hiragana workbook

Table of Contents Introduction Hiragana Charts 12 Stroke Order Practice 14 Learning Japanese Words in Hiragana 85 Practicing Double Consonants 131 Using Modified Syllables 133 Examples of Modified Syllables 139 Exceptions and a Little Grammar 142 Introduction There are types of Japanese characters: hiragana, katakana, and kanji The first two are called kana, and they are similar in that they are both sound-based characters In addition, there is rōmaji, which is Japanese that is written with the Latin alphabet You don’t really need to spend any time learning rōmaji, since you already know it Hiragana and katakana are the most simple and important characters to learn, which is why it is best to learn them first! Japanese sentences often contain a mix of hiragana, katakana, and kanji Hiragana ひらがな Hiragana is probably the most important form of writing that you will learn Hiragana is a syllabary, a sound-based form of writing Most hiragana are made up of English letters, but one sound or syllable (e.g か ka, ま ma, な na) Generally hiragana is used for particles and the ends of verbs and adjectives, while kanji is used for stems of verbs and adjectives and nouns However, you can use hiragana to write anything in Japanese Katakana カタカナ Katakana, similar to hiragana, is a syllabary Katakana is primarily used for words of foreign origin (words that come from English, Chinese, German, etc.) However, this is not a hard rule There are other times when katakana is used, but 99% of the time you see katakana, it will be for foreign words Japanese has a lot of foreign words, especially from English Most Japanese billboards and magazines are full of Katakana Kanji Kanji, the oldest form of Japanese writing, has its origin in China Unlike hiragana and katakana, kanji each carry a meaning with them rather than a sound There are usually multiple ways to read the same kanji, making it difficult for beginners However, sometimes one can guess the meaning of the kanji based on its parts Romaji ローマ字 Rōmaji uses the Latin alphabet, making it so that even people who haven’t learned hiragana, katakana, or kanji can read and write in Japanese However, only knowing rōmaji can be very limiting Rōmaji can be helpful when you are first starting out, but since Japanese people don’t really use it, it is important to learn how to read and write hiragana and katakana Furigana ふりがな Furigana (AKA rubi) is small hiragana that is written above (for horizontal text) or next to (for vertical text) kanji to indicate the pronunciation For people who know hiragana but not know many kanji yet, furigana is a very helpful reading tool You can frequently see furigana in children’s books and manga Pronunciation Guide There only vowel sounds in Japanese, and they are always pronounced the same way! In this way, Japanese pronunciation is much easier than English! あ い う え お a as in Ah! i as in Eek! u as in Moo! e as in Hey! o as in Oh! Example: あめ Example: いす Example: うさぎ Example: えんぴつ Example: おちゃ 　 ame rain isu chair usagi rabbit enpitsu pencil ocha tea Long Vowels In this book, long vowels will be romanized in the following ways aa ii ū ee ei ō ō ああ　いい　うう　ええ　えい　おお　おう Pronunciation Guide When two consonants are placed next to each other (double consonants, e.g kk), there is a sort of pause before the consonant is pronounced The best way to master this is to listen and repeat Don’t forget to listen to the audio that is included in this book and repeat it out loud to practice your pronunciation! Have fun!! ... katakana, and kanji Hiragana ひらがな Hiragana is probably the most important form of writing that you will learn Hiragana is a syllabary, a sound-based form of writing Most hiragana are made up... ず ぜ ぞ z だ ぢ ji づ zu で ど d ば び ぶ べ ぼ b ぱ ぴ ぷ ぺ ぽ p Hiragana Chart 3: Modified Syllables The following hiragana are simply modifications of the hiragana listed in the first two figures They are...Table of Contents Introduction Hiragana Charts 12 Stroke Order Practice 14 Learning Japanese Words in Hiragana 85 Practicing Double Consonants 131