Hiragana chart and practice

あ is the a in father. Some people spot a capital A hiding in it, which is a decent way to keep hold of it.

い is the ee in see, kept short. Two strokes, a bit like the two parts of a lowercase i.

う is close to the oo in food, but your lips stay relaxed instead of pushing forward.

え is the e in bed. One beat, and it never slides into another vowel the way English e often does.

お is the o in more, cut short. It is easy to mix up with あ, so look for the little tail on the right.

か is the ka in car. You will see this one constantly — it is also the word that turns a sentence into a question.

き is the key you unlock a door with, and the shape looks a little like one.

く is the coo in cuckoo, short. One stroke, shaped like an open beak.

け is the ke in kettle. It is a vertical line beside a shape much like け's neighbor に.

こ is the co in coffee. Two short strokes and you are done — it is one of the easiest to write.

さ is the sa in saw. Look twice: it is き with one stroke missing.

し is she, not see. One long swooping stroke, and the simplest letter in the whole set to write.

す is soo, said quickly. In everyday speech that u is often barely there at all.

せ is the se in set. Three strokes: a cross, then a curve underneath.

そ is the so in soap, without the little w sound English adds at the end. It zigzags down like a lightning bolt.

た is the ta in taco. It is built from two smaller pieces stacked side by side.

ち is chee, like the start of cheese — not tea. It is た turned around, so give it a second look.

つ is the ts in cats with an oo after it, all in one beat. English never starts a word that way, so this one takes practice.

て is the te in ten. One stroke that starts flat and drops.

と is the to in tot. A line with a flick partway down, a bit like a toe pointing.

な is the na in nachos. Watch the loop at the bottom right — that is what marks it out.

に is knee. Say the English word and you already have it.

ぬ is noo, as in noodle. It ends in a loop, which is the one thing that tells it apart from め.

ね is ne as in nest. It has a loop too, so ぬ, ね and め all deserve a careful look early on.

の is no. One curl, and you will see it everywhere — it does the job of English 's, as in my friend's book.

は is ha as in hot. It has a second life as the topic marker, and in that job it is said wa instead — you will meet that soon.

ひ is he, the English word. One wide stroke, a bit like a smile.

ふ sits between English foo and hoo. Blow gently rather than biting your lip on the f.

へ is he as in hen. It is a shallow hill and the easiest shape in hiragana. When it points somewhere, it is said e.

ほ is ho as in hope, cut short. It is は with one extra bar across the top.

ま is the ma in mama. Two bars crossed by a stroke that curls at the foot.

み is me. There is a 3 hiding in the shape, which helps, since み also turns up in the word for three things.

む is moo, like a cow. The little dot on the right is easy to forget.

め is meh. It is ぬ with the loop left off the end.

も is mo as in more, cut short.

や is ya as in yacht. The y row is a short one — just や, ゆ and よ.

ゆ is you. The shape looks a bit like a fish.

よ is yo. Two strokes and that is the whole letter.

ら sits between English ra and la. Tap your tongue once on the roof of your mouth — it is nearer the d in ladder than an English r.

り is that same quick tap with an ee after it. Two strokes leaning to the right.

る is roo, ending in a loop. る and ろ are the same shape — one has the loop, one does not.

れ is reh. Its left half is shared with ね and わ, so the right half is what you check.

ろ is roh. It is る with the loop left off.

わ is wa as in water. Its row has nearly died out — わ and を are all that is left of it.

を is written wo but said o. It has exactly one job: marking the thing a verb is done to.

ん is a hummed n, and it is the only kana that stands on its own without a vowel. It still takes a full beat — にほん (nihon), Japan, is ni-ho-n, three beats.