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FIRST STEPS TO MASTERING THE JAPANESE WRITING SYSTEM

Japanese

HIRAGANA

& KATAKANA

for Beginners

The method that’s helped thousands in
the U.S. and Japan learn Japanese successfully

Timothy G. Stout

Illustrated by Alexis Cowan

TUTTLE Publishing

Tokyo | Rutland, Vermont | Singapore

The Tuttle Story: “Books to Span the East and West”

Most people are surprised to learn that the world’s largest publisher of books on Asia had its humble beginnings in the tiny American state of Vermont. The company’s founder, Charles E. Tuttle, belonged to a New England family steeped in publishing. And his first love was naturally books—especially old and rare editions.

Immediately after WW II, serving in Tokyo under General Douglas MacArthur, Tuttle was tasked with reviving the Japanese publishing industry. He later founded the Charles E. Tuttle Publishing Company, which thrives today as one of the world’s leading independent publishers.

Though a westerner, Tuttle was hugely instrumental in bringing a knowledge of Japan and Asia to a world hungry for information about the East. By the time of his death in 1993, Tuttle had published over 6,000 books on Asian culture, history and art—a legacy honored by the Japanese emperor with the “Order of the Sacred Treasure,” the highest tribute Japan can bestow upon a non-Japanese.

With a backlist of 1,500 titles, Tuttle Publishing is more active today than at any time in its past—inspired by Charles Tuttle’s core mission to publish fine books to span the East and West and provide a greater understanding of each.

Published by Tuttle Publishing, an imprint of Periplus Editions (Hong Kong) Ltd.

www.tuttlepublishing.com

Copyright © 2011 by Periplus Editions (Hong Kong) Ltd.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior written permission from the publisher.

ISBN: 978-1-4629-0101-2 (ebook)

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CONTENTS

Introduction

— HIRAGANA —

SECTION ONE

The Basic 46 Hiragana Characters

Reading Practice 1: あ ~ そ

Reading Practice 2: た ~ ほ

Reading Practice 3: ま ~ ん

SECTION TWO

Hiragana Usage Rules

Rule 1: Tenten and Maru

Reading Practice 4: Tenten and Maru

Rule 2: Combined Characters

Reading Practice 5: Combined Characters

Rule 3: Small “tsu”

Reading Practice 6: Small “tsu”

Rule 4: Long Vowels

Reading Practice 7: Long Vowels

Rule 5: Sentence Particles “wa,” “e” and “o”

Reading Practice 8: Particles “wa,” “e” and “o”

SECTION THREE

Reading and Writing Practice

Answers

— KATAKANA —

SECTION FOUR

The Basic 46 Katakana Characters

Reading Practice 1: ア ~ ソ

Reading Practice 2: タ ~ ホ

Reading Practice 3: マ ~ ン

SECTION FIVE

Katakana Usage Rules

Rule 1: Tenten and Maru

Reading Practice 4: Tenten and Maru

Rule 2: Combined Characters

Reading Practice 5: Combined Characters

Rule 3: Small “tsu”

Reading Practice 6: Small “tsu”

Rule 4: Additional Combined Characters

Reading Practice 7: Additional Combined Characters

SECTION SIX

Reading and Writing Practice

Answers

Flash Card Practice Activities

Acknowledgments

How to Download the Bonus Material of this Book.

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2. Click the link below or copy paste the URL to your web browser.

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For support email us at info@tuttlepublishing.com.

Introduction

You probably picked up this book because you are interested in the best way to learn hiragana and katakana. If so, you came to the right place. The methods in this book have helped thousands of students in the United States and Japan to successfully learn both, and they can help you too.

This book makes learning hiragana and katakana fast and effective by using clear explanations and examples and lots of fun exercises. It also features memorable picture mnemonics like the one below. Picture mnemonics enhance memory by associating the shape and sound of each character with pictures and English words already familiar to you. For example, the hiragana character “mo” as in “more” looks like a fishhook intersected by two lines, leading to the idea that “you can catch more fish with more bait.”

Katakana and hiragana characters—together called kana—are the two sets of 46 phonetic characters used in Japanese. An average, diligent student can learn to read the basic 46 hiragana and 46 katakana characters in a few hours, and with persistence can learn to write them in a few days. If you study for thirty minutes a day, in a few short weeks you will be a confident reader and writer of hiragana and katakana.

How to Use This Book

This introduction gives you basic information about the characters: where they came from, how to pronounce and write them, and even how to write your name.

Both hiragana and katakana are essential to basic Japanese proficiency, but normally hiragana is learned first. In Section One you will learn the basic 46 hiragana characters, and how to write some simple words. Section Two introduces the usage rules that will allow you to write all of the sounds of Japanese and gives you more opportunities for practice. Section Three strengthens your hiragana skills through a wide range of exercises designed to both increase your knowledge of the Japanese language and reinforce your newly acquired writing skills. Then in Sections Four, Five and Six you will follow the very same process to master the katakana characters.

At the end of the book you will find a list of suggested flash card activities. Since it is easier to learn to recognize hiragana and katakana than to write them, you may want to begin with the flash cards, printing them from the and reviewing them often. As you learn to recognize the characters, you will find it much easier to write them. Whether you begin with the writing sections or the flash cards, you will get the most out of this book by doing all the activities.

An Overview of the Japanese Writing System

Japanese uses four types of scripts: hiragana, katakana, kanji and romaji.

•     Hiragana is a cursive set of 46 phonetic characters that express all of the sounds of Japanese. Hiragana is used mainly for writing the grammatical parts of sentences and native Japanese words for which there are no kanji.

•     Katakana is an angular set of 46 phonetic characters, generally used for writing foreign words and for showing emphasis.

•     Kanji are characters of ancient Chinese origin that represent ideas and sounds, and they are used for most nouns, verbs and other “content” words. There are 2,131 “common use” kanji that school children must learn by ninth grade.

•     Romaji are roman (Latin) letters used to write Japanese; you must already know romaji since you are reading this. Romaji is used in textbooks and dictionaries for foreigners learning Japanese (and for Japanese people learning western languages) but its use in day-to-day writing is somewhat limited to things like company names and acronyms.

Don’t be too intimidated by the number and seeming complexity of Japanese characters. Japan’s 99 percent literacy rate should allay any fears that learning Japanese is impossible. Compared to kanji, kana characters are not complex; each one only has between one and four strokes. Each set of kana has 46 characters, compared to the English alphabet which has 52 letters (26 upper case and 26 lower case). Although kana characters have a few more overall strokes than the letters of the alphabet, kana have a consistent one-to-one relationship between character and sound. By contrast more than half of the English alphabet letters have multiple pronunciations, and seemingly endless exceptions. Anyone who has learned the complexities of English spelling can succeed at learning kana. So, although learning hiragana and katakana may at first seem to be a Sumo-sized task, with the right training and practice you can do it! Before you know it you’ll be a kana champion!

Don’t rely on romaji. Foreigners learning Japanese sometimes rely on romaji, never learning to read and write. While it is possible to become quite proficient in speaking Japanese using only romaji, you will not be truly literate. Get comfortable using hiragana. When you buy a dictionary make sure it is written in hiragana, not romaji. When you write in Japanese use hiragana and katakana and kanji characters as you learn them.

How to Pronounce Hiragana and Katakana

Hiragana and katakana are pronounced the same way. The first five characters are the five Japanese vowels. Japanese vowels are short and clipped compared to English vowels. (All of the examples in this book use Standard American English pronunciation).

a

as in father

i

as in easy

u

as in you

e

as in red

o

as in oak

The rest of the characters are consonant-vowel combinations, with the consonant always coming first (e.g., “ka,” “ki,” “ku,” “ke” and “ko”). The one exception is the single consonant syllable “n” that is pronounced by touching the back of the tongue to the roof of the mouth, as in “ink” and “sing.” Many Japanese consonants are commonly found in English and are easy to pronounce.

k

as in coat

g

as in goat (voiced version of k)

s

as in Sue

z

as in zoo (voiced version of g)

t

as in tie

d

as in dye (voiced version of t)

n

as in no

h

as in house

P

as in pig

b

as in big (voiced version of p)

m

as in man

Several Japanese consonants, however, are not commonly found in English and require special attention. One is the Japanese “r.” In English “r” is pronounced by curling the tongue so the sides touch the upper teeth (not touching the tip of the tongue). In Japanese, “r” is pronounced by tapping the tongue against the ridge behind the upper teeth, as in “paddle” and “ladder,” sounding like a combination of “l” and “d”; it is not a rolling trill as in Spanish. “tsu” is pronounced as in “tsunami” and “cat’s whiskers.” “fu” is pronounced without touching the upper teeth and lower lip. It almost sounds like “who” and “hooting owl,” except the lips are more pursed and air escapes more quickly.

The special consonant “y” as in “yarn” is paired with the vowels “a,” “u” and “o” to make the syllables “ya,” “yu” and “yo.” This consonant is special because Japanese uses it extensively in combination with all of the other consonants to form additional syllables, such as “kya,” “kyu” and “kyo.” In order to accommodate more foreign syllables, many more character combinations are used in katakana (see Section Five).

Although katakana tries to represent gairaigo (“loan words”) as faithfully as possible, the words sound distinctly Japanese. In 1991 the Japanese government updated the official guidelines for writing gairaigo. The guidelines included 33 more combined characters for writing foreign words. These 33 combined characters are not the limit—the guidelines clearly state that other combinations can be made as needed. Still, all syllables must conform to the basics of Japanese phonology (see Section Two).

How to Write Hiragana

Hiragana is the first writing system that Japanese children learn. It is not uncommon for a four-year-old to be able to fluently read children’s books and the like because of hiragana’s simple one-to-one correspondence between characters and sounds. Hiragana can easily be used to write any word or phrase, and even adults will sometimes substitute hiragana for difficult or uncommon kanji characters.

According to the U.S. Foreign Service Institute, it takes approximately 1,300 hours to acquire advanced Japanese proficiency, but much less time is required for basic proficiency. Hiragana is a great place to begin. The immediate benefits of learning hiragana include improving your pronunciation and gaining access to hundreds of dictionaries, textbooks, and other learning and enrichment materials written with hiragana. Plus, all of the writing skills of hiragana are transferable to learning katakana and kanji, making them easier to learn.

There are various styles used to write hiragana, but this book only uses the most standard kyōkashotai or “schoolbook” style. Hiragana characters are composed of three types of strokes: “stops,” “jumps” and “brushes.” With a stop, the pencil must come to a stop before it is removed from the paper. Jumps are written by removing the pencil from the paper as it moves to the next stroke. With a brush, the pencil is slowly removed from the paper as the stroke is written, giving it a tapered, sweeping appearance. In the example below, the character “ke” as in “Kevin” is written with all three types of strokes. The first stroke is a jump, the second is a stop, and the third is a brush.

Writing the correct stroke types in the correct order is important for forming balanced, legible characters. With practice you will get the hang of it. You can make your characters look more authentic by slightly tilting left-to-right strokes, as in stroke two in “ke” (see above), rather than writing them straight across. Character strokes are generally written from left to right and top to bottom. Try to center each character in an imaginary box, not too far to the left, right, top or bottom.

Traditionally Japanese was written from top to bottom, progressing in columns from right to left across the page. Now it is also commonly written from left to write, as with English. All the hiragana in this book is written from left to right.

How to Write Katakana

Katakana characters also are composed of the same three types of strokes we discussed above: “stops,” “jumps” and “brushes.” In the following example, the character “o” as in “oak” is written with all three types of strokes. The first is a stop, the second a jump, and the third is a brush.

Compare the hiragana and katakana characters below. Hiragana characters are curved and looping, but katakana characters are straight and angled. Katakana also has fewer “jumps” and more “stops” and “brushes.”

Some hiragana and katakana characters look alike, like “ka” and “ki.” The picture mnemonics for these katakana characters are the same as the hiragana characters—another good reason you should master hiragana first.

Writing the correct stroke type in the correct order is important for forming balanced, legible characters. With practice you will get the hang of it. You can make your characters look more authentic by slightly tilting left-to-right strokes, as in stroke one in “o” (see above), rather than writing them straight across. Character strokes are generally written from left to right and top to bottom. Try to center each character in the middle of an imaginary box, not too far to the top, bottom, left, or right.

Writing Your Name in Japanese

Most beginning learners enjoy katakana because it is relatively simple to learn, and it is immediately useful. You write your name and your friends’ names in katakana. You can guess many of the katakana words found in Japanese texts you read. Soon reading and writing katakana will become second nature, and all your hard work will begin to pay off.

Try to find your name in the “Names in Katakana” lists provided on the . Only one Japanese spelling is given for all of the names with the same pronunciation, such as Amy, Ami, Amie and Aimee. The names are listed under the most common spelling. If you don’t see your name in the list and your name is a nickname, try looking for the formal version (i.e., “Richard” instead of “Rick”). If you still can’t find your name, it may not be one of the most common. Never fear, you can ask your teacher or a Japanese friend for help. Any name can be written in Japanese. Practice writing your name in the spaces provided (don’t worry if you leave some boxes unused).

Where Hiragana and Katakana Came From

Although hiragana characters look like the picture mnemonics in this book, they did not originally come from pictures. Hiragana characters were developed based on simplified cursive-style kanji during the Heian Period (794-1185 AD). China, one of the great civilizations of the ancient world, had a huge influence on its Asian neighbors, including Japan. Kanji were first introduced to Japan around the 5th century AD.

The Japanese upper classes made a serious study of Chinese language, religion and government, and along with adopting new perspectives and practices, they adopted thousands of words and the kanji used to write them. The earliest official documents were written in Chinese, and for a long time Chinese was considered the language of the educated. Japanese also used kanji, however, to write poetry and prose in Japanese. This was problematic since spoken Japanese and Chinese were very different, but the Japanese overcame this challenge by giving kanji new Japanese pronunciations, and by using some kanji as phonetic characters to be able to express native Japanese words and grammatical elements in writing.

Kanji used as phonetic characters were called kana or “borrowed names,” implying that using kanji to express only sounds was not the regular practice. The first set of kana, called man’yōgana (the line above the “o” indicates it is two syllables in length), was difficult to read because there were no one-to-one relationships between the characters and sounds, plus there were hundreds of them. Man’yōgana was also difficult to write because each phonetic syllable had to be written in kanji. To simplify things, two sets of kana called katakana and hiragana were developed over time. Katakana or “partial kana” as the name suggests was developed from parts of kanji (see the following example).

Writing with katakana was originally limited to men, and used in official documents. Hiragana or “common kana” was developed based on simplified versions of entire kanji characters (see example above). It was used in informal writing, such as letters and diaries, and it was referred to as onna-de or “woman’s hand.”

Ironically, during the Heian period while the men were attempting to write in “superior” Chinese, some women who learned to write in hiragana produced the finest literature of the period. The Tale of Genji written 1,000 years ago by a court lady named Murasaki Shikibu is generally regarded as the world’s first novel, and a classic. In time, men began using hiragana as well. Today Japanese is written with a mix of hiragana, katakana, kanji and romaji.

The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu is over 1,000 pages in English translation.

History aside, you may be wondering why Japanese still has two sets of phonetic characters. The main reason is that it makes reading easier—katakana words stand out in a text, like a highlighter. When you see a katakana word, you immediately know it falls into one of six categories:

1.   Gairaigo or “loan words”

2.   Foreign place names and personal names

3.   Onomatopoeia (sound symbolic words), like “buzz,” “flip” and “bow wow,” which are much more numerous in Japanese than in English

4.   Emphasis words—normally written in hiragana or kanji, but that the writer wants to draw attention to

5.   Dictionaries entries of on-yomi or the “Chinese readings” of kanji

6.   Others, such as transcriptions of the Ainu language (indigenous to northern Japan), and some official documents of pre-modern Japan

Gairaigo or “loan words,” such as konpyūtā (computer), nyūsu (news), and resutoran (restaurant), comprise the biggest category of katakana words, with tens of thousands in common use. Most gairaigo come from English, so even beginning learners can often correctly guess what a Japanese article is about just from scanning the text for gairaigo. Topics like sports, medicine, business, economy, technology, and science have numerous gairaigo.

