Reading, Writing, and Memorizing Hiragana

I have a memory like an elephant. In fact, elephants often consult me - Noel Coward

The brain is a funny thing. This is the first chapter that really takes advantage of your head-organ. It’s time to begin memorizing something, starting with Hiragana.

Now that you understand how the pronunciation of hiragana works (as well as 90% of the pronunciation of the entire Japanese language), let’s take a look at actually reading and writing the stuff. Fortunately, I’ll provide plenty of resources for you to learn to read and write really, really well. I’m still a bit concerned about your pronunciation too, though, so as you’re going through be sure you’re extra careful about doing things correctly.

As mentioned earlier, hiragana (for the most part) consists of a consonant (non-vowel) plus a vowel (a, i, u, e, o). Think about the Japanese words you already know, and then take a look at your hiragana chart.

Sushi #

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The word “sushi” consists of two separate kana: SU + SHI. Take a look at your hiragana chart and find the kana for both “su” and “shi.” What are they? Write them down, and you should end up with すし. This is how you would (phonetically) write the word “sushi” in Japanese. Of course, this word also has a kanji associated with it (we’ll learn more about kanji in the coming chapters), which is written as 寿司, but even if you write it only in hiragana, it is still understandable.

See how I’ve circled the characters for “su” and “shi”? Combine those two characters together to get すし (sushi). Easy, right? What else can we spell?

Sake #

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The word “sake” also consists of two kana: SA + KE. Take a look at your hiragana chart again and find those two kana, then write them down. How have you pronounced “sake” up until now. Most English speakers say “saki…” But now you know that that’s incorrect, right? Knowing, according to GI Joe, is half the battle.

Starting to get a sense of how hiragana works? It’s not like English, where you go letter by letter. Each “letter” (i.e. kana) in hiragana consists of two English letters (besides ん), which means you’re getting two for the price of one, right? Let’s try one more.

Karate #

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This is another mispronounced one. Most people say something like “Karadee” instead of karate (can you pronounce it correctly?). Looking at your hiragana chart, find the three characters that make up karate and write them out in the correct order.

When you write karate in hiragana, it  comes out to からて. This is really easy, right? reading and writing hiragana is actually very simple once you’ve learned all the characters. Now that you understand how hiragana is strung together, go ahead and practice with a few more words. Don’t look at the answer until you’ve tried it yourself, though!

Sumou (sumo)

  • すもう

Tabemono (food)

  • たべもの

Yasai (vegetables)

  • やさい

Kawaii (cute)

  • かわいい

We’re going to try something a little tricky now. Remember those “combination” hiragana we talked about last chapter? That’s what we’ll be doing here. Just refer to your hiragana chart for now.

Yakyuu (baseball)

  • やきゅう

kyouto (Kyoto)

  • きょうと

Shashin (photo)

  • しゃしん

And what about the double consonants. Do you remember those? I’m talking about the small tsu. Let’s practice writing a few of those out with hiragana. You’ll know there’s a small tsu when you see two consonants written together (in romaji, at least).

Katta (won)

  • かった – see how the small tsu goes where the first double consonant is in the romaji “katta”

Yatta (hooray!)

  • やった

issho (together)

  • いっしょ

yappari (as I thought)

  • やっぱり

If you can go through all of these, then you’re probably ready to start reading and writing. Take a break if your brain feels dead and meet me back here when you’re feeling fresh!

Learning To Write Hiragana #

“Be yourself. Above all, let who you are, what you are, what you believe, shine through every sentence you write, every piece you finish.” – John Jakes

Now that you understand how hiragana “technically” works (you can see a word in romaji then find the kana to write that word in hiragana), let’s start writing. At first, we’re going to start with Smart.fm, a free spaced repetition flashcard site that is absolutely fabulous. Although Smart.fm is mostly used to memorize things, we’re going to add a bit of our own flavor to make sure you’re learning how to write as well. By using Smart.fm, it will be able to keep track of what you know and don’t know (based on how well you answer things), which means it’s easier to progress and know where you’re at. It’s a lot fancier than a stack of paper cards, and has a lot of good brain-science to back it up. Go ahead and fire it up in a new tab or window then read the directions below.

