Transcript Katakana
Reading and Writing Hiragana Mnemonics from: http://www.canyouchopstick.com/2011/01/katakana-mnemonic/ Animations from: http://japaneselanguageculturefood.com/japanese-language-katakana.htm Hiragana Chart A あ An antenna is up on the roof. あ as in ‘up on the roof’. I い There are two eels. い as in ‘eels’. U う Ooo! This is heavy! う as in ‘Ooo!’ E え I have to exercise. え as in ‘exercise’. O お A golf ball is on the green. お as in ‘on the green’. ＊NOTE: Handwritten Print KA か A kite is flying in the sky. か as in ‘kite’. KI き I have a key. き as in ‘key’. KU く Here comes a cuckoo bird. く as in ‘cuckoo’. KE け A keg of beer. け as in ‘keg’. KO こ An apple core. こ as in ‘core’. ＊NOTE: Handwritten Print SA さ I love sake! さ as in ‘sake’. SHI し She has a ponytail. し as in ‘she’. SU す The pigs tail will soon fall off. す as in ‘soon’. SE せ Sensei’s hat. せ as in ‘sensei’. SO そ Zig-zag sewing. そ as in ‘sewing’. TA た A letter ‘t’ and ‘a’ make ta. た as in ‘ta’. CHI ち She’s a cheerleader. ち as in ‘cheerleader’. TSU つ Tsunami is a tidal wave. つ as in ‘tsunami’. TE て The dog is wagging his tail. て as in ‘tail’. TO と Ouch! A nail is in my toe. と as in ‘toe’. NA な A nun is kneeling in front of the cross. な as in ‘nun’. NI に A needle and thread. に as in ‘needle’. NU ぬ The egg fell out of the bowl with noodles and chopsticks. ぬ as in ‘noodles’. NE ね I caught a big fish in my net. ね as in ‘net’. NO の Do not enter! の as in ‘not’. HA は I live in a house. は as in ‘house’. HI ひ He is on the wall. ひ as in ‘he’. FU ふ I climbed Mt Fuji. ふ as in ‘Fuji’. HE へ There is a haystack. へ as in ‘haystack’. HO ほ A house becomes a home with a satellite. ほ as in ‘home’. MA ま Mum loves music. ま as in ‘mum’. MI み Who’s 21? Me! み as in ‘me’. MU む Moo-moo cow. む as in ‘moo’. ME め Chopsticks and noodles without any mess. め as in ‘mess’. MO も The more worms, the more fish. も as in ‘more’. YA や Yay, I’m on a yacht. や as in ‘yay’. YU ゆ Make a U-turn. ゆ as in ‘U-turn’. YO よ Yoga is hard. よ as in ‘yoga’. ＊NOTE: Handwritten Print RA ら I love steamy ramen noodles. ら as in ‘ramen’. RI り A pretty ribbon. り as in ‘ribbon’. RU る Catch a kangaroo with a loop in the rope. る as in ‘kangaroo’. RE れ Ready, set, go. Let’s race! れ as in ‘Ready’. RO ろ No loop in the rope. The kangaroo got away! ろ as in ‘rope’. WA わ Wow! A magic wand. わ as in ‘Wow’. O を Oh! A cheerleader is on my toe. を as in ‘oh!’. N ん The letter ‘n’ in end. ん as in ‘end’. ＊NOTE じ ず ぢ づ mostly used not commonly used big small Long sounds ā ああ ii or ī いい ū うう ei or ē ええ OR えい ō おう OR おお (less common) kyā, kyū, kyō きゃあ、きゅう、きょう etc Pause sound (small tsu つ) kk けっこん pp きっぷ (tickets) ss まっすぐ (go straight) tt きって (ticket) tch サンドイッチ (marriage) (sandwich) Particles – Hiragana changes Particles are grammatical markers and are put before or after Japanese words to make a sentence. Eg. In romaji particles are written on their own separate from other words. Ie. Watashi wa kōen e ikimasu. wa は （not わ) o を （not お） e へ （not え）