Japanese Hiragana and Katakana for Beginners is the right place to begin your Japanese studies. As you learn kana you will be taking the first steps to mastering the Japanese writing system and its pronunciation. Taking Japanese in small steps will make it more manageable. As the Japanese proverb states, “Even dust piled up becomes a mountain.” or in other words, little things add up!

chiri mo tsumoreba yama to naru

(Even dust piled up becomes a mountain.)

Good luck as you embark on this new journey. As you increase your understanding of the Japanese people and their wonderful culture and language you will find fresh encouragement to carry on. One step at a time you can do anything. So, let’s get started. Turn the page and begin your journey.

SECTION ONE

The Basic 46 Hiragana Characters

* These characters are pronounced differently when they are used as grammatical particles.

** This character is only used as a grammatical particle. It is not used to write words.

Writing Tip “a” has three strokes: 1) a stop, 2) stop and 3) brush.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. a ka (red)

2. a ri (ant)

3. a sa (morning)

4. a ki (autumn)

5. a me (rain; hard candy)

6. a o (blue)

Writing Tip “i” has two strokes: 1) a jump and 2) stop.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. i i (good)

2. i su (chair)

3. ha i (Yes!)

4. o i shi i (delicious)

5. i ka (squid)

Writing Tip “u” has two strokes: 1) a stop and 2) brush.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. u chi (home)

2. u de (arm)

3. u e (up)

4. u shi (cow)

5. u ma (horse)

6. u me (plum)

Writing Tip “e” has two strokes: 1) a jump and 2) zigzag stop.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. e ki (train station)

2. ma e (in front of)

3. e e (yes – colloquial)

4. e n (yen)

5. ha e (fly)

6. e bi (shrimp)

Writing Tip “o” has three strokes: 1) a stop, 2) brush and 3) stop.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. ka o (face)

2. o o ki i (big)

3. o ha shi (chopsticks)

4. o ka shi (snacks)

Writing Tip “ka” has three strokes: 1) a jump, 2) stop and 3) stop.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. mi ka n (mandarin orange)

2. ka (mosquito)

3. ka sa (umbrella)

4. chi ka (basement)

5. ka mi (hair; paper; God)

6. na ka (inside)

Writing Tip “ki” has four strokes: 1) a stop, 2) stop, 3) jump and 4) stop.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. yu ki (snow)

2. ki ta (north)

3. e ki (train station)

4. te n ki (weather)

5. ki i ro (yellow)

Writing Tip “ku” has one stroke: a stop.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. ku ro (black)

2. ku chi (mouth)

3. ni ku (meat)

4. ku tsu (shoe)

5. ku ma (bear)

6. ku mo (spider; cloud)

Writing Tip “ke” has three strokes: 1) a jump, 2) stop and 3) brush.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. ta ke (bamboo)

2. i ke (pond)

3. ke su (to erase)

4. to ke i (clock)

5. ta su ke te (Help!)

Writing Tip “ko” has two strokes: 1) a jump and 2) stop.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. ko re (this)

2. do ko (where?)

3. ko ko (here)

4. ko do mo (child)

5. i to ko (cousin)

Writing Tip “sa” has three strokes: 1) a stop, 2) jump and 3) stop.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. sa mu i (cold)

2. ha sa mi (scissors)

3. sa n (Mr./Mrs./Ms./Miss)

4. sa n (three)

5. sa ru (monkey)

Writing Tip “shi” has one stroke: a brush.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. shi ro (white)

2. a shi (legs)

3. shi o (salt)

4. mu shi (insect)

5. shi ka (deer)

6. na shi (Asian pear)

Writing Tip “su” has two strokes: 1) a stop and 2) looping brush.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. su mō (sumo)

2. su (vinegar)

3. su shi (sushi)

4. ri su (squirrel)

5. su ki (like – adjective)

6. su ru (to do)

Writing Tip “se” has three strokes: 1) a stop, 2) jump and 3) stop.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. se n se i (teacher; doctor; dentist)

2. se na ka (a person’s back)

3. se mi (cicada)

4. se ki (cough; seat)

5. se n (one thousand)

Writing Tip “so” has one stroke: a zigzag stop.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. so to (outside)

2. so ko (there)

3. so re (that)

4. so ba (buckwheat noodles)

5. so ra (sky)

6. u so (lie; false)

READING PRACTICE 1: あ ~ そ

You should be able to read the words below now. Fold the page lengthwise (or cover it with your hand) so you can only see the hiragana words on the left hand side. Try reading them aloud and then check with the words on the right. Keep practicing until you can read them all. For an extra challenge try reading the Japanese and saying the English word before checking.

あか

a ka (red)

あお

a o (blue)

あき

a ki (autumn)

いい

i i (good)

いす

i su (chair)

おいしい

o i shi i (delicious)

うえ

u e (up, above)

うし

u shi (cow)

えき

e ki (train station)

え え

e e (yes - colloquial)

おおきい

o o ki i (big)

か

ka (mosquito)

かお

ka o (face)

おかし

o ka shi (snacks)

いけ

i ke (pond)

けす

ke su (to erase)

ここ

ko ko (here)

あさ

a sa (morning)

かさ

ka sa (umbrella)

あし

a shi (leg; foot)

しお

shi o (salt)

しか

shi ka (deer)

す

su (vinegar)

すし

su shi (sushi)

すき

su ki (like - adjective)

せき

se ki (cough; seat)

そこ

so ko (there)

うそ

u so (lie; false)

Romaji pronunciation guide:

a

as in father

i

as in easy

u

as in you

e

as in red

o

as in oak

Writing Tip “ta” has four strokes and all four are stops.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. a ta ma (head)

2. ta no shi i (fun; enjoyable)

3. i ta i (Ouch!)

4. ta ka i (high; tall; expensive)

Writing Tip “chi” has two strokes: 1) a stop and 2) brush.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. i chi (one)

2. u chi (home; house)

3. ku chi (mouth)

4. mi chi (road; path)

5. shi chi (seven)

6. ha chi (eight; bee)

Writing Tip “tsu” has one stroke: a brush.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. a tsu i (hot)

2. tsu na mi (tsunami wave)

3. i tsu (when)

4. ku tsu (shoes)

5. tsu yo i (strong)

Writing Tip “te” has one stroke: a stop.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. te (hand)

2. ka ra te (karate)

3. su te ki (lovely; cool; superb)

4. chi ka te tsu (subway)

5. te n ki (weather)

Writing Tip “to” has two strokes and both are stops.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. to ra (tiger)

2. to ri (bird)

3. hi to (person)

4. so to (outside)

5. o to to i (day before yesterday)

Writing Tip “na” has four strokes: 1) a stop, 2) stop, 3) jump and 4) stop.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. na tsu (summer)

2. na ni (what)

3. na ka (inside; middle)

4. na ma e (name)

5. mi n na (all; everyone)

Writing Tip “ni” has three strokes: 1) a jump, 2) stop and 3) stop.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. ku ni (country; nation)

2. ni ku (meat)

3. wa ni (alligator)

4. ni ho n (Japan)

5. ma i ni chi (everyday)

Writing Tip “nu” has two strokes: 1) a stop and 2) looping stop.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. i nu (dog)

2. nu i gu ru mi (stuffed animal)

3. shi nu (to die)

4. nu ru (to paint; to color)

5. nu ma (swamp; pond)

Writing Tip “ne” has two strokes: 1) a stop and 2) zigzag, looping stop. (It looks like a “1,” “7” and “2” all together).

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. ne ko (cat)

2. mu ne (chest)

3. o ka ne (money)

4. ne ru (to sleep; lie down)

5. ne tsu (fever; temperature)

6. fu ne (boat)

Writing Tip “no” has one stroke: a circling brush.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. no ri (glue)

2. no do (throat)

3. mo no (thing; object)

4. no mi mo no (beverage; drink)

5. ki no – (yesterday)

Writing Tip “ha” has three strokes: 1) a jump, 2) stop and 3) looping stop.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. ha ru (spring)

2. ha i (Yes!)

3. ha ko (box)

4. ha sa mi (scissors)

5. ha (tooth; teeth)

6. ha re (fine weather)

Writing Tip “hi” has one stroke: a sweeping stop.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. hi to (person)

2. hi za (knee; lap)

3. hi ji (elbow)

4. hi (fire; flame)

5. hi ru (noon; daytime)

6. hi tsu ji (sheep)

Writing Tip “fu” has four strokes: 1) a jump, 2) brush, 3) jump and 4) stop.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. fu ji (Mount Fuji)

2. fu yu (winter)

3. tō fu (tofu)

4. fu to n (futon mattress)

5. o fu ro (bathtub)

Writing Tip “he” has one stroke: a stop.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. he ya (room; bedroom)

2. he bi (snake)

3. he n (odd; strange)

4. he ta (unskillful)

5. o he so (navel; belly button)

Writing Tip “ho” has four strokes: 1) a jump, 2) stop, 3) stop and 4) looping stop.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. ho n (books)

2. ho shi (stars)

3. ho ne (bones)

4. e ho n (picture books)

5. ho so i (thin; slender)

READING PRACTICE 2: た ~ ほ

You should now be able to read the words below. Fold the page lengthwise (or cover it with your hand) so you can only see the hiragana words on the left hand side of the page. Try reading them aloud and then check with the words on the right. Keep practicing until you can read them all. For an extra challenge try reading the Japanese and saying the English word before checking.

ぃたぃ

i ta i (Ouch!)

たのしぃ

ta no shi i (fun)

した

shi ta (under; below; tongue)

ぃち

i chi (one)

うち

u chi (home; house)

あつぃ

a tsu i (hot)

くつ

ku tsu (shoes)

ちかてつ

chi ka te tsu (subway; underground train)

ひと

hi to (person)

そと

so to (outside)

なつ

na tsu (summer)

くに

ku ni (country; nation)

にく

ni ku (meat)

ぃぬ

i nu (dog)

しぬ

shi nu (to die)

ねこ

ne ko (cat)

おかね

o ka ne (money)

はぃ

ha i (Yes!)

はこ

ha ko (box)

ひきにく

hi ki ni ku (ground meat; minced meat)

ひ

hi (fire; flame)

ふえ

fu e (flute)

ふゆ

fu yu (winter)

おへそ

o he so (navel; belly button)

へた

he ta (unskillful)

ほそぃ

ho so i (thin; slender)

ほし

ho shi (stars)

Romaji pronunciation guide:

a

as in father

i

as in easy

u

as in you

e

as in red

o

as in oak

Writing Tip “ma” has three strokes: 1) a stop, 2) stop and 3) a looping stop.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. ma zu i (unpleasant – taste or situation)

2. a ma i (sweet; indulgent)

3. se ma i (narrow; confining)

4. i ma (living room)

5. ma do (window)

Writing Tip “mi” has two strokes: 1) a looping stop and 2) brush.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. mi mi (ears)

2. mi gi (right hand side)

3. mi zu (water)

4. ya su mi (vacation; holiday)

5. sa shi mi (sliced raw fish)

Writing Tip “mu” has three strokes: 1) a stop, 2) looping brush and 3) stop.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. mu ra sa ki (purple)

2. sa mu ra i (samurai warrior)

3. ya su mu (to rest; take a day off)

4. no mu (to drink)

5. su mu (to live)

Writing Tip “me” has two strokes: 1) a stop and 2) looping brush.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. me (eyes)

2. tsu me ta i (cold to the touch)

3. ka me (turtle)

4. tsu me (fingernail)

5. go me n na sa i (I’m sorry.)

Writing Tip “mo” has three strokes: 1) a brush, 2) stop and 3) stop.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. mo mo (peach)

2. mo shi mo shi (hello – on the phone)

3. i tsu mo (always)

4. to mo da chi (friends)

Writing Tip “ya” has three strokes: 1) a brush, 2) jump and 3) stop.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. ya sa i (vegetables)

2. ya su i (inexpensive)

3. ya o ya (vegetable stand)

4. ha ya i (fast; early)

Writing Tip “yu” has two strokes and they are both brushes.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. yu bi (finger)

2. yu ka (floor)

3. yu me (dream)

4. yū bi n (mail; postal service)

5. yo yū (spare – time, money, etc)

Writing Tip “yo” has two strokes and both of them are stops.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. yo ru (evening; night)

2. sa yō na ra (goodbye)

3. yo wa i (weak)

4. tsu yo i (strong)

Writing Tip “ra” has two strokes: 1) a jump and 2) brush.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. o te a ra i (restroom)

2. i ku ra (how much?)

3. ka ra i (spicy; hot)

4. ki ra i (dislike – adjective)

Writing Tip “ri” has two strokes: 1) a jump and 2) brush.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. i ri gu chi (entrance)

2. ku su ri (medicine)

3. o tsu ri (change – money)

4. ku mo ri (cloudy)

Writing Tip “ru” has one stroke: a zigzag-looping stop.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. fu ru i (old - not person)

2. a ru ku (to walk)

3. ka e ru (frog; to return home)

4. zu ru i (unfair; cunning)

Writing Tip “re” has two strokes: 1) a stop and 2) zigzag brush.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. da re (who)

2. ki re i (pretty; clean; tidy)

3. a re (that over there)

4. u re shi i (happy; glad)

5. i re ru (to insert; to put in)

Writing Tip “ro” has one stroke: a zigzag brush.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. te bu ku ro (gloves)

2. u shi ro (behind)

3. hi ro i (wide; spacious)

4. da i do ko ro (kitchen)

Writing Tip “wa” has two strokes: 1) a stop and 2) zigzag brush.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. wa ta shi (I; myself)

2. de n wa (telephone)

3. wa ru i (bad)

4. su wa ru (to sit)

Writing Tip “o” has three strokes and they are all stops.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

This character is not used to write words; it is a grammatical object marker (see Section Two). Trace the light gray characters and write the character “o” by yourself.

1. watashi wa sono hon o yomimasu (I will read that book.)

2. dare ga momo o tabemashita ka (Who ate the peach?)

Writing Tip “n” has one stroke: a brush.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. su mi ma se n (Excuse me.)

2. e n (Yen – money)

3. ta n su (chest of drawers)

4. shi n shi tsu (bedroom)

READING PRACTICE 3: ま ~ ん

You should now be able to read the words below. Fold the page lengthwise (or cover it with your hand) so you can only see the hiragana words on the left hand side of the page. Try reading them aloud and then check with the words on the right. Keep practicing until you can read them all. For an extra challenge try reading the Japanese and saying the English word before checking.

あまい

a ma i (sweet; indulgent)

いま

i ma (living room)

やすみ

ya su mi (vacation; holiday)

みみ

mi mi (ears)

むらさき

mu ra sa ki (purple)

さむらい

sa mu ra i (samurai warrior)

め

me (eyes)

かめ

ka me (turtle)

もしもし

mo shi mo shi (hello - on the phone)

もも

mo mo (peach)

やすい

ya su i (inexpensive)

やおや

ya o ya (vegetable stand)

ゆか

yu ka (floor)

ゆめ

yu me (dream)

さようなら

sa yō na ra (goodbye)

ょる

yo ru (evening; night)

いくら

i ku ra (how much)

からい

ka ra i (spicy; hot)

おつり

o tsu ri (change - money)

くすり

ku su ri (medicine)

ふるい

fu ru i (old - not person)

かえる

ka e ru (frog; to return home)

されい

ki re i (pretty; clean; tidy)

うれしい

u re shi i (happy; glad)

ひろい

hi ro i (wide; spacious)

うしろ

u shi ro (behind)

わたし

wa ta shi (I; myself)

かわいい

ka wa i i (cute)

えん

e n (yen - Japanese money)

Romaji pronunciation guide:

a

as in father

i

as in easy

u

as in you

e

as in red

o

as in oak

SECTION TWO

Hiragana Usage Rules

THE ADDITIONAL 58 HIRAGANA SOUNDS

Japanese learners are lucky that there are so few hiragana rules. Mastering all the rules (and exceptions) in English takes years of spelling tests. In Japanese, however, once you have learned the five basic rules of hiragana you will be able to write 58 additional sounds using the 46 hiragana characters already introduced, and write any word you like.

RULE 1 TENTEN (゛) AND MARU (゜)

The first rule describes the way the pronunciation changes when two small dashes (゛) called tenten or a small circle (゜) called maru is added to a hiragana character. Tenten may be added to 20 hiragana characters, giving them a voiced consonant sound. For example, adding tenten to any of the か, き, く, け, こ row characters changes the “k” (as in coat) to “g” (as in goat). You will notice a vibration in your throat when you pronounce “g,” but not “k.” All 20 hiragana characters become voiced sounds when you add tenten.

You may have noticed that there are two ways to write the sounds “ji” and “zu.” In most cases “ji” and “zu” are written じ and ず.

Maru (゜) are only added to the hiragana characters は, ひ, ふ, へ, ほ. They become は, ぴ, ぷ, ぺ, ぽ and they are pronounced “pa,” “pi,” “pu,” “pe,” “po.”

Writing Practice: Say the sounds aloud as you write these hiragana characters with tenten and maru. Trace the light gray characters and then complete the row by yourself.

Now try writing the following words that use the first group of characters written with tenten. Trace the light gray characters, and then write the appropriate character in the blank box.

1. hi ra ga na (hiragana)

2. ma n ga (comics)

3. o ni gi ri (rice ball)

4. mi gi (right hand side)

5. i ri gu chi (entrance)

6. o yo gu (to swim)

7. ge n ka n (entryway of a Japanese home)

8. ge n ki (fine, healthy)

9. ni ho n go (Japanese language)

10. go ha n (rice; food)

11. me ga ne (glasses)

12. u sa gi (rabbit)

13. hi ge (mustache, beard)

14. de gu chi (exit)

The second group of characters written with tenten has one exception: じ is pronounced “ji.”

Try writing these words that use the second group of tenten characters.

1. za n ne n (unfortunate; too bad)

2. hi za (knee; lap)

3. ji ka n (time)

4. hi tsu ji (sheep)

5. chi zu (map)

6. su zu shi i (cool – temperature)

7. ka ze (cold – illness; wind)

8. ze n ze n (not…at all; never)

9. zō (elephant)

10. ka zo ku (family)

The third group of characters written with tenten has two exceptions: “ji” and “zu.” As mentioned, there are two ways to write the sounds “ji” and “zu,” but in most cases they are written with じ and ず. However, ぢ and づ are used in occasional compound words such as “bloody nose” (ha na ji) はなぢ and “hammer” (ka na zu chi) かなづち.

Trace the light gray characters and then complete the word with the correct tenten character.

1. to mo da chi (friend)

2. da re (who)

3. de n wa (telephone)

4. de n ki (light; electricity)

5. da i do ko ro (kitchen)

6. ma do (window)

The fourth group of characters written with tenten has no exceptions.

Try writing these words that use the fourth group of tenten characters.

1. so ba (buckwheat noodles)

2. i ke ba na (Japanese flower arranging)

3. ku bi (neck)

4. he bi (snake)

5. yu bi (finger)

6. shi n bu n (newspaper)

7. bu ta (pig)

8. su be te (everything)

9. ta be mo no (food)

10. bo ku (I; me – used by boys)

11. bo n sa i (bonsai tree)

The small circle or maru (゜) is only added to “ha,” “hi,” “fu,” “he” and “ho.” Trace the light gray characters, and then try writing them in the blank boxes on your own.

Try writing these words using characters written with maru (゜). Many of these words also use a small “tsu” (つ), which is pronounced as a short silent pause. In romaji a small “tsu” (つ) is usually indicated by doubling the following consonant (see Rule 3).

1. su ppa i (sour)

2. ra ppa (trumpet)

3. e n pi tsu (pencil)

4. ha ppi (festival coat)

5. te n pu ra (battered, deep-fried food)

6. ki ppu (ticket)

7. pe ra pe ra (fluent; fluently)

8. shi ppo (tail of an animal)

9. pe ko pe ko (very hungry)

10. po ka po ka (warm feeling)

11. ri ppa (splendid; fine)

12. ha ppa (leaf)

READING PRACTICE 4: TENTEN AND MARU

You should be able to read the words below now. Fold the page lengthwise (or cover it with your hand) so you can only see the hiragana words on the left half of the page. Try reading them aloud and then check your reading with the romaji on the right half of the page. Keep practicing until you can read them all.

ひらがな

hi ra ga na (hiragana characters)

みざ

mi gi (right hand side)

いりぐち

i ri gu chi (entrance)

げんかん

ge n ka n (entryway of a Japanese home)

しはんご

ni ho n go (Japanese)

ひざ

hi za (knee; lap)

じかん

ji ka n (time)

ちず

chi zu (map)

かぜ

ka ze (cold - illness; wind)

かぞく

ka zo ku (family)

だれ

da re (who)

でんわ

de n wa (telephone)

まど

ma do (window)

いけばな

i ke ba na (flower arranging)

へび

he bi (snake)

しんぶん

shi n bu n (newspaper)

すべて

su be te (all; everything)

ぼんさい

bo n sa i (bonsai tree)

らつぱ

ra ppa (trumpet)

えんぴつ

e n pi tsu (pencil)

きつぷ

ki ppu (ticket)

ペらペら

pe ra pe ra (fluent; fluently)

しつぽ

shi ppo (tail of an animal)

RULE 2 COMBINED CHARACTERS

As mentioned in the Introduction there are three special hiragana characters that are used extensively in combination with 11 consonants to form 33 additional sounds (see the chart at the beginning of Section Two). When combined in this way “ya,” “yu” and “yo” are written in half-size characters at the bottom left corner, as in the examples below. Many of the example words have a line above the vowel, indicating it is two syllables in length. More information about Japanese long vowels will be explained later (see Rule 4). Trace the light gray characters and then try to complete the example words with the correct combined characters.

kya

kyu

kyo

1. kya ku (guest; customer)

2. ya kyū (baseball)

3. kyō (today)

4. kyū ri (cucumber)

gya

gyu

gyo

1. gya ku (reverse; opposite)

2. ki n gyo (goldfish)

3. gyū ni ku (beef)

sha

shu

sho

1. i sha (medical doctor)

2. shu fu (homemaker)

3. sho ku dō (dining room; cafeteria)

4. ba sho (place; location)

ja

ju

jo

1. jā ne (See you later!)

2. jū (ten)

3. ma jo (witch)

4. jū sho (address)

5. ja ma (nuisance)

6. jū dō (judo)

cha

chu

cho

1. o mo cha (toys)

2. cho tto (a little; somewhat)

3. chū go ku (China)

4. o cha (green tea)

ja

ju

jo

The above combined characters are rarely used, and they are usually used for emphasis only.

nya

nyu

nyo

1. gyū nyū (milk)

2. nyā (meow – cry of a cat)

3. ka nyū (to subscribe)

4. nyo ro nyo ro (slithering(ly))

hya

hyu

hyo

1. hya ku (one hundred)

2. hyō (chart; leopard)

3. hyū hyū (sound of howling wind)

4. mo ku hyō (goal)

bya

byu

byo

1. byō ki (sick; illness)

2. byū n (whizzing sound of fast object)

3. sa n bya ku (three hundred)

pya

pyu

pyo

1. ha ppya ku (eight hundred)

2. pyū (sound of powerful wind)

3. ha ppyō (announcement; presentation)

4. ha ppyō ka i (recital)

mya

myu*

myo

1. sa n mya ku (mountain range)

2. ho n myō (real name)

3. myō (strange; unusual)

*The character combination “myu” is only used in uncommon words not included here.

5. mya ku (pulse)

rya

ryu

ryo

1. rya ku go (abbreviation)

2. ryo kō (travel)

3. ryū ga ku (study abroad)

4. ryō (dormitory)

READING PRACTICE 5: COMBINED CHARACTERS

You should be able to read these words with combined characters now. Fold the page lengthwise (or cover it with your hand) so you can only see the words on the left hand side of the page. Try reading them aloud and then check the words on the right. Keep practicing until you can read them all.

さやく

kya ku (guest; customer)

さゅうり

kyū ri (cucumber)

さょうと

kyō to (Kyoto)

きんぎょ

ki n gyo (goldfish)

ざゆうにく

gyū ni ku (beef)

ざやく

gya ku (opposite; backwards)

いしや

i sha (doctor)

しゆふ

shu fu (homemaker)

しょくどう

sho ku dō (dining room; cafeteria)

まじょ

ma jo (witch)

じやんけんぽん

jan ken pon (rock; paper; scissors)

じゆうしよ

jū sho (address)

おもちゃ

o mo cha (toys)

ちゅうごく

chū go ku (China)

ちょう

chō (butterfly)

ぎゅうにゅう

gyū nyū (cows' milk)

ひやく

hya ku (hundred)

ひょう

hyō (chart; leopard)

びょうき

byō ki (sick; sickness)

さんびゃく

sa n bya ku (three hundred)

みょう

myō (strange; unusual)

り ょう

ryō (dormitory)

りゅうがく

ryū ga ku (study abroad)

RULE 3 SMALL “TSU” (っ)

A small “tsu” (つ) is pronounced as a short silent pause. In romaji it is usually indicated by a doubling of the following consonant. One exception is the consonant “ch,” in which case it is indicated by adding a “t” as in “dotchi” どつち or “which one; which way.” A small “tsu” may also be used at the end of a phrase or sentence to indicate a sense of abruptness, anger, or surprise. It is pronounced with a “glottal stop” or in other words, stopping the flow of air by closing the back of the throat (epiglottis). Small “tsu” is written in the bottom left hand corner, as are small “ya,” “yu,” and “yo.” Complete the example words by tracing the light gray characters and writing a small “tsu” in the appropriate area of the blank boxes.

Example of regular-sized “tsu”

Example of small “tsu”

1. ga kkō (school)

2. a sa tte (day after tomorrow)

3. ki ssa te n (coffee shop)

4. ki tte (stamp)

5. ki ppu (ticket)

6. ma ssu gu (straight)

READING PRACTICE 6: SMALL “tsu”

You should be able to read the words below with small “tsu” now. Remember to pronounce it as a short silent pause. Check your pronunciation with the phonetic guide on the right. If you don’t understand, try reading Rule 3 again.

やった！

ya tta! (Yeah!)

たってください

ta tte ku da sa i(Please stand!)

みっつ

mi ttsu (three things)

よっつ

yo ttsu (four things)

むっつ

mu ttsu (six things)

やっつ

ya ttsu (eight things)

いっさい

i ssa i (one year old)

はっさい

ha ssa i (eight years old)

きって

ki tte (stamp)

かった

ka tta (I won.)

おもしろかった

o mo shi ro ka tta (That was fun.)

いらっしゃいませ

i ra ssha i ma se (Welcome! - at stores)

まっすぐ

ma ssu gu (straight)

いってください

i tte ku da sa i (Please say it.)

にっぱん

ni ppo n (Japan - alternative name)

RULE 4 LONG VOWELS

As you have already seen many times, some words in romaji have a line above a vowel, indicating it is a long vowel, or a vowel two syllables in length. Writing most long vowels in hiragana is simple; you add one of the five Japanese vowels あ, い, う, え, お. As already noted, in romaji a long vowel is indicated by a line above the vowel, except “i,” which is written twice. Read the examples below.

* Actually, the last two examples are exceptions. Usually い (“i” as in easy) makes the long え (“e” as in red) sound. Take extra care to pronounce an い following a character with the え vowel sound as a long vowel え. At first this may be a bit confusing because in romaji it is usually written with an “I.” In this case the romaji reflects the hiragana writing, not the pronunciation.

Likewise, a long vowel お (“o” as in o ld) is made by adding う (“u” as in youth). This book consistently uses a line above the “o” to indicate the long vowel in romaji.

READING PRACTICE 7: LONG VOWELS

You should be able to read the words below with long vowels now. Cover the right hand side of the page so you can only see the hiragana words. Check your pronunciation with the phonetic guide on the right. If you don’t understand, try reading Rule 4 again.

おいしい

o i shi i (delicious)

おかあさん

o kā sa n (mother)

とうきょう

tō kyō (Tokyo; capital of Japan)

おおきい

ō ki i(big)

さゅう

kyū (nine)

きいろ

ki i ro (yellow)

きれい

ki re i (pretty)

ひこうき

hi kō ki (airplane)

おにいさん

o ni i sa n (big brother)

おはよう

o ha yō (good morning)

おねえさん

o nē sa n (big sister)

ほんしゅう

ho n shū (Honshu - island of Japan)

おとうさん

o tō sa n (dad)

いいえ

i i e (no)

きょぅ

kyō (today)

ちいさい

chi i sa i (small)

お と う と

o tō to (little brother)

よねんせい

yo ne n se i (fourth grader; senior)

じゅう

jū (ten)

ヒけい

to ke i (clock)

ありがとう

a ri ga tō (Thank you.)

おばあさん

o bā sa n (grandmother)

ふつせん

fū se n (balloon)

じゃあね

jā ne (See you later!)

がっこう

ga kkō (school)

おじいさん

o ji i sa n (grandfather)

RULE 5 SENTENCE PARTICLES “WA,” “E” AND “O”

Japanese uses small grammatical words called “particles” to help the reader understand the relationships between words in a sentence. They are usually one or two hiragana characters in length, and among other things, they indicate the topic, subject, object, location and direction. Particles are always placed directly after the words they mark. Rule 5 simply describes how three hiragana characters are pronounced differently when used as grammatical particles.

“wa” The Topic Particle:

When used as a “topic” particle, は is pronounced “wa” instead of “ha.”

Examples : Trace the light gray characters and then write the particle “wa” in the blank box. A period in Japanese is written with a small circle in the bottom left corner of its own box. After you have written each sentence, practice reading it and take care to pronounce the particles correctly.

A) I am a (college) student.

watashi

wa

gakusei

desu

(I, me)

(topic)

(student)

(am, are)

B) What is your telephone number?

o

denwa bangō

wa

nan

desu

ka

(honorific)

(phone number)

(topic)

(what)

(is, are)

(question particle)

“e” The Direction Particle:

When used as a “direction” particle, へ is pronounced like え (“e” as in red).

Examples:

A) We are going to Peace Park (Hiroshima).

watashi-tachi

wa

heiwa-kō en

e

ikimasu

(we)

(topic)

(Peace Park)

(direction particle)

(will go)

B) Please turn right.

migi

e

magatte

kudasai

(right)

(direction)

(to turn)

(please)

“o” The Object Particle:

The character を is only used as a particle to mark the “object” of a sentence and it is pronounced like お (“o” as in o ld).

Examples:

A) I saw Mount Fuji.

watashi

wa

fuji san

o

mimashita

(I; me)

(topic)

(Mount Fuji)

(object)

(saw)

B) I ate sushi yesterday.

kinō

watashi

wa

sushi

o

tabemashita

(yesterday)

(I; me)

(topic)

(sushi)

(object)

(ate)

READING PRACTICE 8: PARTICLES “wa,” “e” AND “o”

You should be able to read some sentences with the particles “wa,” “e” and “o” now. Without looking at the phonetic guides on the bottom of the page try reading these sentences. Check your pronunciation when you are done. You may want to repeat this practice to increase accuracy and fluency.

1. せんしゅう は ふゆやすみ でした。

2. わたし は ともだち の うち へ いきました。

3. えいが を みました。

4. ともだち は まいにち おかし を た べます。

5. らいしゅう はいしゃ へ いきます。

6. ともだち は はいしゃ が きらいです。

7. はるやすみはいつですか。

8. どこ へ いきますか。

9. なに を しますか。

10. わたし は らいねん にほん へ りゅうがく します。

11. にほんご を べんきょう します。

1.

sen shū wa fuyu yasumi deshita.

Last week was winter break.

2.

watashi wa tomodachi no uchi e ikimashita.

I went to a friend's house.

3.

eiga o mimashita.

(We) saw a movie.

4.

tomodachi wa mainichi okashi o tabemasu.

My friend eats snacks everyday.

5.

raishū haisha e ikimasu.

(My friend) is going to the dentist next week.

6.

tomodachi wa haisha ga kirai desu.

My friend hates the dentist.

7.

haru yasumi wa itsu desu ka.

When is spring vacation?

8.

doko e ikimasu ka.

Where will you go?

9.

nani o shimasu ka.

What will you do?

10.

watashi wa rainen nihon e ryūgaku shimasu.

I will study abroad in Japan next year.

11.

nihongo o benkyō shimasu.

(I) will study Japanese.

SECTION THREE

Reading and Writing Practice

Commonly Mistaken Hiragana

Commonly Mistaken Combined Characters

Map of Japan

Family Members

Daily Expressions

Numbers

Parts of the Body

Weather

Places at School

In the Classroom

At the Department Store

Japanese Foods

Japanese Lunch Kiosk

Animals

DOWN

ACROSS

1. Excuse me. (su mi ma se n)

3. Good evening! (ko n ba n wa*)

2. Hello!; Good afternoon! (ko n ni chi wa*)

4. Good morning! (o ha yō go za i ma su)

4. How are you? (o ge n ki de su ka)

7. I'm fine. (ge n ki de su)

5. Good night! (o ya su mi na sa i)

8. Goodbye! (sa yō na ra)

6. I'm sorry. (go me n na sa i)

9. Thank you. (a ri ga tō go za i ma su)

10. You're welcome! (dō i ta shi ma shi te)

12. Yes. (ha i)

11. No. (i i e)

(Hint: see page 87)

Counting in Japanese

1

いち

2

に

3

さん

4

上ん；し

5

ご

6

ろく

7

なな；しち

8

はち

9

きゅう；く

10

じゅう

11

じゅうぃち

12

じゅうに

13

じゅうさん

14

じゅうよん；じゅうし

15

じゅうご

16

じゅうろく

17

じゅうなな；じゅうしち

18

じゅうはち

19

じゅうきゅう；じゅぅく

20

にじゅう

30

さんじゅう

40

ょんじゅう；しじゅう

50

ごじゅう

60

ろくじゅう

70

ななじゅう；しちじゅう

80

はちじゅう

90

きゅうじゅう

100

ひゃく

Common Expressions with Body Vocabulary

smart

あたまがいい

(literally “head is good”)

dumb; unintelligent

あたまがわるい

(literally “head is bad”)

poor hearing; deaf

みみがとぉい

(literally “ears are far”)

bad eyesight

め が ゎるぃ

(literally “eyes are bad”)

hungry

ぉなか が すいた

(literally “stomach became empty”)

thirsty

のど が かゎぃた

(literally “throat became dry”)

Describe today’s weather as in the example below.

Try recording the weather for a month. Use hiragana to write the appropriate weather word(s) on the calendar below. Each time you record the weather, try describing it in Japanese.

13. To which places do students usually bring books (please circle any that apply)?

きょうしつ ほけんしつ としょしつ たいいくかん

14. Which schools come after Jr. High School (please circle any that apply)?

だいがく しょうがっこう こうこう ようちぇん

15. Which places are usually found indoors (please circle any that apply)?

としょしつ ほけんしつ うんどうじょう おんがくしつ

*Japanese students (except university students) generally eat lunch in the classroom.

13. Which objects could you fit into a backpack (circle any that apply)?

かみ のり いす ほん ぇんぴつ つくぇ

14. Which objects are too big to fit into a desk (circle any that apply)?

いす はさみまど じょうぎ のり でんき

15. Which objects require electricity/batteries (circle any that apply)?

とけいまど でんたく ぇんぴつ でんき のり

なまえ ______________

Japanese Lunch Kiosk

Read the menu and answer the questions below.

ぉにざり

130 えん

ゃきぃも

300 えん

ごはん

200 えん

やきとり

400 えん

うどん

350 えん

ぎゅっにゅう

200 えん

そば

350 えん

おちゃ

200 えん

やきそば

400 ぇん

こうちや

200 えん

ざるそば

350 えん

みず

0 えん

すし べんとう

500 えん

てりやき べんとう

650 えん

てんぷら べんとう

750 えん

Tell the price of the following lunch menu items.

Example : tempura box lunch (te n pu ra be n tō)? 750 えん

1. How much is the sushi box lunch (su shi be n tō)? ___________

2. How much is a rice ball (o ni gi ri)? ___________

3. How much are the soba – buckwheat noodles (so ba)? ___________

4. How much are the yakitori – roasted chicken and vegetables on a stick (ya ki to ri)? ___________

5. How much is rice (go ha n)? ___________

6. What would you pay for green tea (o cha) and yakisoba – fried noodles (ya ki so ba)? ___________

7. What would you pay for water (mi zu) and a teriyaki box lunch (te ri ya ki be n tō)? ___________

8. What would you pay for milk (gyū nyū) and chilled soba noodles (za ru so ba)? ___________

なまえ ______________

Animals

Animals are generally found in one of three environments: 1. as a pet, 2. in the wild or zoo, or 3. on a farm. Write the name of each animal in hiragana in an appropriate category below.

Answers

Commonly Mistaken Hiragana (page 85) Part A 1. く 2. ぁ 3. さ 4. た 5. ぬ 6. ね 7. わ  8. ま 9. す 10. り 11. ら 12. け 13. そ 14. つ 15. に 16. は 17. や Part B 1. し 2. お 3. き 4. な 5. め 6. れ 7. ろ 8. ほ 9. む 10. る 11. う 12. せ 13. ち 14. て 15. の 16. も 17. え

Commonly Mistaken Combined Characters (page 86) Part A 1. しゅ 2. ちょ 3. みゅ 4. びゃ 5. ぎゅ 6. にゃ 7. りゃ 8. ぴゅ 9. じょ 10. きゃ 11. ひょ 12. ぴょ 13. きゅ 14. しょ 15. びょPart B 1. じゅ 2. にょ 3. にゅ 4. ひゃ 5. みょ 6. びゅ 7. りょ 8. ひゅ 9. ちゅ 10. じゃ 11. ちゃ 12. りゅ 13. ぎゃ 14. しゃ 15. ぴゃ

Map of Japan (page 87)にほん(Japan),きた(North) 1. ほっかいどぅ 2. ほんしゅう 3. しこく  4. きゅうしゅう 5. おきなわ 6. さっぽろ 7. あおもり 8. せんだい 9. ながの 10. どうきょう 11. よこはま 12. なごや 13. こうべ 14. きょうど 15. おおさか 16. ひろしま 17. ふくおか

Family Members (page 88) 1. ぼく 2. おじいさん 3. わたし 4. おばあさん 5. いもうど 6. おどうさん 7. おどうど 8. おかあさん 9. おじさん 10. おにいさん 11. おばさん 12. おねえさん

Daily Expressions (page 89) DOWN 1. すみません 2. こんにちは 4. おげんきですか 5. おやすみなさい 6. ごめんなさい 10. どういたしまして 11. いいえ ACROSS 3. こんばんは 4. おはようございます 7. げんきです 8. さようなら 9. ありゲどうございます 12. はい

Numbers (page 90) 9 → 18 → 27 → 37 → 46 → 56 → 55 → 64 → 63 → 73 → 72 → 81 → 91 → 92 → 83 → 73 → 74 → 75 → 84 → 94 → 85 → 75 → 76 → 67 → 57 → 47 → 37 → 28 → 39 → 30 → 20 → 9 Finished! (Pictured: Map or Japan)

Parts of the Body (page 91) 1. あたま 2. かた 3. ひざ 4. あし 5. て 6. め 7. みみ 8. くち 9. はな 10. かみ 11. おなか 12. せなか 13. かお 14. は 15. のど’ 16. くび 17. てくび 18. あしくび 19. むね 20. うで 21. ゆび 22. つめ 23. ひじ 24. からだ

Weather (page 92) 1. てんき 2. はれ 3. あめ 4. くもり 5. ゆき 6. あらし 7. かぜゲつよい 8. あつい 9. さむい

Places at School (page 93) 1. ようちえん 2. しょうゲっこう 3. ちゅうゲっこう 4. こうこう 5. だいがく  6. きょうしつ 7. ほけんしつ 8. どしょしつ 9. おんがくしつ 10. しょくどう 11. うんどうじょう 12. たいいくかん 13. きょうしつ、どしょしつ 14. だいゲく、こうこう 15. どしょ しつ、ほけんしつ、おんがくしつ

In the Classroom (page 94) 1. えんぴつ 2. かみ 3. はさみ 4. ほん 5. のり 6. いす 7. つくえ 8. じょうぎ 9. でんたく 10. まど 11. でんき 12. どけい 13. かみ、のり、ほん、えん ぴつ 14. いす、まど、でんき 15. どけい、でんたく、でんき

At the Department Store (page 95) 1. (6th)ろつかい 2. (10th)じゆつかい or じつかい 3. (4th)よんかい 4. (9th)きゅうかい 5. (B1)ちかいっかい 6. (1st)いっかい 7. (7th)ななかい 8.  (2nd)にかい 9. (5th)ごかい 10. (3rd)さんがい

Japanese Foods (page 96) 1. ごはん 2. おにぎり 3. おべんどう 4. すし 5. さしみ 6. うどん 7. そば 8. ざるそば 9. やきそば 10. やきどり 11. てんぷら 12. やきいも

Japanese Lunch Kiosk (page 97) 1. 500 えん 2. 130 えん 3. 350 えん 4. 400 えん 5. 200 えん 6. 600 えん 7. 650 えん 8. 550 えん

Animals (page 98) Pets (いぬ、どり、かめ、きんぎょ、ねこ、かえる）Zoo(へび、きりん、さる、 とら、くま、ぞう、きつね、わに、しか、りす）Farm(うし、うさぎ、にわどり、ひつじ、ぶた、うま）

SECTION FOUR

The Basic 46 Katakana Characters

* These characters are pronounced differently when they are used as grammatical particles.

** This character is only used as a grammatical particle. It is not used to write words.

Writing Tip “a” has two strokes and both are brushes.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. a me ri ka (America; United States)

2. su ko a (score)

3. e a ko n (air conditioner; air conditioning)

4. ā to (art)

Writing Tip “i” has two strokes: 1) a brush and 2) stop.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. to i re (toilet)

2. a i ro n (iron)

3. na i fu (knife)

4. i gi ri su (England)

Writing Tip “u” has three strokes: 1) a stop, 2) stop and 3) brush.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. u i ru su ((computer) virus)

2. ki u i (kiwi)

3. ma u su ((computer) mouse)

4. ū ru (wool)

Writing Tip “e” has three strokes and they are all stops.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. u ē tā (waiter)

2. e rā (computer) error)

3. e su sa i zu (small; “S” size)

4. e i zu (AIDS)

Writing Tip “o” has three strokes: 1) a stop, 2) jump and 3) brush.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. o re n ji (orange)

2. ta o ru (towel)

3. o ru gan (organ – musical instrument)

4. o i ru (oil)

Writing Tip “ka” has two strokes: 1) a jump and 2) brush.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. ka me ra (camera)

2. ka ra o ke (karaoke)

3. ka ta ka na (katakana characters)

4. ka na da (Canada)

Writing Tip “ki” has three strokes and they are all stops.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. su tē ki (steak)

2. me ki shi ko (Mexico)

3. ho chi ki su (stapler – Hotchkiss)

4. su ki i (ski; skiing)

Writing Tip “ku” has two strokes and both are brushes.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. pi n ku (pink)

2. ku ra su (class)

3. ta ku shi i (taxi)

4. ba i ku (motorcycle)

Writing Tip “ke” has three strokes: 1) a brush, 2) stop and 3) brush.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. su ke bō (skateboard; to skateboard)

2. kē ki (cake)

3. su kē to (skates; to skate)

4. ke ni a (Kenya)

Writing Tip “ko” has two strokes and both are stops.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. ko n sā to (concert)

2. kō chi (coach)

3. kō hii (coffee)

4. kō to (coat; (tennis) court)

Writing Tip “sa” has three strokes: 1) a stop, 2) stop and 3) brush.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. sa i n (signature; autograph)

2. sā ka su (circus)

3. sā chi (search)

4. sa n da ru (sandals)

Writing Tip “shi” has three strokes: 1) a stop, 2) stop and 3) brush.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. shi ri a (Syria)

2. mi shi n (sewing machine)

3. shi ri a ru (cereal)

Writing Tip “su” has two strokes: 1) a brush and 2) stop.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. su kā to (skirt)

2. su te re o (stereo)

3. ku ri su ma su (Christmas)

4. ki su (kiss)

Writing Tip “se” has two strokes: 1) a brush and 2) stop.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. sē tā (sweater)

2. sē ru (sale)

3. se ro ri (celery)

4. se i kō (Seiko watch corporation)

Writing Tip “so” has two strokes: 1) a stop and 2) brush.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. shi i sō (seesaw)

2. so fa (sofa)

3. so u ru (Seoul, Korea; soul)

4. sō da (soda)

READING PRACTICE 1: ア ~ ソ

You should be able to read the words below now. Fold the page lengthwise (or cover it with your hand) so you can only see the katakana words on the left hand side. Try reading them aloud and then check with the words on the right. Keep practicing until you can read them all. For an extra challenge try reading the Japanese and saying the English word before checking.

Note: In katakana long vowels are written with a line (ー) called bō, rather than writing one of the five vowels as in hiragana. In this way, katakana writing is simpler than hiragana writing. Several of the example words below have long vowels. In order to improve your pronunciation, be sure to pronounce the long vowels with approximately twice the length of a single syllable.

アイス

a i su (ice)

スコア

su ko a (score)

アクセス

a ku se su (access)

イ力

i ka (squid)

サイ

sa i (rhino)

キウイ

ki u i (kiwi)

エキス

e ki su (extract)

オスカー

o su kā (the Oscar)

オアシス

o a shi su (oasis)

サーカス

sā ka su (circus)

キス

ki su (kiss)

スイス

su i su (Switzerland)

カーキ

kā ki (khaki color)

スキー

su ki i (to ski; skiing)

サクセス

sa ku se su (success)

ケーキ

kē ki (cake)

オーケー

ō kē (okay)

ココア

ko ko a (cocoa)

セイコー

se i kō (Seiko company)

シーソー

shi i sō (seesaw)

コソコソ

ko so ko so (sneakily; stealthily)

Romaji pronunciation guide:

a

as in father

i

as in easy

u

as in you

e

as in red

o

as in oak

Writing Tip “ta” has tree strokes: 1) a brush, 2) brush and 3) stop.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. ta i (Thailand; tie)

2. sē tā (sweater)

3. ta ku shi i (taxi)

4. ta ko su (taco)

Writing Tip “chi” has three strokes: 1) a brush, 2) stop and 3) brush.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. chi ki n ((cooked) chicken)

2. se n chi (centimeter)

3. i n chi (inch)

4. kō chi (coach)

Writing Tip “tsu” has three strokes: 1) a stop 2) stop and 3) brush. (Note: tsu ツ and shi シ look alike, but the strokes in tsu go downward, and the strokes in shi go more to the right.)

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. sū tsu (suit)

2. tsu ā (tour)

3. shi i tsu ((bed)sheet)

4. ta i tsu (tights)

Writing Tip “te” has three strokes: 1) a stop, 2) stop and 3) brush

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. kā te n (curtains)

2. te ki su to (textbook)

3. te ku (tech – abbr.)

4. ā ki te ku to (architect)

Writing Tip “to” has two strokes and they are both stops.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. su kā to (skirt)

2. te su to (test)

3. sa i to ((web or real) site)

4. su tā to (start)

Writing Tip “na” has two strokes: 1) a stop and 2) brush.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. na i fu (knife)

2. na rē tā (narrator)

3. tsu na (tuna)

4. sa u na (sauna)

5. na sa (NASA)

Writing Tip “ni” has two strokes and they are both stops.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. te ni su (tennis)

2. e su to ni a (Estonia)

3. so ni i (Sony company)

4. su ni i kā (sneakers)

Writing Tip “nu” has two strokes: 1) a brush and 2) stop.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. a i nu (Ainu – indigenous people of Japan)

2. su nū pi i (Snoopy)

3. nū do ru (noodles)

4. ka nū (canoe)

Writing Tip “ne” has four strokes: 1) a stop, 2) brush, 3) stop and 4) stop.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. i n tā ne tto (internet)

2. ne ga ((photo) negatives)

3. to n ne ru (tunnel)

Writing Tip “no” has only one stroke and it is a brush.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. nō to (notebook)

2. pi a no (piano)

3. ka ji no (casino)

4. su nō bō do (snowboard; snowboarding)

Writing Tip “ha” has two strokes: 1) a brush and 2) stop

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. ha i ki n gu (hiking)

2. ha i chi (Haiti)

3. ha i te ku (high tech)

4. ha su ki i (Husky – dog)

Writing Tip “hi” has two strokes and they are both stops.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. kō hi i (coffee)

2. hi n to (hint)

3. hi i tā (heater)

4. hi i rō (hero)

Writing Tip “fu” has only one stroke and it is a brush.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. su kā fu (scarf)

2. fu ra n su (France)

3. so fu to (software)

4. go ru fu (golf)

Writing Tip “he” has only one stroke and it is a stop.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. he ri (helicopter)

2. he ddo ho n (headphones)

3. he ru pu (help)

4. he a ka rā (hair dye; hair coloring)

Writing Tip “ho” has four strokes: 1) a stop, 2) jump, 3) stop and 4) stop.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. ho te ru (hotel)

2. ho kkē (hockey)

3. hō mu ((train station) platform)

4. ho i ru (foil)

READING PRACTICE 2: タ ~ ホ

You should be able to read the words below now. Fold the page lengthwise (or cover it with your hand) so you can only see the katakana words on the left hand side. Try reading them aloud and then check with the words on the right. Keep practicing until you can read them all. For an extra challenge try reading the Japanese and saying the English word before checking.

Note: In katakana long vowels are written with a line (ー) called bō, rather than writing one of the five vowels as in hiragana. In this way, katakana writing is simpler than hiragana writing. Several of the example words below have long vowels. In order to improve your pronunciation, be sure to pronounce the long vowels with approximately twice the length of a single syllable.

タクシー

ta ku shi i (taxi)

タコス

ta ko su (taco)

コーチ

kō chi (coach)

スーツ

sū tsu (suit)

ツアー

tsu ā (tour)

テキスト

te ki su to (textbook)

スカート

su kā to (skirt)

テスト

te su to (test)

ナイフ

na i fu (knife)

ツナ

tsu na (tuna)

カタカナ

ka ta ka na (katakana)

テニス

te ni su (tennis)

スニーカー

su ni i kā (sneakers)

カヌー

ka nū (canoe)

アイヌ

a i nu (Ainu - indigenous people of northern Japan)

ノート

nō to (notebook)

ハスキー

ha su ki i (Husky - dog)

コーヒー

kō hi i (coffee)

ヒン卜

hi n to (hint)

ソフト

so fu to (software)

Romaji pronunciation guide:

a

as in father

i

as in easy

u

as in you

e

as in red

o

as in oak

Writing Tip “ma” has two strokes: 1) a brush and 2) stop.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. to ma to (tomato)

2. mā kā (marker)

3. ma i ku (microphone)

4. ma i ru (mile)

Writing Tip “mi” has three strokes and all three are stops.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. mi ki sā (blender)

2. sa ra mi (salami)

3. mi ni kā (toy car)

4. mi i ra (mummy; from Portuguese)

Writing Tip “mu” has two strokes and both are stops.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. chi i mu (team)

2. ha mu su tā (hamster)

3. hō mu su te i (home stay)

Writing Tip “me” has two strokes: 1) a brush and 2) stop.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. me ki shi ko (Mexico)

2. mē to ru (meter)

3. a ni me (Japanese cartoons)

4. me mo (memo; notes)

Writing Tip “mo” has three strokes and they are all stops.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. sā mo n (salmon – fish)

2. shi na mo n (cinnamon)

3. mo ni tā (monitor)

4. mō ru (mall)

Writing Tip “ya” has two strokes: 1) a brush and 2) stop.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. ta i ya (tire)

2. i ya ho n (earphones)

3. da i ya (diamond)

4. ya fū (Yahoo - company)

Writing Tip “yu” has two strokes and both are stops.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. yū tā n (u-turn)

2. yū ro (Euro)

3. yū mo a (humor)

4. yū zā (user)

Writing Tip “yo” has three strokes and they are all stops.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. ku re yo n (crayon)

2. to yo ta (Toyota - company)

3. yō yō (yo-yo)

4. yō ga (yoga)

Writing Tip “ra” has two strokes: 1) a stop and 2) brush.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. ka me ra (camera)

2. ku ra su (school class)

3. hō mu ra n (homerun)

Writing Tip “ri” has two strokes: 1) a stop and 2) brush.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. a fu ri ka (Africa)

2. i ta ri a (Italy)

3. a i su ku ri i mu (ice cream)

Writing Tip “ru” has two strokes and both are brushes.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. ho te ru (hotel)

2. mi ru ku ((cow’s) milk)

3. a ru mi ho i ru (aluminum foil)

Writing Tip “re” has one stroke: a brush.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. re su to ra n (restaurant)

2. re shi i to (receipt)

3. e re ki (electric guitar)

4. ka rē ra i su (curry rice)

Writing Tip “ro” has three strokes and all three are stops.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. ki ro (kilogram; kilometer)

2. su to rō (drinking straw)

3. te ro (terrorism)

4. ro shi a (Russia)

Writing Tip “wa” has two strokes: 1) a stop and 2) brush.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. ha wa i (Hawaii)

2. wa i ya re su (wireless)

3. wā ku shi i to (worksheet)

Writing Tip “o” has two strokes: 1) a brush and 2) stop.

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

As a grammatical object marker, ヲ”o” is rarely used to write sentences, except in telegrams and some video games. Trace the light gray characters and write the character by yourself.

su tā to bo ta n o o shi te ku da sa i (Push the start button.)

Writing Tip “n” has two strokes: 1) a stop and 2) brush. (Note: ン “n” and ソ “so” look similar. A big difference is that “n” is written more from left to right, and “so” is written more from top to bottom.)

Trace these characters.

Write the character in the boxes below, and then circle the one you think is best.

1. me ro n (melon)

2. ma ra so n (any running race)

3. rā me n (ramen noodles)

4. mi shi n (sewing machine)

READING PRACTICE 3: マ ~ ン

You should be able to read the words below now. Cover the right hand side of the page so you can only see the katakana words on the left. Try reading them aloud, and then check with the romaji on the right hand side. Keep practicing until you can read them all. For an extra challenge try saying the English words before you check.

トマト

to ma to (tomato)

マイク

ma i ku (microphone)

ミキサー

mi ki sā (blender)

チーム

chi i mu (team)

ホームステイ

hō mu su te i (home stay)

アニメ

a ni me Japanese cartoons)

シナモン

shi na mo n (cinnamon)

モニター

mo ni tā (monitor)

タイヤ

ta i ya (tire)

イヤホン

i ya ho n (earphones)

ユーモア

yū mo a (humor)

クレ彐ン

ku re yo n (crayon)

ヨ一彐一

yō yō (yo-yo)

カメラ

ka me ra (camera)

クラス

ku ra su (school class)

アイスクリーム

a i su ku ri i mu (ice cream)

ホテノレ

ho te ru (hotel)

ミルク

mi ru ku (cow's milk)

レストラン

re su to ran (restaurant)

レシ一ト

re shi i to (receipt)

ストロ一

su to rō (drinking straw)

キロ

ki ro (kilogram; kilometer)

ワークシート

wā ku shi i to (worksheet)

ワイヤレス

wa i ya re su (wireless)

メロン

me ro n (melon)

ラーメン

rā me n (ramen noodles)

ミシン

mi shi n (sewing machine)

マラソン

ma ra so n (any running race)

Romaji pronunciation guide:

a

as in father

i

as in easy

u

as in you

e

as in red

o

as in oak

SECTION FIVE

Katakana Usage Rules

Katakana has a few basic rules to keep in mind. This section introduces the four katakana rules with simple explanations and many useful example words. Pay close attention to these example words; they will illustrate the rules and make them easier to understand and remember.

Although some of the rules are the same as hiragana, katakana has different uses than hiragana so its rules are a bit different too. First, the hiragana rule for changing the pronunciation of は, へ, and を when using them as grammatical particles does not apply to katakana since katakana characters are not used as particles (except in telegraphs, video games, and so on). Second, instead of the complicated rule for making long vowels in hiragana, you simply add a long dash ー called a chōon (long vowel) mark in katakana. For example, “cake” is written ケーキ (kē ki) with a chōon mark after the ケ (ke).

Katakana has one new rule that describes how to make 33 additional syllables for writing foreign words (see Rule 4). As you master the four rules of katakana usage you will be able to write any katakana word you like. After this chapter all you will need is practice, and you will be a proficient reader and writer of katakana.

RULE 1 TENTEN ( ゛ ) AND MARU ( ゜)

The first katakana rule describes how certain characters change pronunciations when the marks called tenten ( ゛) and maru ( ゜) are added to them. There are 18 characters that take the tenten ( ゛) mark, and there are 5 characters that take the maru ( ゜) mark. The chart below summarizes the changes when these marks are added.

23 Tenten and Maru Characters

Trace the gray characters and marks, and try writing them on your own in the blank boxes.

1. ga mu (gum)

2. ga so ri n (gasoline)

3. a re ru gi i (allergy)

4. gi tā (guitar)

5. sa n gu ra su (sunglasses)

6. gu rē (grey)

7. gē mu (game)

8. re ge e (Reggae)

9. ke shi * go mu (eraser)

*hiragana

10. go ru fu (golf)

11. ra za ni a (lasagna)

12. rē zā (laser)

13. o re n ji (orange)

14. ra ji o (radio)

15. chi i zu (cheese)

16. ji i n zu (jeans)

17. gā ze (gauze)

18. zero (zero)

19. ze mi (seminar)

20. ri zō to (resort)

21. a ma zo n (Amazon)

22. dō na tsu (doughnuts)

23. o ra n da (Holland)

24. sa ra da (salad)

25. do a (door)

26. de zā to (dessert)

27. de za i n (design)

28. te re bi (TV; television)

29. ba su (bus)

30. ha n bā gā (hamburger)

31. be ru to (belt)

32. zu bo n (pants; trousers)

33. ki i bō do (keyboard)

34. bu ra ji ru (Brazil)

35. tē bu ru (table)

36. i be n to (event)

37. ko n bi ni (convenience store)

38. de pā to (department store)

39. pa su ta (pasta)

40. pi za (pizza)

41. pi a no (piano)

42. pu ro (professional)

43. pū ru (pool)

44. pu re ze n to (present)

45. su pe i n (Spain)

46. pe n gi n (penguin)

47. su pō tsu (sports)

48. re pō to (report)

READING PRACTICE 4: TENTEN AND MARU

You should be able to read the words below now. Try covering the answers on the right hand side and reading the katakana words on the left. Try to guess the English meaning of each word before looking at the answers.

ガム

ga mu (gum)

ギター

gi tā (guitar)

サングラス

sa n gu ra su (sunglasses)

ゲーム

gē mu (game)

ゴノレフ

go ru fu (golf)

ラザニア

ra za ni a (lasagna)

チ一ズ

chi i zu (cheese)

ャロ

ze ro (zero)

リゾ一ト

ri zō to (resort)

サラダ

sa ra da (salad)

デザ一ト

de zā to (dessert)

ドア

do a (door)

バス

ba su (bus)

テレビ

te re bi (TV; television)

テ一ブル

tē bu ru (table)

ベノレト

be ru to (belt)

キーボード

ki i bō do (keyboard)

パスタ

pa su ta (pasta)

ピアノ

pi a no (piano)

プ一ル

pū ru (pool)

スペイン

su pe i n (Spain)

スポ一ツ

su pō tsu (sports)

RULE 2 COMBINED CHARACTERS

There are three special katakana characters that are used extensively in combination with 11 consonants to form 33 additional sounds. When combined in this way “ya,” “yu” and “yo” are written in half-size characters at the bottom left corner, as in the examples below. The chart below illustrates these 33 blended sounds, called yō’on.

33 Combined Characters

Trace the light gray characters, and then try to complete the example words with the correct combined characters.

kya

kyu

kyo*

*kyo キョ is only used in less common words, which are not included here.

1. kya n pu (camp)

2. su kya nā (scanner)

3. bā be kyū (barbecue)

gya

gyu

gyo

4. gya ra ri i (gallery)

5. gya n bu ru (to gamble; gambling)

6. re gyu rā (regular (gasoline)

7. gyō za (pot stickers)

sha

shu

sho

8. shā pe n (mechanical pencil (sharp + pencil)

9. sha wā (shower)

10. shū zu (shoes)

11. rō sho n (lotion)

ja

ju

jo

12. ja mu (jam)

13. jo gi n gu (jogging)

14. jū su (juice)

15. pa ja ma (pajama)

cha

chu

cho

16. cha n ne ru (channel)

17. shi chū (stew)

18. cho ko rē to (chocolate)

19. chō ku (chalk)

nya*

nyu

nyo*

*nya ニヤ and nyo ニョ are only used in less common words, which are not included here.

20. me nyū (menu)

21. nyū su (news)

hya*

hyu*

hyo*

*These character combinations are only used in less common words, which are not included here.

bya*

byu

byo*

*bya ビヤ and byo ビョ are only used in less common words, which are not included here.

22. i n ta byū (interview)

23. re byū (review)

pya*

pyu

pyo*

*pya ピヤ and pyo ビョ are only used in less common words, which are not included here.

24. ko n pyū tā (computer)

25. pyū ma (puma)

mya*

myu

myo*

*mya ミヤ and myo ミョ are only used in less common words, which are not included here.

26. myū ji ka ru (musical)

27. myū to (mute – volume)

rya*

ryu

ryo*

*rya リヤ and ryo リョ are only used in less common words, which are not included here.

