learning simple japanese

7/29/2019 Learning Simple Japanese

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Learning Japanese

Hiragana -

The first step to learning the Japanese language is to learn the Japanese alphabet. Or, atleast, to learn the sounds that exist in the Japanese language. There are absolutely no "tones"in Japanese like in many other asian languages and there are only 2 exceptions within theJapanese alphabet which will be explained later. The Japanese alphabet does not containletters but, instead, contains characters and, technically, they are not alphabets but charactersets. The characters in the chart below are called Hiragana. It is the main alphabet orcharacter set for Japanese. The Japanese language also consists of two other character sets -Kanji (Chinese characters), which we will get into later, and another alphabet/character set,

Katakana, which is mainly used for foreign words. Katakana will be covered inLesson 2.

There are 5 vowels in the Japanese language. (a), pronounced "ahh", (i), pronounced like "e"in "eat", (u), pronounced like "oo" in "soon", (e), pronounced like "e" in "elk", and (o),pronounced "oh". All Hiragana characters end with one of these vowels, with the exception of(n). The only "consonant" that does not resemble that of English is the Japanese "r". It isslightly "rolled" as if it were a combination of a "d", "r", and "l".

a

i

u

e

o

ka

ki

ku

ke

ko

ga

gi

gu

ge

go

sa

shi

su

se

so

za

ji

zu

ze

zo

ta

chi

tsu

te

to

da

ji

zu

de

do

na

ni

nu

ne

no
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ha hi fu he ho

ba

bi

bu

be

bo

pa

pi

pu

pe

po

ma

mi

mu

me

mo

ya

yu

yo

ra

ri

ru

re

ro

wa

wo

n/m

COMBINATION

kya

kyu

kyo

gya

gyu

gyo

sha

shu

sho

ja

ju

jo

cha

chu

cho

nya

nyu

nyo

hya

hyu

hyo

bya

byu

byo


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pya pyu pyo

mya

myu

myo

rya

ryu

ryo

Exceptions:

1. The Hiragana (ha) is pronounced "wa" when it immediately follows the topic of the

sentence. This Hiragana character is usually only pronounced "ha" when it is part of a word.

2. The Hiragana (he) is pronounced "e" when it immediately follows a place or direction.

Both of these are very simple to detect.

Clickhereif you'd like to know why these two exceptions exist.

Note: You probably noticed in the chart above that there are 2 Hiragana characters

pronounced "zu" and 2 Hiragana characters pronounced "ji". The Hiragana characters (zu)

and (ji) are very rarely used. (zu) only occurs when there is a (tsu) in front of it like in

(tsuzuku - to continue) or when a Kanji (Chinese character) that has a reading which

starts with (tsu) is paired at the end with another character changing the (tsu) to a

(zu). The same applies for the Hiragana (ji). Since they are used so rarely I wouldn't worry

about them too much. I will let you know whenever we come upon a word in which they areused.

Katakana -

As mentioned inLesson 1, Katakana (as seen in the chart below) is mainly used for foreignwords such as foreign names and words that have been borrowed from other languages such

as (kompyu-ta- = computer). Katakana is the least frequently used of the three

character sets in Japanese. The Japanese language does not have as many sounds as theEnglish language so, when creating a name in Katakana for instance, the name must be soundout to the closest Japanese equivalent. Katakana, Hiragana, and Furigana (when Hiragana is

written small next to a Kanji character to show how that character is read) are collectivelyknown as Kana.

There are some special Katakana characters that exist only for foreign names (such as

