese alphabet Hiragana (the same alphabet as above, only with animation characters from Studio Ghibli) and information on the order in which to learn the Japanese alphabet.
Next to each Japanese sign, its pronunciation in Russian is written. Our advice is to learn the signs in rows. First A-I-U-E-O, then the next row KA-KI-KU-KE-KO and so on. Remember signs within a specific series
(in our
vertical
) is simpler and more effective.
Learn two or three rows at a time. First
, write them down,
then
practice memorizing them using the cards. Once you get the hang of it, move on to the next two or three rows. Our summary plate is also always helpful.
And before you start learning signs, below (after the table) read a few comments regarding Japanese phonetics and recommendations for correct pronunciation^^
Pronouncing sounds correctly is very important! Work on the correctness and beauty of your Japanese pronunciation.
The success of your communication with native speakers will depend on the correct pronunciation of Japanese sounds.
Japanese Simple
Difficulty number 1
So, you have decided to learn Japanese. And the first difficulty that you will encounter on your way is the Hiragana syllabary. In this article, I will talk about why it is so important to memorize hiragana and how best to approach learning.
Why is it important
The process of learning Japanese is essentially memorizing new words, new grammars, new hieroglyphs, practicing and repeating. In order to start doing this, you need to learn hiragana. You must be able to read Japanese. Even if it’s bad, even if it’s slow, you have to be able to do it. Yes, perhaps someone starts studying Japanese with Russian transcriptions written in our letters, but I do not recommend doing so. If you decide to study Japanese, then you need to completely immerse yourself in the environment. Transcriptions and translations, no matter how good they are, will never be able to convey real Japanese. You must become a Japanese child, a schoolboy who comes to first grade and sits down to read his ABC book. Without knowing the letters, you won't be able to do anything. It is also worth noting that the best textbooks, including Minna no Nihongo, are written in Japanese, mostly in hiragana. Perhaps rote memorization of the alphabet is not so interesting, and your enthusiasm will be pretty much lost while you learn, but think of it as the first test you need to pass to start speaking Japanese.
How to learn hiragana?
There are many approaches here, and you need to focus primarily on yourself. I will voice the ultimate goal - you need to be able to read aloud a word written in hiragana. Moreover, the sooner you do this, the better.
In my opinion, the easiest way to learn hiragana is to memorize it mechanically, like a multiplication table. Writing down signs in pencil on paper helps a lot. Writing the entire alphabet on a sheet will take a maximum of 20 minutes, but by repeating this action every day, you will eventually know hiragana by heart.
Some people recommend learning words by memorizing signs, but it seems to me that this approach only complicates the process of memorizing the alphabet. Japanese children, when they come to school, already know the words that the primer offers them, but we will also have to learn these words. Some people recommend using associations, but I have always found it more difficult to come up with an association than just remember it. Imagine that you are walking down the street and see an advertising sign. You start reading. And at the moment when you read: “Lunches are inexpensive,” you think about the meaning of the advertisement, and not about the fact that you just read the letters “O”, “b”, etc.
Hiragana
First, we present a complete table of the Hiragana syllabary alphabet.
You see in front of you 11 columns of characters, most of them have 5 lines, but some columns are incomplete. You need to start reading the table from the top right edge and move from top to bottom. Each sign occupies its own square of space, there are larger signs, there are smaller ones, but the space for them should be allocated equally. The order of strokes and how to draw this sign are also indicated. It is important. Everything is designed so that when writing, the hand travels a minimum distance. You need to draw the signs exactly as indicated. Another important point. When drawing a sign, you cannot circle one line several times if it turns out poorly. Better to erase and draw again. Yes, in Japanese schools everything is written in pencil. Buy yourself a mechanical one from Pilot. Enough for a long time.
Column 1: syllables: a, i, u, e, o. There is one remark regarding this column - the vowel “e” does not exist in Japanese at all. They have “uh” everywhere. It takes some getting used to.
Column 2: syllables: ka, ki, ku, ke, ko. The second column already consists of syllables, and this is important. The Japanese language is made up of syllables. If it is written “ka”, then it cannot turn into “ko”, as sometimes happens in Russian. Watch your diction and say the syllables as correctly as possible.
Column 3: syllables: sa, si, su, se, so. Here you need to stop at the syllable “si”. Some syllables are very difficult to convey in another language, simply because we do not have a specific sound. The Japanese "si" is something between the Russian "si" and "shi". But it’s still closer to “si” in the vast majority of words. Of course, you are all used to saying “sushi”, but the Japanese rather say “sushi”.