28. ba ryū (value)

29. bo ryū mu (volume)

READING PRACTICE 5: COMBINED CHARACTERS

You should be able to read the words below now. Try covering the answers on the right hand side and reading the katakana words on the left. Try to guess the English meaning of each word before looking at the answers.

キャンプ

kya n pu (to camp; camping)

スキャナー

su kya nā (scanner)

バ一べキュ一

bā be kyū (barbecue)

ギャラリー

gya ra ri i (gallery)

レギュラー

re gyu rā (regular)

ギョーザ

gyō za (pot stickers)

シャワー

sha wā (shower)

シューズ

shū zu (shoes)

ローション

rō sho n (lotion)

シャム

ja mu (jam)

ジャズ

ja zu (jazz)

ジュース

jū su (juice)

ジョギング

jo gi n gu (jogging)

チャンネル

cha n ne ru (channel)

シナュ一

shi chū (stew)

チョコレート

cho ko rē to (chocolate)

チョーク

chō ku (chalk)

メニュー

me nyū (menu)

ニュース

nyū su (news)

インタビュー

i n ta byū (interview)

コンピュータ一

ko n pyū tā (computer)

ミュ一ジカル

myū ji ka ru (musical)

バリュー

ba ryū (value)

RULE 3 SMALL “TSU” (ッ)

A small “tsu” (ッ) is pronounced as a short, silent pause. In romaji it is usually indicated by doubling the following consonant (see examples below). Small “tsu” is written in the bottom left hand corner, like small “ya,” “yu” and “yo.” Complete the example words by tracing the light gray characters and writing a small “tsu” in the appropriate area of the blank boxes.

Example of regular-sized “tsu”

Example of small “tsu”

1. ba ggu (bag)

2. so kku su (socks)

3. pi ku ni kku (picnic)

4. sa kkā (soccer)

5. sa n do i cchi (sandwich)

6. ki cchi n (kitchen)

7. ho tto do ggu (hotdog)

8. chi ke tto (ticket)

9. pa i na ppu ru (pineapple)

10. ka ppu (cup)

READING PRACTICE 6: SMALL “tsu” (ッ )

You should be able to read the words below now. Try covering the answers on the right hand side and reading the katakana words on the left. Remember that a small “tsu” ッ is read as a short, silent pause. Try to guess the English meaning of each word before looking at the answers.

ンャケット

ja ke tto (jacket)

バッグ

ba ggu (bag)

サンドイッチ

san n do i cchi (sandwich)

力ップ

ka ppu (cup)

コップ

ko ppu (drinking glass)

キッチン

ki cchi n (kitchen)

べッド

be ddo (bed)

クローセッ卜

ku rō ze tto (closet)

カセットテープ

ka se tto tē pu (cassette tape)

ぺッ卜

pe tto (pet)

サッカー

sa kkā (soccer)

クリップ

ku ri ppu (paper clip)

スケッチ

su ke cchi (sketch)

キット

ki tto (kit)

セッ卜

se tto (set)

ダイエット

da i e tto (diet)

ポテトチップ

po te to chi ppu (potato chips)

クラシック

ku ra shi kku (classic)

コック

ko kku (cook)

ロッカー

ro kkā (locker)

ネックレス

ne kku re su (necklace)

キャッチボーノレ

kya cchi bō ru (playing catch)

ブレースレット

bu rē su re tto (bracelet)

RULE 4 ADDITIONAL COMBINED CHARACTERS

As Japan has become more international, the need to better approximate the foreign names and words from various countries around the world has increased. In 1991 the Japanese government adopted an official list of 32 additional character combinations, and one new character “vu” ヴ, for the express purpose of writing foreign words. It also clarified that other additional combinations, as needed, may be used.

You may occasionally see new character combinations as you read books, magazines and web pages. Don’t be alarmed, all character combinations follow the same basic principles of pronunciation: the first character indicates the initial sound and it combines with the whole sound of the second character. For example, トゥ takes the initial sound “t” and the final sound “u” to make “tu.” Since many of the new character combinations are used to write words of foreign languages other than English, and because these words are uncommon in Japanese, the character combination will be introduced, but the unusual examples will not.

ye*

*ye イェ is only used in less common words, which are not included here.

wi

1. ha ro wi i n (Halloween)

we

2. we bu (world wide web)

3. ku wē to (Kuwait)

wo

4. su to ppu wo cchi (stopwatch)

va

5. va i o ri n (violin, also written バイ才リン ba i o ri n)

vi

6. vi sa (visa, also ビサ bi sa)

vu*

*vu ヴ is only used in less common words, which are not included here. Perhaps the main purpose of vu ヴ is writing the additional character combinations va ヴア, vi ヴイ, ve ヴェ, vo ヴ才.

ve

7. ve to na mu (vietnam)

vo

8. vo ryū mu (volume, also written ボリューム bo ryū mu)

vyu*

*vyu ヴュ is only used in less common words, which are not included here.

kwa*

*kwa クア is only used in less common words, which are not included here.

kwi*

*kwi クイ is only used in less common words, which are not included here.

kwe*

*kwe クェ is only used in less common words, which are not included here.

kwo

9. kwō tē sho n mā ku (quotation marks)

gwa*

*gwa グア is only used in less common words, which are not included here.

she

10. she fu (chef)

11. shē bā (electric shaver)

je

12. je tto ki* (jet airliner)

*ki would be written in kanji.

tsa*

*tsa ツア is only used in less common words, which are not included here.

tsi*

*tsi ツイ is only used in less common words, which are not included here.

tse*

*tse ツェ is only used in less common words, which are not included here.

tso*

*tso ツ才 is only used in less common words, which are not included here.

che

13. che su (chess)

14. che kku (check; to check)

ti

15. pā ti i (party)

di

16. kya n di i (candy)

tyu*

*tyu テュ is only used in less common words, which are not included here.

dyu

17. dyu e tto (duet)

tu

18. ta tū (tattoo)

du*

*du ドゥ is only used in less common words, which are not included here.

fa

19. so fa (sofa)

20. fa kku su (fax)

fi

21. sā fi n (to surf; surfing)

22. fi ru mu (film)

fe

23. ka fe (café)

24. ka fe te ri a (cafeteria)

fo

25. fo ru dā (folder)

26. fō ku (fork)

fyu*

*fyu フュ is only used in less common words, which are not included here.

READING PRACTICE 7: ADDITIONAL COMBINED CHARACTERS

You should be able to read the words below now. Try covering the answers on the right hand side and reading the katakana words on the left. Try to guess the English meaning of each word before looking at the answers.

ハロウイーン

ha ro wi i n (Halloween)

ウェブ

we bu (world wide web)

ウォークマン

wō ku ma n (Walkman)

ヴァイ才リン

va i o ri n (violin)

ヴィサ

vi sa (visa)

ヴェトナム

ve to na mu (Vietnam)

クォ一テーションマーク

kwō te sho n mā ku (quotation marks)

ストップウォッチ

su to ppu wo cchi (stopwatch)

タトゥー

ta tū (tattoo)

シェフ

she fu (chef)

ンェットコ一スタ一

je tto kō su tā (rollercoaster)

チェス

che su (chess)

スパゲッテイ

su pa ge tti (spaghetti)

ティッシュ

ti sshu (tissue)

シーディ一

shi i di i (CD)

フュエッ卜

du e tto (duet)

ソファ

so fa (sofa)

サーフィン

sā fi n (to surf; surfing)

カフェテリア

ka fe te ri a (cafeteria)

フ才ルダ一

fo ru dā (folder)

フォーク

fō ku (fork)

SECTION SIX

Reading and Writing Practice

Commonly Mistaken Katakana

Commonly Mistaken Combined Characters

In My Home

Family Restaurant (Food, Part A)

Picnic Lunch (Food, Part B)

Computers and Technology

Sports and Athletics

Sound Symbolic Words

World Map: Africa

World Map: Asia and the Middle East

World Map: Europe

World Map: North and South America

World Map: Oceania

なまえ ______________

In My Home

Part A: Label the places in this home with katakana characters.

Part B: Complete the sentences below by describing where each household item is located.

1. The blender (mi ki sā) is in the kitchen.

ミキサーはキッチンに あります。

2. The sofa (so fa) is in the living room.

____________________________________。

3. The slippers (su ri ppā) are in the restroom.

____________________________________。

4. The microwave (de n shi * re n ji) is in the kitchen.

でんし     は________に あります。

5. The sewing machine (mi shi n) is in the closet (ku rō ze tto).

____________________________________。

6. The desk lamp (de n ki * su ta n do) is in the bedroom.

でんき               。

7. The table (tē bu ru) is in the dining room.

____________________________________。

8. The iron (a i ro n) is in the closet (ku rō ze tto ).

____________________________________。

*hiragana

なまえ ______________

Sound Symbolic Words

Answers

Commonly Mistaken Katakana (page 174) Part A 1. コ 2. ナ 3. ヌ 4. ス 5. ツ 6. ソ 7. テ 8. ウ 9. ク 10. ニ 11. ト 12. シ 13. チ 14. ケ 15. サ 16. 力 17. タ Part B 1. ノ 2. ム 3. リ 4. モ 5. 不 6. ハ 7. ヨ 8.  ロ 9. ヤ 10. メ 11. ヒ 12. ル 13. マ 14. ミ 15. ラ 16. フ 17. ュ

Commonly Mistaken Combined Characters (page 175) Part A 1. キヤ 2. ンヤ 3. ニヨ 4. ミュ 5. ジョ 6. ピュ 7. キョ 8. チュ 9. ビャ 10. ヒャ 11. リョ 12. キャ 13. ビョ 14. ギョ 15. リュPart B 1. ウィ 2. ドゥ 3. フ才 4. ヴ才 5. クォ 6. ヴァ 7. ティ 8. トゥ 9. ジェ 10. クァ 11. ヴェ 12. グァ 13. イェ 14. デュ 15. チェ

In My Home (page 176) Part A1. ベッドルーム 2. シャワー 3. トイレ 4. リビングルー ム 5. ダイニングルーム 6. キッチンPart B 2. ソファ、リビングルーム 3. スリッパ、ト イレ 4. レンジ、キッチン 5. ミシン、クローゼット 6. スタンド、ベッドルーム 7. テープ ル、ダイニングルーム 8. アイロン、クローゼット

Family Restaurant (Food, Part A) (page 177) メニュー 1. サンドイッチ 2. チーズピザ 3. ハンバーガー 4. ホットドッグ 5. スパゲッティ 6. ラーメン 7. カレーライス 8. ハ ンバーグ 9. ステーキ 10. ポテトフライ 11. サラダ 12. スープ 13. クリームソーダ 14. トマトジュース 15. 才レンジジュース 16. コーラ 17. ミルク 18. コーヒー 19. アイ スティー 20. プリン 21. アイスクリーム 22. シャ一べット 23. チーズケーキ

Picnic Lunch (Food, Part B) (page 178) 1. 才レンジ 2. バナナ 3. メロン 4. パイナップル 5. マンゴー 6. キウイフルーツ 7. グレープフルーツ 8. チヱリー 9. 才リーブ 10. アボカド 11. トマト 12. レタス 13. セロリ 14. ピーナッツ 15. ポテトチップス 16. クッキー 17. クラッカー 18. キャンディー 19. チョコレート 20. ガム 21. アイスキャンデ ィー 22. チーズ 23. ヨーグルト 24. ドレッシング 25. ケチャップ

Computers and Technology (page 179) 1. フンピユー夕一 2. バソコソ 3. ノー卜パソ コン 4. マウス 5. キーボード 6. モニター 7. プリンター 8. ソフト 9. モデム 10. ウ ェブ 11. インターネット 12. ホームページ 13. メール 14. カメラ 15. デジカメ 16. ビ デ才力メラ 17. レンズ 18. フィルム 19. テレビ 20. リモコン 21. ビデオテープ 22. プレ 一ヤー 23. プレーヤー 24. イヤホン 25. ラジオ 26. ケータイ

Sports and Athletics (page 180) 1. スポーツ 2. オリンピック 3. パスケットボール 4. バ レーボール 5. ゴルフ 6. アメフト 7. ラクロス 8. テニス 9. ラグビー 10. サッカー 11. スコア 12. ゴール 13. チーム 14. ュニフォーム15. スキー 16. スノーボード 17. アイススケート 18. アイスホッケー 19. サーフィン 20. ダイビング 21. スケボー 22. レスリング 23. ボクシング 24. テコンドー 25. マラソン

Sound Symbolic Words (page 181) 1. ザーザー 2. ヒューヒュー 3. リーン 4. チン 5. ワイワイ 6. ワンワン 7.  ニャ一 8. カーカー 9. ケロケロ 10. チューチュー 11. コケ コッコ一 12. ドキドキ 13. ワクワク

World Map: Africa (page 182) 1. アルジェリア 2. アンゴラ 3. ウガンダ’ 4. ェジプト 5. ェチオピア 6. ェリトリア 7. ガーナ 8. カーボベルデ 9. カナリア 10. ガボン 11. 力 メルーン 12. ガンビア 13. ギニア 14. ギニアビサウ 15. コートジボワール 16. サン トメプリンシぺ 17. コンゴ 18. コンゴ 19. ケニア 20. コモロ 21. ザンビア 22. シェラ レオネ 23. ジブチ 24. ジンバブェ 25. スーダン 26. スワジランド 27. セイシェル 28. ギニア 29. セネガル 30. ソマリア 31. タンザニア 32. チャド 33. チュニジア 34. ト ーゴ 35. ナイジェリア 36. ナミビア 37. ニジェ一ル 38. アフリカ 39. サハラ 40. ブ ルキナファソ 41. ブルンジ 42. ベナン 43. ボツワナ 44. マダガスカル 45. マラウイ 46. マリ 47. モーリシャス 48. モーリタニア 49. モザンビーク 50. モロッコ 51. リビア 52. リベリア 53. ルワンダ 54. レソト 55. レユニオン 56. アフリカ

World Map: Asia and the Middle East (page 183) 1. キプロス 2. レバノン 3. パレ スチナ 4. イスラェル 5. ヨルダン 6. モンゴル 7. マカオ 8. フィリピン 9. ベトナム 10. ラオス 11. カンボジア 12. ブルネイ 13. マレーシア 14. シンガポール 15. イン ドネシア 16. タイ 17. ミャンマー 18. バングラデシュ 19. ブータン 20. ネパール 21. インド 22. スリランカ 23. モルディヴ 24. パキスタン 25. アフガニスタン 26. イラン 27. タジキスタン 28. キルギス 29. カザフスタン 30. ウズベキスタン 31. トルクメ ニスタン 32. アゼルバイジャン 33. グルジア 34. トルコ 35. アルメニア 36. シリア 37. イラク 38. サウジアラビア 39. オマーン 40. イェメン 41. アラブ

World Map: Europe (page 184) 1. アイスランド 2. アイノレランド 3. アルバニア 4. アン ドラ 5. イギリス 6. イタリア 7. ウクライナ 8. ェストニア 9. オーストリア 10. 才ランダ 11. ギリシャ 12. クロアチア 13. サンマリノ 14. ジブラルタル 15. スイス 16. スウェー デン 17. スペイン 18. スロバキア 19. スロベニア 20. チェコ 21. デンマーク 22. ドイ ツ 23. ノルウェー 24. バチカン 25. ハンガリー 26. フィンランド 27. フェロー 28. フラ ンス 29. ロシア 30. ブルガリア 31. ベラルーシ 32. ベルギー 33. ポーランド 34. ポ ルトガル 35. マケドニア 36. マルタ 37. セルビア•モンテネグロ 38. モナコ 39. モ ルドバ 40. ラトビア 41. リトアニア 42. リヒテンシュタイン 43. ルーマニア 44. ルタセ ンブルク 45. ボスニア•ヘルツェゴビナ

World Map: North America and South America (page 185) 1. グ、リーンランド 2. カナダ 3. アメリカ 4. メキシコ 5. グアテマラ 6. ベリーズ 7. ェルサルバドル 8. ホンジ ュラス 9. ニカラグア 10. コスタリカ 11. パナマ 12. バミューダ 13. バハマ 14. キュ ーバ 15. ベネズェラ 16. コロンビア 17. ェタアドル 18. ガイアナ 19. スリナム 20. フランス、ギアナ 21. ペルー 22. ブラジル 23. ボリビア 24. パラグアイ 25. チリ 26. アルゼンチン 27. ウルグアイ 28. フォークランド

World Map: Oceania (page 186) 1. アメリカ、サモア 2. オース卜ラリア 3. マリアナ 4. キリバス 5. グアム orグァム 6. クック 7. サモア 8. ソロモン 9. ツバル 10. トン ガ 11. ナウル 12. ニューカレドニア 13. ニュージーランド 14. バヌアツ 15. パプア ニューギニア 16. ハ◦ラ才 17. フィジー 18. マーシャル 19. ミクロネシア 20. フラン ス、ポリネシア

Flash Card Practice Activities

It is much easier to learn to read hiragana and katakana than to write them. With the right kinds of activities, diligent students can learn to read the basic 46 hiragana in a few hours, and the 46 katakana in another few hours. You will more readily learn the writing once you have mastered hiragana and katakana reading recognition, so it is suggested you begin your learning work with the flash cards.