(she) or (ti)). These special Katakana characters are not in the chart below (which)

a

i

u

e

o
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ka

ki

ku

ke

ko

ga

gi

gu

ge

go

sa

shi

su

se

so

za

ji

zu

ze

zo

ta

chi

tsu

te

to

da

ji

zu

de

do

na

ni

nu

ne

no

ha

hi

fu

he

ho

ba

bi

bu

be

bo

pa

pi

pu

pe

po

ma

mi

mu

me

mo

ya

yu

yo

ra

ri

ru

re

ro

wa

wo

n/m

COMBINATION

kya

kyu

kyo

gya

gyu

gyo


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sha

shu

sho

ja

ju

jo

cha

chu

cho

nya

nyu

nyo

hya

hyu

hyo

bya

byu

byo

pya

pyu

pyo

mya

myu

myo

rya

ryu

ryo

Vocabulary -

Now that you've got the Japanese alphabets down, let's learn some basic Japanesevocabulary words and simple Japanese phrases. I will list the Kanji, Hiragana, Romaji(the word sounded out using English letters), and the English meaning for eachJapanese word or phrase. Most Japanese words have Kanji for them but I will onlyinclude the Kanji if that word is typically written that way.

Keep in mind that the Japanese language has different levels of politeness that changebased on who you are talking to. I will refer to these as "ultra-formal", "formal" (or "politeform"), "normal" (or "plain form"), "informal", and "rude" (we won't be covering too muchof the rude form, however).

- Kanji -

Hiragana

Romaji(English Letters)

English Meaning

watashi I (formal formales, normal

for females)


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boku I (normal formales)

kare he

kanojo she

anata you(singular/normal

)

kore this (the objectitself)

koko here

kono this (ex. thispen)

sore that (the objectitself)

soko there sono that (ex. that

pen)

hito person

inu dog

neko cat

ie house

arigatou Thank you.(normal)

arigatou

gozaimasu

Thank you.

(formal)

douitashimashite

You're welcome.(normal)

ohayou(sounds like

"Ohio")

Good morning.(informal)

ohayougozaimasu

Good morning.(normal and

formal)

konnichiwa Hello. (normal)

konbanwa Good evening.(normal)

sayonara Goodbye.(normal)


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Basic Japanese Grammar -

Japanese grammar is quite simple and straight forward but very different from Englishgrammar so most English speakers find it rather confusing. For instance, in Japanese the verbalways comes at the end. The best thing you can do when learning Japanese grammar is tolearn it from the bottom up and not compare it to English grammar.

Japanese grammar uses what we will refer to as particles to mark the various parts of thesentence. The main Japanese particles are: (These particles will be described in more detailbelow)

wa(as mentioned inLesson 1, the Hiragana "ha"

is pronounced "wa" when it immediatelyfollows the topic)

topic marker

ga subject marker

wo

(pronounced "o")direct object marker

nidirection marker, timemarker, indirect object

marker

e(as mentioned inLesson 1, the Hiragana "he"is pronounced "e" when it immediately follows

a place or direction)

direction marker

The particles "wa" ( ) and "ga" ( ): The particle "wa" marks the topic of the sentence andthe particle "ga" marks the subject of the sentence. In the example, "I know where you live"(watashi wa anata ga doko ni sunde iru ka shitte iru), "I" would be the topic while "you" wouldbe the subject.

Not all sentences have both a topic and subject and, in many cases, the topic is implied inJapanese (for example, the "I" (watashi wa) would be left out of this sentence because it isimplied that since I am talking I am the one that knows where you live). Many Japanese booksand teachers teach that "wa" and "ga" are the same thing and it doesn't matter which you usewhen. This is not the case but I wouldn't worry too much about keeping them straight at first.

The particle "wo" ( ): The particle "wo" (or "o") marks the direct object of the sentence. In

the example, "I'm going to take her home" (watashi wa kanojo wo ie ni okuru), "her" would bethe direct object.

The particle "ni" ( ): The particle "ni" can be used to mark the direction, time, or the indirect

object of a sentence.

An example of a direction marker can be seen in the previous example "I'm going to take herhome" (watashi wa kanojo wo ie ni okuru). In this case, the "ni" acts like a "to" - "I'm going to

take her 'to' home". The particle "e" () can be used in this way as well but usually implies

more of a general direction as opposed to a specific place.

The particle "ni" is also used to mark time in a sentence. For example, "I'm leaving at 3 o'clock"(watashi wa sanji ni hanareru).
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The final use for the particle "ni" is that of indirect object marker. In the example, "I was takenhome by him" (watashi wa kare ni ie made okurareta), "him" is the indirect object.