Column 4: syllables: ta, ti, tsu, te, then. As in the case of “si,” the Japanese “ti” is something between the Russian “ti” and “chi.” The best way is to listen to how the Japanese say these sounds and try to imitate them. The third character in the column, contrary to logic, is “tsu”, not “tu”, this needs to be remembered.
Column 5: syllables: na, ni, well, ne, but.
Column 6: syllables: ha, hi, fu, he, ho. Here again, instead of seemingly “hu,” there is “fu.”
Column 7: syllables: ma, mi, mu, me, mo.
Column 8: syllables: i, yu, e. There are only 3 iotated vowels in Japanese.
Column 9: syllables: ra, ri, ru, re, ro.
Columns 10-11: syllables: va, o, n. At the end of the table you see a lot of spaces; these are signs that have already fallen out of use. Sometimes they can pop up somewhere, but very rarely, so they were simply removed from the table.
Again, it is best to learn how to draw signs and pronounce them from the Japanese. I will leave links to a video with a beautiful, consider it a standard style, a children's song with the pronunciation of sounds and a simple pronunciation of sounds. It is also worth noting that in addition to the alphabet itself, there are special signs for working with it, some rules for voicing and muting sounds. They also need to be mastered, I will talk about this in the next article, which will be called: “Rules for working with hiragana.”
Japanese phonetics and pronunciation of some characters
1) Hiragana - syllabic alphabet
. The hiragana character is usually a syllable. The phonetic system of the Japanese language is based on a sequence of five syllables: A-I-U-E-O. At first glance at the table with hiragana, this principle will become clear to you.
2) う sign
pronounced like [u]. At the same time, when pronouncing, try not to round your lips too much. This way you will achieve a more correct sound.
3) し sign
.
Formally, this sound is often written in letters of the Russian alphabet as [si], according to the traditional system of recording Japanese words (according to the Polivanov system). BUT, this sign of the Japanese alphabet should be pronounced not as pure [si] or as they often incorrectly say [shi], but as an average between [si] and [shi]
. The correct pronunciation of the syllable し can be compared to the short sound “u” in the word “thing”. Be careful to learn how to pronounce this Hiragana sign correctly from the very beginning!
4) ち sign
. Despite the fact that in almost all textbooks for learning Japanese, this syllable is written as [ti], it is not pronounced that way. This is a formal notation (as is the case with し). The correct pronunciation of the sound is between [ti] and [chi]. Closer to short [chi], but not pure [ti].
5) ふ sign
pronounced [fu]. At the same time, when pronouncing, do not emphasize the initial [f], because it should be pronounced very lightly, barely noticeable. Try saying this syllable as if you were lightly blowing out a candle.
6) Signs of the series ら-り-る-れ-ろ
traditionally transcribed into Russian using the consonant sound [r]: ra-ri-ru-re-ro. It is important to pronounce the sound [r] briefly! The Japanese language does not have our “rolling” [r], when we can repeat endlessly: rrr... In fact, when you hear how native speakers themselves speak, you will understand that this consonant component in the series ら-り-る-れThe Japanese pronounce -ろ as something between l-r-d. This is such a difficult sound. Therefore, when you say - ra-ri-ru-re-ro - do not create a booming sound, but pronounce [r] in these syllables as briefly as possible.
7) Sign わ
pronounced [wa]. But try not to emphasize the initial “v” too much.
Syllables containing the vowelえ [e]
: え、け、せ、て, etc. These syllables are traditionally written using the Russian letter “e”. Our “e” sound differs from Japanese in that in Japanese it is pronounced somewhat softer. Have fun spelling and remembering signs! See you at the next lesson!;-) Learn Japanese online with us! Test and consolidate your knowledge on our resource absolutely free!
Test | Hiragana | ひらがな
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:wavy_dash: :cherry_blossom: :wavy_dash: :cherry_blossom: :wavy_dash: :cherry_blossom: :wavy_dash: :cherry_blossom: :wavy_dash: :cherry_blossom: :wavy_dash: :cherry_blossom: :wavy_dash: :cherry_bloss om: :wavy_dash:
:white_medium_small_square: :white_medium_small_square: :white_medium_small_square: :white_medium_small_square: :white_medium_small_square: :white_medium_small_square: :white_medium_small_square: :white_medium_small_square: :white_medium_small_square: :white_medium_ small_square: :white_medium_small_square: :white_medium_small_square: :white_medium_small_square: :white_medium_small_square: :white_medium_small_square:
I suggest you test your knowledge of the Japanese alphabet hiragana :cherry_blossom: :v:
