hiragana

Hiragana

I was taught that the easiest way to learn to write Japanese was to learn 5 syllables a day, and before I knew it, I was writing hiragana. Once I mastered this, it was very easy to learn the different ways that these syllables could be changed to make more sounds by 1) adding one of two different marks to the beginnings of some of the syllables, 2) combining some of the syllables. The changes are made in the same way as they are with hiragana. This is what hiragana looks like.

More Hiragana sounds with circles and marks (very easy)

Using the syllables you already learned above, it is very easy to make even more sounds by simply adding a circle or two marks that look almost like quotation marks to the syllable. It only changes the first part of the syllable, so it will still rhyme with its original form. Only some syllables in three of the rows above can use the two marks, and one of the rows can use either the two marks or the circle to change the sound. Here's how do it.

Even more Hiragana sounds by combining sounds

Once you have mastered the basics of writing hiragana and then adding the two marks or a circle to change the sound, there is only one more thing to learn until you know every possible sound in Japanese. Certain syllables can be combined with others to make new sounds or to make the ending of a sound longer. The reason these contractions are different from just putting the two sounds next to each other separately is that when they are combined, they are counted as just one syllable instead of two, and in Japanese, each syllable gets its own "beat." Once you see this, it makes a lot more sense and is a lot simpler than when it is explained. So here you go...