Start by printing the flash card PDFs out—you may decide to print either the entire 92 cards, or only the group you’ll be focusing on first (hiragana or katakana). Print double-sided cards, or print the fronts and backs separately then attach them together. Next, separate the flash cards by cutting along the perforated lines. If you are unfamiliar with hiragana and katakana take the time to read the front and back of each flash card, paying close attention to the number and type of strokes used in each character. Many hiragana characters look similar, and so do many katakana; it is the number and type of strokes that will help to tell them apart.

Hiragana/Katakana Flash Card Drills (alone or with a partner): It is helpful to start with a few, perhaps 10, flash cards. Shuffle the flash cards and look at them one at a time. Say the name of the character on the top flash card, then look at the back to see if you got it right. Start two piles of flash cards. If correct, place it in one pile. If not, place it in an another pile, to be reviewed again. Continue looking at the flash cards one at a time and placing them in the appropriate pile. When you are finished, you will know which characters you can read and which ones need more practice. Now put aside the ones you already know and study the flash cards you had difficulty with. When ready, repeat the activity with the difficult ones. As you gain mastery add more flash cards, until you know all 46 hiragana and all 46 katakana. Then, shuffle both groups of cards together to do a challenge round! You can repeat this simple activity from time to time to refresh your basic hiragana and katakana reading skills.

Hiragana/Katakana Chart Activity (alone or with a small group): This is an excellent activity to improve your hiragana/katakana recognition skills and become familiar with gojūon order—the way dictionaries, web searches, etc., are organized. Place all the flash cards on a large surface (the floor works well) face up, in random order. Then, try to put them into order as quickly as possible. For an extra challenge use a stopwatch.

Hiragana/Katakana Pick-up (small group): Place all the flash cards on a large surface face up, in order or mixed up. One person calls the name of a hiragana/katakana character and the other players try to quickly put their hand on it. The first one gets to keep it. Continue playing, and when all the flash cards are gone, count to see who has the most. The winner gets to be the “caller” for the next game!

Acknowledgments

I am deeply grateful to the many individuals who have contributed valuable comments and suggestions on this book. I am particularly grateful to former colleagues at the American School in Japan: For help especially on hiragana sections, Clark Tenney, Keiko Yasuno, Keiko Ando, Sumino Hirano, Mariko Smisson, Jo Ash, Anita Gesling, Maki Ushigome, Machiko Romaine, Naoko Pennell, and Leslie Birkland; for help especially on katakana sections, Keiko Yasuno, Keiko Ando, Sumino Hirano, Mariko Smisson, Yuko Hayashi, and Clark Tenney. I also wish to thank Noriko Okada (Waterford School) and Shauna Stout for their careful proofreading and valuable feedback. Many others offered their support, and I wish to sincerely thank Dr. Masakazu Watabe, LaNae Stout, Linda Gerber, Shauna Stout, and Ricky Stout. I also wish to thank the helpful people at Tuttle Publishing.

The Bonus Material contains these helpful resources:

To download, please click HERE.

• 600 Common Names.pdf

A list of common English female and male first names, with their
katakana versions.

• Flash Card Practice Activities.pdf

• Printable Flash Cards:

• for all hiragana characters

• for all katakana characters

• Self quiz

• Bonus writing practice pages

300 Common Female Names

Aleah 　アリーヤ

Abby 　アビー

Abigail 　アビゲール

Adriana 　エイドリアナ

Adrienne 　エイドリエン

Aileen 　アイリーン

Aisha 　アイーシャ

Alana 　アラーナ

Alejandra 　アレハンドラ

Alexa 　アレクサ

Alexandra 　アレクサンドラ

Alexandria 　アレクサンドリア

Alexia 　アレクシア

Alexis 　アレクシス

Alicia 　アリシア

Allie 　アリー

Allison 　アリソン

Alondra 　アロンドラ

Alyssa 　アリッサ

Amanda 　アマンダ

Amber 　アンバー

Amelia 　アメリア

Amy 　エイミー

Anastasia 　アナスタシア

Andrea 　アンドリア

Angel 　エンジェル

Angela 　アンジェラ

Angelica 　アンジェリカ

Angelina 　アンジェリーナ

Anna 　アナ

Anne 　アン

April 　エイプリル

Ariana 　エリアナ

Ariel 　アリエル

Ashley 　アシュリー

Ashlyn 　アシュリン

Ashton 　アシュトン

Asia 　アジア

Aubrey 　オーブリー

Audrey 　オードリー

Autumn 　オータム

Avery 　エイヴァリー

Ayanna 　アヤナ

Bailey 　ベイリー

Bethany 　ベサニー

Bianca 　ビアンカ

Brandi 　ブランディ

Brenda 　ブレンダ

Brenna 　ブレナ

Brianna 　ブリアナ

Brianne 　ブリアーン

Bridget 　ブリジット

Brooke 　ブルック

Brooklyn 　ブルックリン

Callie 　カリー

Cameron 　キャメロン

Camille 　カミール

Candace 　キャンディス

Carissa 　カリッサ

Carly 　カーリー

Carmen 　カーメン

Carolina 　キャロライナ

Caroline 　キャロライン

Carolyn 　キャロリン

Carrie 　キャリー

Casey 　ケイシー

Cassandra 　カサンドラ

Cassidy 　キャシディー

Cassie 　キャシー

Cecilia 　セシリア

Celeste 　セレスト

Charlotte 　シャーロット

Chelsey 　チェルシー

Cheyenne 　シャイアン

Chloe 　クロエ

Christina 　クリスティーナ

Christine 　クリスティーン

Christy 　クリスティ

Cindy 　シンディ

Claire 　クレア

Clarissa 　クラリッサ

Claudia 　クローディア

Courtney 　コートニー

Crystal 　クリスタル

Cynthia 　シンシア

Daisy 　デイジー

Dakota 　ダコタ

Dana 　デイナ

Daniela 　ダニエラ

Danielle 　ダニエール

Deanna 　ディアナ

Deja 　ディア

Delaney 　ディレイニ

Denise 　デニース

Desiree 　デザリー

Destiny 　デスティニー

Devin 　デヴィン

Diamond 　ダイアモンド

Diana 　ダイアナ

Dominique 　ドミニク

Elena 　エレーナ

Elise 　エリーズ

Elizabeth 　エリザベス

Emily 　エミリー

Emma 　エマ

Erica 　エリカ

Erin 　エリン

Esmeralda 　エスメラルダ

Esther 　エスター

Eva 　エヴァ

Evelyn 　エヴァリン

Faith 　フェイス

Francesca 　フランシスカ

Gabriela 　ガブリエラ

Gabrielle 　ガブリエル

Genesis 　ジェネシス

Gianna 　ジアナ

Gina 　ジーナ

Giselle 　ジゼル

Grace 　グレース

Guadalupe 　グアダルーペ

Haley 　ヘイリー

Hallie 　ハリー

Hannah 　ハナ

Harley 　ハーリー

Heather 　ヘザー

Heidi 　ハイディ

Holly 　ホリー

Hope 　ホープ

Hunter 　ハンター

Imani 　イマニ

Isabel 　イザベル

Isabella 　イザベラ

Jacey 　ジェイシー

Jacqueline 　ジャクリーン

Jada 　ジェイダ

Jade 　ジェイド

Jaelyn 　ジェイリン

Jailene 　ジェイリーン

Jamie 　ジェイミー

Janae 　ジェネイ

Janelle 　ジャネル

Jasmine 　ジャスミン

Jenna 　ジェナ

Jennifer 　ジェニファー

Jenny 　ジェニー

Jessica 　ジェシカ

Jessie 　ジェシー

Jillian 　ジリアン

Joanna 　ジョアナ

Jocelyn 　ジョスリン

Jordan 　ジョーダン

Julia 　ジュリア

Julianna 　ジュリアナ

Julie 　ジュリー

Julissa 　ジュリッサ

Kaitlyn 　ケイトリン

Kara 　キャラ

Karen 　カレン

Karina 　カリーナ

Karla 　カーラ

Kate 　ケイト

Katherine 　キャサリン

Kathleen 　キャスリーン

Katie 　ケイティ

Katrina 　カトリーナ

Kayla 　ケイラ

Kaylee 　ケイリー

Kaylin 　ケイリン

Kelly 　ケリー

Kelsey 　ケルシー

Kendall 　ケンダル

Kendra 　ケンドラ

Kennedy 　ケネディ

Kiana 　キアナ

Kiara 　キアラ

Kimberly 　キンバリー

Kirsten 　カーステン

Krista 　クリスタ

Kristen 　クリステン

Kyla 　カイラ

Kylie 　カイリー

Kyra 　カイラ

Lacey 　レイシー

Laura 　ローラ

Lauren 　ローレン

Leah 　リア

Leann 　リアン

Leslie 　レスリー

Lexi 　レクシー

Lillian 　リリアン

Lily 　リリー

Linda 　リンダ

Lindsey 　リンジー

Lisa 　リサ

Lizette 　リゼット

Logan 　ローガン

Lydia 　リディア

Mackenzie 　マッケンジー

Macy 　メイシー

Madeline 　マデライン

Madison 　マディソン

Maggie 　マギー

Makayla 　マケイラ

Mallory 　マロリー

Margaret 　マーガレット

Maria 　マリア

Mariah 　マライア

Mariana 　マリアナ

Marissa 　マリッサ

Mary 　メリー、メアリー

Maya 　マイヤ

Mckenna 　マッケナ

Megan 　メーガン

Melanie 　メラニー

Melissa 　メリッサ

Mercedes 　メルセデス

Meredith 　メレディス

Mia 　ミア

Michelle 　ミシェル

Miranda 　ミランダ

Miriam 　ミリアム

Molly 　モリー

Monica 　モニカ

Monique 　モニーク

Morgan 　モーガン

Nadia 　ナディア

Nancy 　ナンシー

Naomi 　ナオミ

Natalia 　ナタリア

Natalie 　ナタリー

Natasha 　ナターシャ

Nia 　ニア

Nicole 　ニコール

Nina 　ニーナ

Olivia 　オリビア

Paige 　ペイジ

Paola 　パオラ

Patricia 　パトリシア

Peyton 　ペイトン

Priscilla 　プリシラ

Rachel 　レーチェル

Raquel 　ラケル

Raven 　レイヴン

Reagan 　レーガン

Rebecca 　レベッカ

Renee 　レネー

Reyna 　レイナ

Riley 　ライリー

Robyn 　ロビン

Rosa 　ローザ

Rose 　ローズ

Ruby 　ルビー

Sabrina 　サブリナ

Sadie 　セイディ

Samantha 　サマンサ

Sandra 　サンドラ

Sarah 　サラ、セーラ

Savannah 　サバンナ

Selena 　セレーナ

Serena 　セリーナ

Shania 　シャニア

Shannon 　シャノン

Shauna 　ショウナ

Shayla 　シェイラ

Shelby 　シェルビー

Sierra 　シエラ

Skylar 　スカイラー

Sophia 　ソフィア

Sophie 　ソフィー

Stacy 　ステイシー

Stephanie 　ステファニー

Summer 　サマー

Sydney 　シドニー

Tabitha 　タバサ

Talia 　タリア

Tamara 　タマラ

Tanya 　ターニャ

Tara 　タラ

Tatiana 　タチアナ

Tara 　タラ

Taya 　タヤ

Taylor 　テイラー

Teresa 　テレサ

Tessa 　テッサ

Tiana 　ティアナ

Tiara 　ティアラ

Tiffany 　ティファニー

Tori 　トーリ

Tyra 　タイラ

Valeria 　ヴァレリア

Valerie 　ヴァレリー

Vanessa 　ヴァネッサ

Veronica 　ヴェロニカ

Victoria 　ビクトリア

Whitney 　ホイットニー

Yasmine 　ヤスミン

Yesenia 　ヤセニア

Zoe 　ゾーイ

300 Common Male Names

Aaron 　アーロン

Abraham 　エイブラハム

Adam 　アダム

Adrian 　エイドリアン

Aidan 　エイダン

Alan 　アラン

Albert 　アルバート

Alberto 　アルバートー

Alec 　アレック

Alejandro 　アレハンドロ

Alex 　アレックス

Alexander 　アレクサンダー

Alexis 　アレクシス

Alfredo 　アルフレード

Andre 　アンドレ

Andres 　アンドレス

Andrew 　アンドリュー

Andy 　アンディ

Angel 　エンジェル

Angelo 　アンジェロ

Anthony 　アンソニー

Antonio 　アントニオ

Armando 　アルマンド

Arthur 　アーサー

Arturo 　アルツーロ

Ashton 　アシュトン

Austin 　オースティン

Avery 　エィヴェリー

Bailey 　ベイリー

Benjamin 　ベンジャミン

Blake 　ブレーク

Braden 　ブレーデン

Bradley 　ブラッドリー

Brady 　ブレイディ

Brandon 　ブランドン

Brendan 　ブレンダン

Brennan 　ブレナン

Brent 　ブレント

Brett 　ブレット

Brian 　ブライアン

Brock 　ブロック

Bryant 　ブライアント

Bryce 　ブライス

Bryson 　ブライソン

Cade 　ケイド

Caleb 　ケイレブ

Calvin 　カルビン

Cameron 　キャメロン

Carl 　カール

Carlos 　カーロス

Carson 　カーソン

Carter 　カーター

Casey 　ケイシー

Cesar 　シーザー

Chad 　チャッド

Chance 　チャンス

Chandler 　チャンドラー

Charles 　チャールズ

Chase 　チェイス

Christian 　クリスチャン

Christopher 　クリストファー

Clayton 　クレイトン

Cody 　コーディー

Colby 　コルビー

Cole 　コール

Colin 　コリン

Colton 　コルトン

Connor 　コナー

Cooper 　クーパー

Corbin 　コービン

Corey 　コーリー

Craig 　クレーグ

Curtis 　カーティス

Dakota 　ダコタ

Dallas 　ダラス

Dalton 　ダルトン

Damian 　デイミアン

Damon 　デイモン

Daniel 　ダニエル

Danny 　ダニー

Dante 　ダンテ

Darian 　ダリアン

Darius 　ダリアス

Darrell 　ダレル

Darren 　ダーレン

David 　デビッド、デイヴィッド

Dawson 　ダーソン

Deandre 　デアンドレ

Dennis 　デニス

Deonte 　デアンテ

Derek 　デレク

Deshawn 　デショーン

Devin 　デビン

Devonte 　デヴォンテ

Diego 　ディエゴ

Dominic 　ドミニク

Donald 　ドナルド

Donovan 　ドノヴァン

Douglas 　ダグラス

Drake 　ドレーク

Drew 　ドルー

Dustin 　ダスティン

Dylan 　ディラン

Eddie 　エディ

Edgar 　エドガー

Eduardo 　エドワルド

Edward 　エドワード

Edwin 　エドウィン

Eli 　イーライ

Elias 　イライアス

Elijah 　イライジャ

Elliot 　エリオット

Emmanuel 　イマニュエル

Enrique 　エンリケ

Eric 　エリック

Esteban 　エステバン

Ethan 　イーサン

Evan 　エバン

Fabian 　ファビアン

Fernando 　フェルナンド

Francisco 　フランシスコ

Frank 　フランク

Frederick 　フレドリック

Gabriel 　ガブリエル

Gage 　ゲイジ

Garrett 　ガレット

Gary 　ゲーリー

Gavin 　ギャビン

George 　ジョージ

Gerardo 　ジェラルド

Giovanni 　ジョバンニ

Grant 　グラント

Grayson 　グレイソン

Gregory 　グレゴリー

Griffin 　グリフィン

Harrison 　ハリソン

Hayden 　ヘイデン

Hector 　ヘクター

Henry 　ヘンリー

Hunter 　ハンター

Ian 　イアン

Isaac 　アイザック

Isaiah 　アイザーヤ

Ismael 　イシマイル

Israel 　イスラエル

Ivan 　アイヴァン

Jack 　ジャック

Jackson 　ジャクソン

Jacob 　ジェイコブ

Jaden 　ジェイデン

Jaime 　ジェイミー

Jake 　ジェイク

Jalen 　ジェイレン

James 　ジェイムス

Jared 　ジェレッド

Jarrett 　ジェレット

Jason 　ジェイソン

Javon 　ジャヴォン

Jay 　ジェイ

Jeffrey 　ジェフリー

Jeremiah 　ジェレマイヤ

Jeremy 　ジェレミー

Jerry 　ジェリー

Jesse 　ジェシー

Jesus 　ヘスース

Jimmy 　ジミー

Joe 　ジョー

Joel 　ジョエル

John 　ジョン

Johnny 　ジョニー

Jonah 　ジョナ

Jonathan 　ジョナサン

Jordan 　ジョルダン

Jorge 　ホルヘ

Jose 　ホゼ

Joseph 　ジョセフ

Joshua 　ジョシュア

Josiah 　ジョサイア

Josue 　ジョズエ

Juan 　ワン

Julian 　ジュリアン

Julio 　フリオ

Justice 　ジャスティス

Justin 　ジャスティン

Kaden 　ケイデン

Keegan 　キーガン

Keith 　キース

Kenneth 　ケネス

Kevin 　ケビン

Kobe 　コービー

Kylar 　カイラー

Kyle 　カイル

Landon 　ランドン

Lane 　レーン

Larry 　ラリー

Lawrence 　ローレンス

Leonardo 　レオナルド

Levi 　リーバイ

Liam 　リアム

Logan 　ローガン

Lorenzo 　ロレンソ

Louis 　ルイス

Lucas 　ルーカス

Luis 　ルイス

Luke 　ルーク

Malik 　マリク

Manuel 　マヌエル

Marco 　マルコ

Marcos 　マルコス

Marcus 　マーカス

Mario 　マリオ

Mark 　マーク

Martin 　マーティン

Mason 　メイソン

Matthew 　マシュー

Max 　マックス

Maxwell 　マクスウェル

Micah 　マイカ

Michael 　マイケル

Miguel 　ミゲール

Miles 　マイルズ

Mitchell 　ミッチェル

Mohammad 　モハメッド

Morgan 　モーガン

Nathan 　ネーサン

Nathaniel 　ナサニエル

Nicholas 　ニコラス

Noah 　ノア

Nolan 　ノーラン

Omar 　オマー

Oscar 　オスカー

Owen 　オーエン

Pablo 　パブロ

Parker 　パーカー

Patrick 　パトリック

Paul 　ポール

Pedro 　ペドロ

Peter 　ピーター

Peyton 　ペイトン

Phillip 　フィリップ

Preston 　プレストン

Quentin 　クエンティン

Quinton 　クイントン

Rafael 　ラファエル

Ramon 　ラモン

Randy 　ランディ

Raul 　ラウル

Raymond 　レイモンド

Reece 　リース

Reid 　リード

Ricardo 　リカルド

Richard 　リチャード

Ricky 　リッキー

Riley 　ライリー

Robert 　ロバート

Roberto 　ロベルト

Ronald 　ロナルド

Ruben 　ルベン

Russell 　ラッセル

Ryan 　ライアン

Samuel 　サミュエル

Scott 　スコット

Sean 　ショーン

Sebastian 　セバスチャン

Sergio 　セルジオ

Seth 　セス

Shane 　シェーン

Skyler 　スカイラー

Spencer 　スペンサー

Steven 　スティーヴン

Tanner 　タナー

Taylor 　テイラー

Terrance 　テランス

Terrell 　テレル

Theodore 　セオドア

Thomas 　トマス

Timothy 　ティモシー

Tommy 　トミー

Tony 　トニー

Travis 　トラビス

Trent 　トレント

Trenton 　トレントン

Trevon 　トラヴォン

Trevor 　トレヴァー

Trey 　トレイ

Tristan 　トリスタン

Troy 　トロイ

Tucker 　タカー

Ty 　タイ

Tyler 　タイラー

Tyrek 　タイリク

Victor 　ヴィクター

Vincent 　ヴィンセント

Wesley 　ウェスリー

William 　ウィリアム

Wyatt 　ワイアット

Xavier 　ザビエル

Zachariah 　ザカライヤ

Zachary 　ザカリー

Zane 　ゼイン

Flash Card Practice Activities for Japanese Hiragana & Katakana for Beginners

It is much easier to learn to read hiragana and katakana than to write them. With the right kinds of activities, diligent students can learn to read the basic 46 hiragana in a few hours, and the 46 katakana in another few hours. You will more readily learn the writing once you have mastered hiragana and katakana reading recognition, so it is suggested you begin your learning work with the flash cards.

Start by printing the flash card PDFs out—you may decide to print either the entire 92 cards, or only the group you’ll be focusing on first (hiragana or katakana). Print double-sided cards, or print the fronts and backs separately then attach them together. Next, separate the flash cards by cutting along the perforated lines. If you are unfamiliar with hiragana and katakana take the time to read the front and back of each flash card, paying close attention to the number and type of strokes used in each character. Many hiragana characters look similar, and so do many katakana; it is the number and type of strokes that will help to tell them apart.

Hiragana/Katakana Flash Card Drills (alone or with a partner): It is helpful to start with a few, perhaps 10, flash cards. Shuffle the flash cards and look at them one at a time. Say the name of the character on the top flash card, then look at the back to see if you got it right. Start two piles of flash cards. If correct, place it in one pile. If not, place it in another pile, to be reviewed again. Continue looking at the flash cards one at a time and placing them in the appropriate pile. When you are finished, you will know which characters you can read and which ones need more practice. Now put aside the ones you already know and study the flash cards you had difficulty with. When ready, repeat the activity with the difficult ones. As you gain mastery add more flash cards, until you know all 46 hiragana and all 46 katakana. Then, shuffle both groups of cards together to do a challenge round! You can repeat this simple activity from time to time to refresh your basic hiragana and katakana reading skills.

Hiragana/Katakana Chart Activity (alone or with a small group): This is an excellent activity to improve your hiragana/katakana recognition skills and become familiar with gojūon order—the way dictionaries, web searches, etc., are organized. Place all the flash cards on a large surface (the floor works well) face up, in random order. Then, try to put them into order as quickly as possible. For an extra challenge use a stopwatch.

Hiragana/Katakana Pick-up (small group): Place all the flash cards on a large surface face up, in order or mixed up. One person calls the name of a hiragana/katakana character and the other players try to quickly put their hand on it. The first one gets to keep it. Continue playing, and when all the flash cards are gone, count to see who has the most. The winner gets to be the “caller” for the next game!

なまえ＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿

Hiragana Writing Practice 1

1.

A KA (red)

_________________

2.

A O (blue)

_________________

3.

A KI (autumn)

_________________

4.

I I (good)

_________________

5.

I SU (chair)

_________________

6.

O I SHI I (delicious)

_________________

7.

U E (up, above)

_________________

8.

U SHI (cow)

_________________

9.

E KI (train station)

_________________

10.

E E (yes – colloquial)

_________________

11.

O O KI I (big)

_________________

12.

KA (mosquito)

_________________

13.

KA O (face)

_________________

14.

O KA SHI (snacks)

_________________

15.

I KE (pond)

_________________

16.

KE SU (to erase)

_________________

17.

KO KO (here)

_________________

18.

A SA (morning)

_________________

19.

KA SA (umbrella)

_________________

20.

A SHI (leg; foot)

_________________

21.

SHI O (salt)

_________________

22.

SHI KA (deer)

_________________

23.

SU (vinegar)

_________________

24.

SU SHI (sushi)

_________________

25.

SU KI (like – adjective)

_________________

26.

SE KI (cough; seat)

_________________

27.

SO KO (there)

_________________

28.

U SO (lie; false)

_________________

なまえ＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿

Hiragana Writing Practice 2 (T, N, H)

1.

O KA NE (money)

_________________

2.

SO TO (outside)

_________________

3.

I NU (dog)

_________________

4.

TA NO SHI I (fun)

_________________

5.

NE KO (cat)

_________________

6.

NA TSU (summer)

_________________

7.

HA I (Yes)

_________________

8.

SHI TA (under)

_________________

9.

KU NI (country, nation)

_________________

10.

HA KO (box)

_________________

11.

I CHI (one)

_________________

12.

HI KI NI KU (ground meat)

_________________

13.

HI TO (person)

_________________

14.

HI (fire, flame)

_________________

15.

A TSU I (hot)

_________________

16.

FU E (flute)

_________________

17.

KU TSU (shoes)

_________________

18.

SHI NU (to die)

_________________

19.

O HE SO (belly button)

_________________

20.

I TA I (Ouch!)

_________________

21.

NI KU (meat)

_________________

22.

HE TA (unskillful)

_________________

23.

U CHI (house)

_________________

24.

HO SO I (thin)

_________________

25.

CHI KA TE TSU (subway)

_________________

26.

HO SHI (stars)

_________________

なまえ＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿

Hiragana Writing Practice 3 (M, Y, R, W, N)

1.

A MA I (sweet)

_________________

2.

I MA (livingroom)

_________________

3.

YA SU MI (vacation)

_________________

4.

MI MI (ears)

_________________

5.

MU RA SA KI (purple)

_________________

6.

SA MU RA I (warrior)

_________________

7.

ME (eyes)

_________________

8.

KA ME (turtle)

_________________

9.

MO MO (peach)

_________________

10.

YA SU I (cheap)

_________________

11.

YU KA (floor)

_________________

12.

YU ME (dream)

_________________

13.

SA YO NA RA (goodbye)

_________________

14.

YO RU (night)

_________________

15.

I KU RA (How much?)

_________________

16.

KA RA I (spicy; hot)

_________________

17.

O TSU RI (change – money)

_________________

18.

KU SU RI (medicine)

_________________

19.

FU RU I (old – not people)

_________________

20.

KA E RU (frog)

_________________

21.

KI RE I (pretty, neat, clean)

_________________

22.

U RE SHI I (happy)

_________________

23.

HI RO I (wide, spacious)

_________________

24.

U SHI RO (behind)

_________________

25.

WA TA SHI (I, myself)

_________________

26.

KA WA I I (cute)

_________________

27.

E N (yen – money in Japan)

_________________

なまえ＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿

Katakana Writing Practice 1

1.

A I SU (ice)

_________________

2.

SU KO A (score)

_________________

3.

A KU SE SU (access)

_________________

4.

I KA (squid)

_________________

5.

SA I (rhino)

_________________

6.

KI U I (kiwi)

_________________

7.

E KI SU (extract)

_________________

8.

O SU KĀ (the Oscar)

_________________

9.

O A SHI SU (oasis)

_________________

10.

SĀ KA SU (circus)

_________________

11.

KI SU (kiss)

_________________

12.

SU I SU (Switzerland)

_________________

13.

KĀ KI (khaki color)

_________________

14.

SU KI I (to ski; skiing)

_________________

15.

SA KU SE SU (success)

_________________

16.

KĒ KI (cake)

_________________

17.

Ō KĒ (okay)

_________________

18.

KO KO A (cocoa)

_________________

19.

SE I KŌ (Seiko company)

_________________

20.

SHI I SŌ (seesaw)

_________________

21.

KO SO KO SO (sneakily)

_________________

なまえ＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿

Katakana Writing Practice 2

1.

TA KU SHI I (taxi)

_________________

2.

TA KO SU (taco)

_________________

3.

KŌ CHI (coach)

_________________

4.

SŪ TSU (suit)

_________________

5.

TSU Ā (tour)

_________________

6.

TE KI SU TO (textbook)

_________________

7.

SU KĀ TO (skirt)

_________________

8.

TE SU TO (test)

_________________

9.

NA I FU (knife)

_________________

10.

TSU NA (tuna)

_________________

11.

KA TA KA NA (katakana)

_________________

12.

TE NI SU (tennis)

_________________

13.

SU NI I KĀ (sneakers)

_________________

14.

KA NŪ (canoe)

_________________

15.

A I NU (Indigenous people of northern Japan)

_________________

16.

NŌ TO (notebook)

_________________

17.

HA SU KI I (husky dog)

_________________

18.

KŌ HI I (coffee)

_________________

19.

HI N TO (hint)

_________________

20.

SO FU TO (software)

_________________

21.

HE RI (helicopter)

_________________

22.

HO TE RU (hotel)

_________________

なまえ＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿

Katakana Writing Practice 3

1.

TO MA TO (tomatoes)

_________________

2.

MA I KU (microphone)

_________________

3.

MI KI SĀ (blender)

_________________

4.

CHI I MU (team)

_________________

5.

HŌ MU SU TE I (home stay)

_________________

6.

A NI ME (Japanese cartoons)

_________________

7.

SHI NA MO N (cinnamon)

_________________

8.

MO NI TĀ (monitor)

_________________

9.

TA I YA (tire)

_________________

10.

I YA HO N (earphones)

_________________

11.

YŪ MO A (humor)

_________________

12.

KU RE YO N (crayon)

_________________

13.

YŌ YŌ (yo-yo)

_________________

14.

KA ME RA (camera)

_________________

15.

KU RA SU (school class)

_________________

16.

A I SU KU RI I MU (ice cream)

_________________

17.

HO TE RU (hotel)

_________________

18.

MI RU KU (cow’s milk)

_________________

19.

RE SU TO RA N (restaurant)

_________________

20.

RE SHI I TO (receipt)

_________________

21.

SU TO RŌ (drinking straw)

_________________

22.

KI RO (kilogram; kilometer)

_________________

23.

WĀ KU SHI I TO (worksheet)

_________________

24.

WA I YA RE SU (wireless)

_________________

25.

ME RO N (melon)

_________________