Note: The "watashi wa" in all of the example sentenced used above would normally be left outas it is implied.

Numbers, Time, and Days of the Week

Before we get too much further into grammar and verb conjugation, I thought it would be a

good idea to teach numbers, time, days of the week, etc.

- Kanji - HiraganaRomaji

(English Letters)English Meaning

ichi one

ni two

san three

shi (yon after 10) four

go five

roku six

shichi (nana after 10) seven

hachi eight

kyuu nine

juu ten

hyaku hundred

Numbers after 10 are a piece of cake once you know 1 through 10. 11 is simply ten with a

one after it, (, juuichi), 12 - juuni, 13 - juusan, 14 - juuyon, etc. 20 is simply

(, nijuu), 21 - nijuuichi, and so forth.

Put these numbers in front of the character for time and you've got the time of the day.



ichiji one o'clock

niji two o'clock

nijihan two thirty ( means half)

nijiyonjuugofun 2:45 ( means minute)

...etc.


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Now just put the character for moon after a number and you've got a month.

- Kanji - Hiragana Romaji(English Letters)

English Meaning

ichigatsu January

nigatsu February

sangatsu March

shigatsu April

...etc.

Days of the week don't follow such an easy pattern but here they are anyway along with

some other time-related words.



nichiyoubi Sunday ( - sun/day)

getsuyoubi Monday ( - moon)

kayoubi Tuesday ( - fire)

suiyoubi Wednesday ( - water)

mokuyoubiThursday ( -

tree/wood)

kinyoubi Friday ( - gold)

doyoubi Saturday ( - dirt)

kyou Today

ashita Tomorrow

kinou Yesterday

ototoithe day before

yesterday

asatte

the day after tomorrow

(a small "tsu" ()

makes a doubleconsonant)

kesa this morning

konban this evening

ima now


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Godan Verbs -

Now, before you can start making up sentences of your own, you need to learn how to conjugateverbs. Verbs are the most important part of the Japanese sentence. Often times Japanese people willleave out everything but the verb.

They are very big on leaving out the obvious and sometimes not so obvious which can get confusingat times. There are only 3 types of verbs in the Japanese language and they each follow a patternthat is very simple and very rarely has any exceptions. Most Japanese verbs fall into the first group,

the Godan () verbs. These verbs always conjugate the same way with only one exception. These

verbs have five changes that follow the order of the Japanese vowels, hence the name Godan(meaning 5 levels or steps), and then the "te" and "ta" forms that are common to all verbs. Here's anexample:


(English Letters)Verb Base

hanasu (to speak)

hanasa Base 1

hanashi Base 2

hanasu Base 3

hanase Base 4

hanasou Base 5

hanashite Base "te"

hanashita Base "ta"

Base 1: Base 1 can not be used by itself but becomes the plain form negative simply by adding -nai.

(ex. hanasanai - I won't say anything.) If the verb ends in (u) then the end for Base 1 becomes (wa). (ex. au (Base 1) -> awa)(Plain form is what people use when talking to a friend. It would not be proper to use in a businessenvironment. We will go over the polite form in lesson 8.)

Base 2: Base 2 is, in most cases, a noun when used by itself but is primarily used with the polite formof the verb.

Base 3: Base 3 is the main form (the one that would be found in the dictionary) and is also the plainform present/future tense.

Base 4: Base 4 is most often used as "if verb" by adding -ba. (ex. hanaseba - If he'd just saysomething.) It can also be used by itself as a command form but it is extremely rude and I recommend

not using it at all.

Base 5: Base 5 is used by itself as the "let's" form. (ex. hanasou - Let's talk.) We will get into otherways it's used in later lessons.

Base "te": Base "te" can be used by itself as a plain form command. It is not rude but should only beused with close friends and children. By adding kudasai it becomes the polite form command. Base"te" can also be used in other ways that we will get into in later lessons.

Base "ta": Base "ta" is merely Base "te" with an "a" sound on the end instead of an "e" sound. It ismainly used by itself as the plain form past tense. (ex. hanashita - I talked.) We will get into otherways it's used in later lessons.

Notice: There is one thing that you'll need to learn in order to conjugate the "te" and "ta" forms

correctly. Basically, for all Godan verbs ending in (u), (tsu), or (ru); the (u), (tsu), or


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(ru) becomes (tte) in the "te" form and (tta) in the "ta" form. (ex. katsu (to win) -> katte

(Win!), katta (We won!))

For all Godan verbs ending in (bu), (mu), or (nu); the (bu), (mu), or (nu) becomes

(nde) in the "te" form and (nda) in the "ta" form. (ex. yomu (to read -> yonde (Read it.),

yonda (I read it.))

For all Godan verbs ending in (ku), the (ku) becomes (ite) in the "te" form and (ita) in

the "ta" form. (ex. aruku (to walk) -> aruite (Walk!), aruita (I walked here.)) The only exception to this

rule is for the verb iku (to go) which becomes , (itte/itta).

For all Godan verbs ending in (gu), the (gu) becomes (ide) in the "te" form and (ida) in

the "ta" form. (ex. oyogu (to swim) -> oyoide (Swim!), oyoida (I swam.))

For all Godan verbs ending in (su), the (su) becomes (shite) in the "te" form and (shita)

in the "ta" form. (ex. hanasu (to talk) -> hanashite (Say something!), hanashita (I talked (to him).))

Here are some Godan verbs. Try conjugating them on a piece of paper using what you have just

learned. Clickherefor the answers.



au to meet

katsu to win

uru to sell

asobu to play

nomu to drink

shinu to die

aruku to walk

oyogu to swim

kesu to erase, turn off

ikuto go

(Remember the exception forBases "te"and "ta")
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Ichidan Verbs -

The second group of verbs are called Ichidan () verbs. It is usually an Ichidan verb if it ends with

the sound "iru" or "eru". Some well used verbs which appear to be Ichidan but are really Godan arelistedhere. Ichidan verbs also follow a simple conjugation pattern that is somewhat similar to that of

the Godan verbs. Here's an example:



taberu (to eat)

tabe Base 1

tabe Base 2

taberu Base 3

tabere Base 4

tabeyou Base 5

tabete Base "te"

tabeta Base "ta"

Base 1 and Base 2: As you can see, Base 1 and 2 are the same. Just like with the Godan verbs, anegative can be made by adding -nai (ex. tabenai - I will not eat.) and this base, or root form, is alsoused for the formal form of the verb.

Base 3: Base 3 is the same as with Godan verbs.

Base 4: Base 4, however, can not be used by itself like with Godan verbs. It is only used for "if verb"by adding -ba. (ex. tabereba - If I eat it...) It is not the low command form for Ichidan verbs. The low

command form for Ichidan verbs is Base 1 + (ro).

Base 5: Base 5 is the same as with Godan verbs.

Base "te" and Base "ta": The Base "te" and "ta" forms for Ichidan verbs are a lot easier than withGodan verbs. Simply take off the "ru" and add a "te" for Base "te" and a "ta" for Base "ta". These havethe same functions as with Godan verbs.

Here are some Ichidan verbs. Try conjugating them on a piece of paper using what you have justlearned. Clickherefor the answers.


(English Letters)

English Meaning

iruto exist (animate), to be

somewhere

miru to see

neru to sleep

kiru to wear, put on

dekiru can do

oboeru to remember
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Irregular Verbs

The last type of verbs are the Irregular verbs but there are only 2 of them in the entire language sojust memorize their charts below. The first one is suru (to do something). Many nouns can be used asa verb simply by putting "suru" right after them. It is probably the most used of all Japanese verbs.

The second Irregular verb is kuru (to come).



suru (to do)

shi Base 1

shi Base 2

suru Base 3

sure Base 4

shiyou Base 5

shite Base "te"

shita Base "ta"

The functions for these bases are the same as for the Godan verbs except that Base 4 can only beused as the "if verb".The rude command form is "Shiro".



kuru (to come)

ko Base 1 ki Base 2

kuru Base 3

kure Base 4

koyou Base 5

kite Base "te"

kita Base "ta"

The functions for these bases are the same as for the Godan verbs except that Base 4 can only beused as the "if verb".

The rude command form is "Koi" and really should only be used on animals.


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Using Verb Bases

Now that you know about 30 verbs and can conjugate them, I'll show you what you can do with thosebases. You may want to regularly refer toLesson 6andLesson 7while learning these. The followingchart applies to all verbs unless otherwise noted.

-Hiragana

Romaji(English Letters)

English Meaning

Base 1 + Base 1 + nai plain form negative (will not verb)

Base 1 + Base 1 + nakatta plain form past negative (did not verb)

Base 2 + Base 2 + masu polite form present/future tense

Base 2 + Base 2 + mashita polite form past tense

Base 2 + Base 2 + masen polite form negative (will not verb)

Base 2 +

Base 2 + masendeshita

polite form past negative (did not verb)

Base 2 + Base 2 + tai want to verb (add (desu) to make it polite)

Base 3 Base 3 plain form present/future tense

Base 4 + Base 4 + ba if verb

Base 4 + Base 4 + ruplain form can verb (Godan verbs only)

(verb now becomes an Ichidan verb)

Base 4 + Base 4 + masu polite form can verb (can be changed like above)

Base 5 + Base 5 + to surutry to verb

(this suru is the same verb learned in lesson 7 (to dosomething))

Base "te" + Base "te" + hoshii

want someone else to verb

(hoshii is an adjective which will be covered in the nextlesson)

Base "te" Base "te" plain form command

Base "te" + Base "te" + kudasai polite form command

Base "te" + Base "te" + iruplain form presently verbing

(this iru is the same verb learned in lesson 7 (to exist(animate))

Base "te" + Base "te" + imasu polite form presently verbing (can be changed like above)

Base "ta" Base "ta" plain form past tense

Base "ta" + Base "ta" + ra if and when I verb (similar to Base 4 + ba)

Base "ta" + Base "ta" + ri surudo such things as...

(this suru is also the same verb learned in lesson 7 (to dosomething))
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Adjectives and Adverbs

There are two different types of words that can be used to modify nouns and verbs. One group ismuch like what we would call an adjective but they can also modify verbs as well. We will refer tothese as "dv". The other group can, in most cases, stand alone like a noun but can also be used to

modify nouns and verbs. We will refer to these as "dn". All words in the "dv" group always end with (i). No exceptions. This is placed in front of a noun in order to modify it. For example:



akai kuruma red car

These words can be conjugated to form different tenses, modify verbs, etc. Here is how that is done:

- HiraganaRomaji


drop the and add drop the "i" and add "ku"modifies a verb (akaku natta -> became

red)(naru is the verb "to become")

drop the and add drop the "i" and add "kunai"present tense negative (akakunai -> is not

red)

drop the and add drop the "i" and add "katta" past tense (akakatta -> was red)

drop the and add

drop the "i" and add"kunakatta"

past tense negative (akakunakatta -> wasnot red)

(This one might take a little practicesaying.)

It's not as easy to recognize a "dn" but I will point them out in the vocabulary lists. Sometimes you'lleven find a "dn" that ends in (i) (ex. kirei - pretty). As mentioned before, these words can, in most

cases, be used by themselves like a noun (ex. shizen - nature). By adding a (na) to the end of

these words they can be used to modify a noun (ex. shizen na kankyou -> a natural environment).

And by adding a (ni) to the end of these words they can be used to modify a verb as an adverb (ex.

shizen ni aruku -> to walk naturally).

