📘 Foundation · Absolute Beginner

Learn Hiragana with Mnemonics

Master the 46 basic characters using memorable associations, then the 58 marked sounds and combinations that real Japanese words are built from.

46 The basic 46 25 Dakuten & handakuten 33 Combinations

~5 hrs To Learn

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The basic 46

五十音0/46

The gojuon. These are the shapes you memorise; everything after this is built from them.

	a	i	u	e	o

k
s
t
n
h
m
y
r
w
n

Dakuten & handakuten

濁音・半濁音0/25

No new shapes to learn. Two strokes turn k into g, s into z, t into d, h into b; a small circle turns h into p.

	a	i	u	e	o
g
z
d
b
p

Combinations

拗音0/33

A character from the i-column plus a small ya, yu or yo. Two characters, one syllable.

	ya	yu	yo
ky
gy
sh
j
ch
ny
hy
by
my
py
ry

Marks

促音・長音符0/1

No sound of their own, and you cannot read without them. Each one changes the timing of the character beside it.

Sounds in words

The chart above gives you each character on its own. Once characters sit inside real words, a few of them shift. You don't need these to start reading, but they explain why something you have read can sound different when you hear it.

The small っ doubles the next consonant

促音

A full-size つ is the sound tsu. A small っ is not a sound at all: it is a one-beat pause that doubles the consonant after it. Hold the stop for the same length as any other character.

がっこうgakkouschool
きっぷkipputicket
ちょっとchottoa little

ん changes shape depending on what follows

「ん」の発音

Written n, but your mouth prepares for the next sound before it arrives. Before b, p and m it comes out closer to an m. Before k and g it moves to the back of the mouth. Nobody teaches this to Japanese children and nobody needs to memorise it, but knowing it explains why a word you have read sounds different when you hear it.

せんべいsembeirice cracker
しんぶんshimbunnewspaper
さんぽsampoa walk

は, へ and を are read differently as particles

助詞の発音

Three characters are read one way as characters and another way when they do grammatical work. This is not an exception you have to hunt for: these three are among the most common words in the language, so you will meet the particle reading constantly.

わたしはwatashi waas for me (は read wa)
うちへuchi eto home (へ read e)
みずをのむmizu o nomuto drink water (を read o)

し, ち and つ are close to English, not equal to it

し・ち・つ

The romaji is not wrong, it is just not exact. し is near the sh in shark but not the English word she. ち is near the ch in cheese, not identical. つ is the hard one for English speakers, because English almost never starts a word with that sound. Listen to the recording rather than trusting the spelling.

すしsushisushi
ちかいchikainear
つくえtsukuedesk

The ら row is neither R nor L

ら行

It is a single quick tap: touch the tip of your tongue just behind your upper front teeth and release. Lighter than an English R, shorter than an L. Hindi speakers have a head start here, because the tap in र is made in almost the same place.

さくらsakuracherry blossom
とりtoribird
こころkokoroheart

ひ and ふ are not the English hi and fu

は行

ふ sits between an f and an h: your lips come close together but your teeth stay out of it, unlike the English f. ひ has a lighter, more forward sound than the English word hi. は, へ and ほ are close to the romaji.

ふゆfuyuwinter
ひとhitoperson
ほしhoshistar

These notes come from native Japanese teachers who reviewed this page.

How to Learn Hiragana Effectively

Learn by Row

Finish the basic 46 before you touch the marked rows. Those are the same shapes with a mark added, so they cost almost nothing once the first stage is solid.

Use the Mnemonics Actively

Don't just read them, close your eyes and visualize each story. The more vivid your mental image, the stronger the memory.

Write by Hand

Writing reinforces the shape-to-sound connection. Use grid paper and say the sound out loud as you write each character.

Test Recall, Not Recognition

Cover the readings and try to recall from the character alone. Active recall builds far stronger memory than passive recognition.

Ready for Katakana?

Once you can read hiragana from memory, move on to katakana, the script used for foreign words. Test yourself first in the kana quiz, or start the N5 course when both scripts stick.

Learn Katakana →