Japanese is written using a mixture of three principal writing systems: hiragana, katakana, and kanji. In this first lesson, we will learn the characteristics of Japanese syllables and hiragana.
Lesson Goals
- Understanding the characteristics of Japanese syllables
- Learning hiragana
What you will be able to do
By completing this lesson, you will be able to do the following things:
- You can read hiragana.
- You can correctly pronounce Japanese syllables.
Activities
L1 Activity 1 – Learn & Understand (1)
Understand the characteristics of Japanese syllables and hiragana.
- Read pp.15-16 (up to “~ house is pronounced /ie/.”) of the main volume of the textbook. Pay particular attention to the two main points.
- Almost all syllables in Japanese end in a vowel.
- All hiragana and katakana characters have one fixed pronunciation.
- Watch in the video below some examples of the two characteristics above to deepen your understanding.
[p.15] The Japanese Sound System and Hiragana
Watch this video when you start studying The Japanese Sound System and Hiragana on p.15.
L1 Activity 2 – Learn & Understand (2)
Check the hiragana characters and confirm their pronunciations.
- Read “SW1-1. Basic Syllables in Hiragana” in the textbook (pp.16-18 in the main volume).
- Using the three videos in “Practice 2-1” below, confirm the pronunciation of each hiragana character. Pay particular attention to the explanations in the footnote of p.16 and the points 1-8 on p.18.
Practice 2-1
Basic Syllables
Following the video instructions, practice the sound of each syllable.
Syllable by Syllable
Repeat each syllable aloud.
Syllable Strings
Repeat each string of syllables aloud.
Shadowing Practice
Repeat each syllable aloud, this time while you listen.
Let’s start practicing hiragana!
L1 Activity 3 – Practice (1)
Check the stroke orders and try “Practice Quiz.”
- Check the stroke orders of the first five hiragana, あ through お, on the webpage below:
https://learnjapaninjapanese.com/hiragana/hiragana-stroke-order/ - On the same webpage, click the “Practice Quiz” link right below the hiragana stroke order images and access the practice quiz. Practice hiragana using the quiz. You can take the quiz repeatedly by refreshing the browser after submitting your answers.
L1 Activity 4 – Practice (2)
Begin spaced repetition practice using Anki.
- Download one of PANORAMA’s Anki decks “Hiragana & Katakana” from the link below and open the downloaded .apkg file.
PANORAMA Hiragana & Katakana deck - Following the steps you learned in Lesson 0, add five new cards and practice until the “Congratulations!” message appears.
Now you have started practicing the first five hiragana characters. Good for you!
Let’s continue practicing hiragana tomorrow and in the following days, gradually increasing intervals. It is also important to begin practicing the rest of hiragana following the same steps: 1) Confirm stroke orders, 2) Take the practice quiz, and 3) Practice using Anki.
IMPORTANT!
As the number of review cards increases, there will be days when you feel you cannot add any new cards. This is natural, so don’t feel that you must add new cards every day. Rather, be sure to make a consistent effort to practice all the review cards at each practice. Add new cards only when you feel you can practice more after finishing all review cards of the day.