Here's a list of some commonly used "dv" and "dn":



akai (dv) red

kiiroi (dv) yellow

aoi (dv) blue

kuroi (dv) black

shiroi (dv) white

omoshiroi (dv) interesting, funny

atsui (dv) hot

samui (dv) cold

ookii (dv) big

chiisai (dv) small

shizen (dn) nature


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kirei (dn) pretty, clean

shitsurei (dn) rude

shizuka (dn) quiet

tokubetsu (dn) special

genki (dn) in good spirits hen (dn) weird, strange

jouzu (dn) skillful

shinsetsu (dn) kind, nice

suteki (dn) "cool", good looking

Meeting Someone New

We are often asked by our students learning Japanese how to introduce oneself to someone new.The interaction is normally very formal and filled with a few bows. Below is a typical Japaneseconversation between two people meeting for the first time:

Japanese(In Kanji, Hiragana, and Romaji)

English Meaning

Person 1:

Konnichi wa. Hajimemashite.

Hello. Nice to meet you.

Person 2:

Hajimemashite. O-genki desu ka?

Nice to meet you.How are you?

Person 1:

Hai, genki desu.

I am fine.

Person 1:______

______

Watashi wa ______ to moushimasu. Anata no o-namae wa?

My name is ______.What is your name?

Person 2:______

______

Watashi wa ______ to iimasu. Yoroshiku o-negai shimasu.

My name is ______.Pleased to make youracquaintance.

Person 1:

Yoroshiku o-negai shimasu.

Pleased to make your

acquaintance.

Explanation: "Hajimemashite" literally means "it is a beginning" but would be the equivalent of "Niceto meet you" in English. It would only be used the first time meeting someone. As learned inLesson 9,"genki" means "in good spirits". "O-genki desu ka" is literally asking "Are you in good spirits?". This isthe most common way of asking "How are you?" in Japanese. The other person responds "Yes, I amin good spirits". "Mousu" is the ultra polite form of the verb "iu" (to say). Both people are literallysaying "I am said/called _____". "Namae" is the word for "name". An "o" is added in front of it (andother words throughout this exchange) to show respect. This is not done when talking about yourself."Yoroshii" means "good/fine" and "negai" is a wish or request. "Yoroshiku o-negai shimasu" literallymeans "I request/wish kindly of you". It is basically like saying "Please treat me well". It can be used inother situations as well - such as when asking for a favor.
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Other Common Phrases

We are often asked how to say "I love you" in Japanese. This would be "Anata o ai shite imasu" BUT

be advised that the Japanese typically don't use the word for love ( - - ai) when talking about

their feelings for someone else (not even a boyfriend, girlfriend, spouse, child, parent, etc.). They

would typically say "Anata no koto ga suki desu" or "Anata ga daisuki desu". "Suki" means "like" and"daisuki" means "favorite". This may seem strange but this is just what they say for "I love you".



tanjoubi omedetougozaimasu

Happy Birthday!

akemashiteomedetou gozaimasu

Happy New Year!

omedetou gozaimasu Congratulations!

oyasuminasai

Good night.(used when

someone is goingto bed)

gomennasai I'm sorry.

sumimasen Excuse me.

toire wa doko desu kaWhere is thebathroom?

onaka ga suite imasuI am hungry.

("My stomach isempty.")


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Katakana

Katakana symbols are more sharp and angular thanHiragana symbols.Katakana symbols are also said 'partial character' which means the character is a part ofKanji character.

Like Hiragana scripts, Katakana scripts are the same set of sounds and called "PhoneticAlphabetic" which has got 46 basic Katakana symbols.

Take a look at the exmaple above.These are the first 5 characters(a, i, u, e, o) both in Katakana and Hiragana.

However, the use of Katakana is totally different to other 2 scritps.Katakana is often used for representing non-Japanese words:

1. non-Japanese names: Japanese people often use Katakana script to write non-Japanese names. If you go to a Mcdonalds in Japan, you will see its names writtenby using Katakana scripts.

2. Words introduced into Japanese Language from other langauge: words such asStereo can be written with Katakana scripts.
http://www.learn-japanese-kanji-hiragana-katakana.com/Hiragana.htmhttp://www.learn-japanese-kanji-hiragana-katakana.com/Hiragana.htmhttp://www.learn-japanese-kanji-hiragana-katakana.com/Hiragana.htmhttp://www.learn-japanese-kanji-hiragana-katakana.com/Hiragana.htm


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45 Katakana Symbol Chart

Here is a chart of 45 Katakana symbols, which is exactly the same as for Hiragana.Starting from A, i, u, e, o and end with Wa, O.

