LEARNING TASK Hiragana writing
TOPIC: Hiragana writing
TOPIC OVERVIEW
Familiarity of Japanese characters, Hiragana, stroke and their pronunciation.
DESIRED LEARNING OUTCOMES:
At the end of this learning task, the students must be able to:
1. Illustrate stroke in hiragana writing
2. Perform mastery or writing hiragana
3. Enumerate vocabulary (eating and drinking)
CONTENT DEVELOPMENT 10
I. Hiragana
This is a partial table of hiragana. This shows the basic characters. The pronunciation is
given above each character.
To see how to write each of the hiragana refer to worksheet below.
These are the characters used to form Japanese words. Hiragana is kind of like the
Japanese alphabet. Unlike the English alphabet, however, every Japanese character has
the exact same sound as its name and most characters are made of a consonant sound
followed by a vowel. This makes it less of an 'alphabet' and more of a 'syllabify'.
The Japanese also use two other character sets. The one for foreign words is
called katakana and the one with characters which represent words or parts of words (not
sounds) is called kanji.
This is a partial table of hiragana. This shows the basic
characters. The pronunciation is given above each
character. See the pronunciation page for more
information on how to pronounce the sounds.
To see how to write each of the hiragana go here.
These are the characters used to form Japanese words.
Hiragana is kind of like the Japanese alphabet. Unlike
the English alphabet, however, every Japanese
character has the exact same sound as its name and
most characters are made of a consonant sound
followed by a vowel. This makes it less of an 'alphabet'
and more of a 'syllabify'.
The Japanese also use two other character sets. The
one for foreign words is called katakana and the one
with characters which represent words or parts of
words (not sounds) is called kanji.
[Link] no worksheet
II.B Worksheet
Hiragana Writing
aiueo
a: This is pronounced similarly to the 'a' in 'awful'.
i: This is pronounced similarly to the 'ee' in 'feet'.
u: This is pronounced similarly to the 'oo' in 'mood'.
e: This is pronounced similarly to the 'e' in 'met'.
o: This is pronounced similarly to the 'o' in 'cold' .
ka ki ku ke ko
ka
ki
ku
ke
ko
Some words you can now read in Japanese:
かい shell おか hill
き tree あか red
かお face くうき air
こえ voice いけ pond
sa shi su se so
sa
shi
su
se
so
Some words you can now read in Japanese:
いす chair あし leg
すし sushi あせ sweat (n.)
かさ umbrella うそ lie (n.)
くさ grass おす vinegar
ta chi tsu te to
ta
chi
tsu
te
to: This character kind of looks like a 'toe' with
the toenail sticking up.
Some words you can now read in Japanese:
たこ octopus て hand (n.)
くつ shoe さとう sugar
おと sound (n.) たけ bamboo
あつい hot くち mouth
na ni nu ne no
na:
The first part of this symbol is the same as the
first part of ta.
ni:
The second part of this symbol is the same
as ko.
nu
ne:
Ne is the first sound in neko, the word for cat.
This symbol also looks like a cat with its back
arched and its tail curled.
no
Some words you can now read in Japanese:
ねこ cat にく meat
いぬ dog おの axe
なな seven おかね money
なす eggplant かに crab
ha hi fu he ho
ha
hi
fu/hu
he
ho: Ho looks like ha except that there is an
extra stroke at the top of the second part.
Make sure that the last line doesn't go above
the line at the top.
Some words you can now read in Japanese:
はな nose / flower ほし star / celestial body
ひと person はし chopsticks / bridge
ふね ship は tooth / leaf
へそ navel (belly button) ほね bone
ma mi mu me mo
ma
mi
mu
me
mo
Some words you can now read in Japanese:
かめ turtle, tortoise もも peach (fruit)
なみ wave (n.) くま bear
むし bug (n.) うま horse
つめ nail, claw (n.) さめ shark
ya yu yo
ya
yu
yo
Some words you can now read in Japanese:
やま mountain やね roof
おゆ hot water ふゆ winter
おや parent (n.) ゆめ dream (n.)
ゆき snow (n.) やさい vegetable
ra ri ru re ro
ra
ri
ru
re
ro
Some words you can now read in Japanese:
あり ant かえる frog
りす squirrel れい example
あひる duck (animal) はる spring (season)
おふろ bath さら plate, dish (n.)
くすり medicine くるま car, vehicle
wa wo n
wa:
Wa looks like ne and re except that the tails are
different, so be careful when making the tail.
wo/o:
Wo can be written as wo or o (in romaji) but is
always pronounced o.
Some words you can now read in Japanese:
でんわ telephone てんき weather
わに crocodile, alligator よん four
ほん book でんち battery
I. Additional Vocabulary(eating and drinking at the restaurant
1. restaurant- resutoran
2. menu- menyu
3. Japansese restaurant- nihonriyori ya
4. meal ticket-shoken
5. table- teburu
6. chair-isu
7. wet towel for cleaning hands- oshiburi
8. fork-hoku
9. spoon-supun
10. glass- koppu
LEARNING TASK : Katakana writing
TOPIC: Katakana writing
TOPIC OVERVIEW
Familiarity of Japanese characters, Katakana, stroke and their pronunciation.
DESIRED LEARNING OUTCOMES:
At the end of this learning task, the students must be able to:
1. Illustrate stroke in Katakana writing
2. Perform mastery or writing Katakana
3. Illustrate personal name using katakana
CONTENT DEVELOPMENT 11
I. Katakana
This is a partial table of katakana. This shows the basic characters.
To see how to write each of the katakana see reference below
these are the characters used to form words that have foreign origins. Non-Japanese names are written
in katakana. Sometimes it is also used as a replacement for "difficult" kanji or for emphasis. Animal and
fruit names are often written in katakana for these reasons.
