(ebook) easy and fun hiragana: first steps to basic japanese writing by kiyomi ogawa isbn 9781611720
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(Ebook) Easy and Fun Katakana: Basic Japanese Writing for Loanwords and Emphasis by Kiyomi Ogawa ISBN 9781611720488, 9784794604736, 1611720486, 4794604734
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For chapters 2 and 3, practice writing the characters using the correct stroke order.
Lesson 1
Trace over the outlines in the middle row rst, then try writing those same characters in the blank boxes below. Refer to the numbers and arrows for guidance on stroke order and direction.
Read and write these words that contain the new characters you just learned.
How to Use Hiragana
The Japanese language consists of three types of characters: hiragana, katakana, and kanji.
Katakana is primarily used for words borrowed from other languages, while kanji is used to write names and parts of verbs and adjectives. Hiragana is used for particles and some parts of verbs and adjectives; it also often appears directly above di cult kanji characters as a pronunciation aid for children and foreigners, a system known as furigana.
Kanji
Furigana
The History of Hiragana
The hiragana script evolved from Chinese characters transmitted to Japan long ago. Although those characters were originally assigned to the di erent sounds of the Japanese language, around AD 800 they were simpli ed into hiragana characters which were used mostly by women.
Sometime later, the Iroha was invented to help people remember hiragana, similar to the function of the ABC song in English. The poem was used for many centuries, but around the turn of the twentieth century the 48 hiragana characters learned by elementary school students were standardized and an ordering system which began with あいうえお gained in popularity.
Iroha
Iro ha nihoheto
Chirinuru wo Wa ka yo tare so
Tsune naramu
Uwi no okuyama
Kefu koete
Asaki yume mishi
Wehi mo sesu
（modern translation）
Even the owers and their brilliant colors will one day fade away
And even we who inhabit this world cannot stay the same forever.
Cryptic mountain roads hiding unseen dangers we traverse them today
But that we can shield our minds from foolish dreams and our bodies from intoxicating aspirations.
As you can see, the poem has quite a profound meaning.
Though there is no poem to go along with the modern ordering of あいうえお (also known as gojūon), I think that the newer system is easier for foreigners studying Japanese to remember since it starts with the vowel sounds. Let ʼs have a look at the hiragana chart on the next page.
This syllable set is primarily used for words borrowed from other languages, but they are also widely adopted into logos, slang speech, and other formats.
Basic syllables
a ア i イ u ウ e エ o オ
ka カ ki キ ku ク ke ケ ko コ
sa サ shi シ su ス se セ so ソ
ta タ chi チ tsu ツ te テ to ト
na ナ ni ニ nu ヌ ne ネ no ノ
ha/
wa ハ hi ヒ fu フ he/ e ヘ ho ホ
ma マ mi ミ mu ム me メ mo モ
ya ヤ yu ユ yo ヨ
ra ラ ri リ ru ル re レ ro ロ
wa ワ wo /o ヲ
n ン
Modified syllables
ga ガ gi ギ gu グ ge ゲ go ゴ
ザ ji ジ zu ズ
ゼ
Katakana
キャ kyu キュ kyo キョ sha シャ shu シュ sho ショ
ニャ nyu ニュ nyo ニョ
ヒャ hyu ヒュ hyo ヒョ
ミャ myu ミュ myo ミョ rya リャ ryu リュ ryo リョ
ピャ pyu ピュ pyo ピョ
Chapter 2
Examples and Practice
Single Characters
Trace over the outlines in the middle row rst, then try writing those same characters in the blank boxes below. Refer to the numbers and arrows for guidance on stroke order and direction.
あ 行
ぎょう あ row
あ い う え お
か 行
ぎょう か row
Lesson 2
Trace over the outlines in the middle row rst, then try writing those same characters in the blank boxes below. Refer to the numbers and arrows for guidance on stroke order and direction.
さ 行
ぎょう さ row
さ し す せ そ
た 行
ぎょう た row
ka sa
o ka shi
su i ka
watermelon
se ka i
ta ka i た か い
chi ka te tsu
i ta chi
u so
Trace over the outlines in the middle row rst, then try writing those same characters in the blank boxes below. Refer to the numbers and arrows for guidance on stroke order and direction.
な 行
ぎょう な row
な に ぬ ね の
は 行
ぎょう は row
na ni
what
ku
meat
i nu
ne ko
to
なにぬねの はひふへほ
person
こ fu to i ふ と い he ta へ
ta no shi i
dog cat flower thick be bad at thin
ho so i
Trace over the outlines in the middle row rst, then try writing those same characters in the blank boxes below. Refer to the numbers and arrows for guidance on stroke order and direction.
ま 行
ぎょう ま row
ま み む め も
や 行
ぎょう や row
ma me
mi mi
ya ma
peas / beans ear
mu ka shi
tsu me ta i
mountain long time ago cold to read
yo mu
mo shi
Trace over the outlines in the middle row rst, then try writing those same characters in the blank boxes below. Refer to the numbers and arrows for guidance on stroke order and direction.
ら 行
ぎょう ら row
ら り る れ ろ
ぎょう わ row
wa ra u
ri su
o ri ru
wa re ru
wa su re ru
hi ro i
ん squirrel spacious get off to laugh to break book
object marker to forget o
ho n
hi ra ga na
za n ne n
gi n ko u
ji ka n
mo u su gu
ge n i n
ne zu mi
ze hi
go go
hiragana bank soon cause unfortunate / shame mouse time I would love to elephant
Trace over the outlines in the middle row rst, then try writing those same characters in the blank boxes below. Refer to the numbers and arrows for guidance on stroke order and direction.
だ 行
ぎょう だ row
だ ぢ づ で ど
ば 行
ぎょう ば row
Trace over the outlines in the middle row rst, then try writing those same characters in the blank boxes below. Refer to the numbers and arrows for guidance on stroke order and direction.
ぱ 行
ぎょう ぱ row
ぱ ぴ ぷ ぺ ぽ
ka n pa i
shi n pi n
te n pu ra
ka n pe ki
a toast / cheers brand-new tempura perfect
po n ka n
Tricky Characters
These characters have similar shapes, so take extra care when using them.