There are basically 45 Katakana characters. Not 46.Unlike Hiragana script, there is no WO character with the Katakana scripts.

a i u e o

ka ki ku ke ok

sa shi su se so

ta chi tsu te to

na ni nu ne no

ha hi fu he ho

ma mi mu me mo

ya yu yo

ra ri ru re ro

wa n


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Learn How to Write in Katakana

Let's practice writing English Names with Katakana Script

What if you want to write your name in Japanese?

It is very common to use Katakana script to write English names in Japanese.

So, let's see how Japanese people write 'Ken' in Japanese.

Frist of all, theJapanese name translationis usually done by using the phonetic

translation which means a suitable Katakana character is allocated according to

the sound of its name

So, if the name is Ken, there are 2 types of sound that match one of the

Katakana symbol from the 45 Katakana chart.

Ke N

Remember, a chart of Katakana syllabary is called 'a phonetic alphabet'.

So, we decide a Katakana symbol by the sound of its name.

However, some people prefer their names written in Kanji like a Japanese

person' name. In that case, you need to have a Japanese person to decide

which kanji symbol to use, but unlike Katakana script, writing names in Kanji is

more complex.

If you would like to know more information about how to write names in Kanji,

please go to this site to see how you name is going to be translated with

Japanese Kanji.

By the way, if you are intereted in Katakana Symbols and want to get your own

Katakana symbols, here is the website we have found for you:Katakana

Symbol
http://www.dsfy.com/JapaneseNameTranslation.htmhttp://www.dsfy.com/JapaneseNameTranslation.htmhttp://www.dsfy.com/JapaneseNameTranslation.htmhttp://www.dsfy.com/tattoo_design/katakana/index.htmhttp://www.dsfy.com/tattoo_design/katakana/index.htmhttp://www.dsfy.com/tattoo_design/katakana/index.htmhttp://www.dsfy.com/tattoo_design/katakana/index.htmhttp://www.dsfy.com/tattoo_design/katakana/index.htmhttp://www.dsfy.com/tattoo_design/katakana/index.htmhttp://www.dsfy.com/JapaneseNameTranslation.htm


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Lesson 1: Learn Japanese Script: Hiragana.

Find out What is Hiragana Symbol.

Hiragana is more rounded script and used to write the grammatical parts of words and

sentence espeically when Kanji is not appropriate for writing.

The meaning of this sentence is 'Very Har'and written by using both Kanji andHiragana script. The first 3 characters areHiragana, the 4th character is Kanji andthe last 2 characters are Hiragana.

Unlike Kanji, Hiragana was developed by Japanese people, and today, all the JapaneseChildren learn Hiragana to write first and then step up to Kanji characters as they grow.

Hiragana is basically phonetic alphabet which means a Hiragana symbol is created by thesound of characters.There are 46 Hiragana symbols.


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A chart of 46 Hiragana Symbols

Here is a chart of 46 Hiragana symbols.Hiragana is 'Phonetic Alphabetic' which means a Hiragana character is a sound character,and these Hiragana characters are separated into 46 differnet sounds.The chart start with a, i, u, e, o (vowel sounds) and ends with wa, Wo, nn.

A I U E O

KA KI KU KE KO

SA SHI SU SE SO

TA CHI TU TE TO

NA NI NU NE NO

HA HI FU HE HO

MA MI MU ME MO


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YA YU YO

RA RI RU RE RO

WA WO N

Let's practice writing a word with Hiragana Script

It is very easy to write a word or name with Hiragana scripts once you understand theavobe 46 different Hiragana symbols.

So, let's practice writing 'Sushi" with Hiragana script.To write 'Sushi', first, we need to figure out a sound character that match to one of the 46hiragana symbol from the above chart.There are 2 sounds that makes the word, 'Sushi', Su and Shi.

Su Shi

So, how about writing 'Sa Yo Na Ra'(Good bye) with Hiragana Script?That's right.

sa yo na ra


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learning simple japanese

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