Katakana is like hiragana in that every basic character has the exact same sound as its name. However,
since there are more sounds in foreign words than in Japanese, katakana has more characters and
combinations than hiragana does.
Together, hiragana and katakana are called the 'kana.'
This is a partial table of katakana. This
shows the basic characters.
These are the characters used to form
words that have foreign origins. Non-
Japanese names are written in
katakana. Sometimes it is also used as a
replacement for "difficult" kanji or for
emphasis. Animal and fruit names are
often written in katakana for these
reasons.
Katakana is like hiragana in that every
basic character has the exact same
sound as its name. However, since there
are more sounds in foreign words than in
Japanese, katakana has more characters
and combinations than hiragana does.
Together, hiragana and katakana are
called the 'kana.'
II.A Katakana Worksheet
II.B Katakana Worksheet
aiueo
a: This is pronounced similarly to the 'a' in 'awful'.
i: This is pronounced similarly to the 'ee' in 'feet'.
u: This is pronounced similarly to the 'oo' in 'mood'.
e: This is pronounced similarly to the 'e' in 'met'.
o: This is pronounced similarly to the 'o' in 'cold' .
Some words you can now read in Japanese:
エア air ウエア wear, ware
エイ A, a (the letter)
アイ I, i (the letter)
オウ O, o (the letter)
ka ki ku ke ko
ka:
The katakana 'ka' looks like a squarish version
of the hiragana 'ka,' but the last stroke is missing.
ki:
The katakana 'ki' looks like the hiragana
'ki' except the tail part is missing.
ku
ke
ko
Some words you can now read in Japanese:
カキ persimmon ケイ K, k (the letter)
ココア cocoa ケーキ cake
ケア care
コア core
sa shi su se so
sa:
Sa looks like a backwards version of
the hiragana se.
shi:
Be carefull to write the strokes
of shi horizontally from left to right, otherwise
it may look like the katakana tsu
su
se:
The katakana se looks like the hiragana se, but
the first and second strokes have been
combined into a hook.
so:
Be careful to write the strokes of so vertically
from the top down. Otherwise it may look like
the katakana n.
Some words you can now read in Japanese:
キス kiss サーカス circus
エス S, s (the letter) ウイスキー whisky
サイ rhinoceros シーソー seesaw
ソース sauce, source エース ace
ta chi tsu te to
ta:
The katakana ta looks like the katakana ku but
there is an extra dash throught the middle.
chi
tsu:
The katakana tsu resembles the katakana shi.
Make sure to write tsu's strokes vertically from
the top down.
te
to
Some words you can now read in Japanese:
テスト test トースター toaster
シート sheet, seat セーター sweater
スケート ice skate, ice skating チーム team
トースト toast チーター cheetah
na ni nu ne no
na
ni:
Ni is written the same as the kanji character for
two, which is also pronounced as ni.
nu
ne
no
Some words you can now read in Japanese:
イヌ dog (also written in kanji) ノート notebook
ネコ cat (also written in kanji) ナース nurse
ネクタイ necktie ナイター night game (lit. "nighter")
エヌ N, n (the letter)
ha hi fu he ho
ha:
Ha is the same as the kanji for the number
8, hachi.
hi
fu/hu
he:
He is the same in hiragana and katakana.
ho
Some words you can now read in Japanese:
ホース hose ハイオク high octane gasoline
ハート heart (shape) ヒーター heater
ハーフ half-Japanese person ヘアケア hair care
ハイエナ hyena
ma mi mu me mo
ma
mi
mu
me
mo
Unlike the hiragana mo, the center line of the
katakana mo does not extend above the vertical lines.
Some words you can now read in Japanese:
メーク cosmetic make up モーター motor
マーカー marker サメ shark (also written in kanji)
ホーム station platform, home アニメ animation
ホームステイ homestay スマート slim, stylish, well dressed
ya yu yo
ya:
Note that the katakana ya looks like a
straightened out hiragana ya, but that it lacks the
small dash.
yu
yo
Some words you can now read in Japanese:
ヨーヨー yo-yo ユニホーム uniform
ユーニーク unique, unusual, individual タイヤ tire, tyre
ユーモア humor スノータイヤ snow tire
トヨタ Toyota (auto manufacturer)
ra ri ru re ro
ra:
Ra is used for both ra and la sounds.
ri:
Ri is used for both ri and li sounds.
ru:
Ru is used for both ru and lu sounds.
re:
Re is used for both re and le sounds.
ro:
Ro is used for both ro and lo sounds.
Some words you can now read in Japanese:
アメリカ America, the U.S.A ユーロ euro, EUR
クラス class イタリア Italy
ミイラ mummy (mummified person) オムレツ omelet
シール sticker, seal コーラ cola, Coke
メール e-mail リスト list
wa wo n
wa:
Wa resembles the katakana fu and u, so be
careful.
wo/o:
Wo is not used a lot in katakana. Sometimes
you will see it used in the speech or robots or
non-Japanese in comic books.
n:
Be careful with n. It looks a lot like
the katakana so. N's strokes should be written
more horizontally from left to right.
Some words you can now read in Japanese:
カン can ウインカー (automobile) turn signal
ワイン wine リモコン remote control
カーテン curtain コンセント electric socket
エアコン air conditioner ワクチン vaccine
ELEMENTARY KANJI
Intended for additional familiarization of the kanji character. I hope this help in achieving
your N level.
Onyomi and kunyomi are two types of readings for kanji, the Chinese characters used in
Japanese. Onyomi is the Chinese reading of kanji, derived from the original pronunciation of
the character. Kunyomi is the Japanese reading of kanji, based on the native Japanese word for
the concept. Onyomi is usually used for compound words with multiple kanji, while kunyomi is
usually used for single kanji or kanji with hiragana.