The first thing you should do is get an account. If you don’t, it won’t keep track of where you’re at! As you go through the Smart.fm hiragana flashcard list, there are a few things you should do in addition to what Smart.fm provides you:

  1. Every time you get a kana right (or wrong), I want you to write the kana down… with your hand… on a piece of paper. As soon as you answer something, look away from the computer. I want you to try and write these down without having seen the kana for very long. If you can’t get it, take a peek at your hiragana chart and find it on there (don’t look at your computer screen, the searching is good for your memory). The key here is to make sure and push your brain to remember, even when you can’t. This will help your neurons grow new connectors which, in the long run, will help you learn much more quickly. No shortcuts!
  2. One of the cool things about Smart.fm is that it will tell you when you’ve learned something (whew). If you practice writing the kana every time you answer a flashcard, in theory you should be able to write everything just as well as you can read everything.
  3. Use the hiragana stroke order chart found on the same page as the hiragana chart. It’s important that you learn your hiragana using the correct stroke order. Not only is it a good habit, but it will help you with kanji later on (plus your hiragana will look better because of it, you can tell when something has been written out of stroke order).
  4. Each flashcard on Smart.fm has audio associated with it. Play this audio every chance you get and repeat after it (out loud!). Say it loudly, say it softly. Changing volumes actually helps you remember words more effectively, as it’s giving your brain more associations to latch on to. I can’t stress enough how important pronunciation is at this stage. Keep practicing and don’t get cocky!
  5. When you feel burned out on flashcards (and you will), switch to one of the other resources (provided below). If you switch to auto-pilot while you’re learning, you aren’t actually learning. Switch resources often and you’ll stay focused on hiragana longer than if you just rinse, repeat, rinse, repeat.

At this point, go ahead and get started. Run through the hiragana list for a while, and learn some hiragana. The important thing is that you get going and don’t wait. You’re on a roll now, keep that roll going as long as possible. Once you feel like you don’t want to do Smart.fm anymore, start rotating through these hiragana resources as well:

Other Hiragana Resources #

Besides Smart.fm, there are other resources for learning hiragana out there that will help you on your way. Use them when you’re feeling burnt out on Smart.fm to create some variety.

As you are going through these other resources, make sure you continue to practice writing. When you are using something that’s only about reading and identifying the hiragana, go ahead and add a writing element to it as well. This can be as simple as writing the hiragana down every time you read it. The goal is to come away with the ability to both read and write, not just one or the other. Plus, they compliment each other nicely!

Hiragana Writing Tips #

  • Try to write the hiragana big while you’re practicing (approximately one inch by one inch). If you can learn to write in large letters nicely, your kana will look even better small. A lot of people try to get out of writing neatly by only writing tiny to try and hide their mistakes. Take the high road, friend.
  • Write with proper stroke order to get yourself ready for kanji, where stroke order gets even more important.
  • Practice makes perfect! Take hiragana and convert it to romaji, then convert it back to hiragana again without looking at the original. Using flashcards or repeatedly writing the same hiragana over and over is good and all, but writing out sentences (even if you don’t know what it means) is even better. Try not to look!

How Long Will This Take? #

“Don’t count every hour in the day, make every hour in the day count”

To study hiragana and feel comfortable enough to start using it, I’d estimate you will spend one or two weeks studying (less if you have a lot of free time). The key is to study a little bit every day. When you feel tired and burned out on one resource, switch to another (the repetition sucks, and this helps to alleviate that feeling).

TextFugu doesn’t switch to hiragana until after “Japanese Grammar With Yoda,” so you have a few chapters to go before hiragana will be necessary. While you practice your hiragana, feel free to continue on with TextFugu’s other lessons, but there will be a time when you’ll need to know your hiragana fairly well (not perfectly, but decently). I would recommend studying hiragana in 30 minute bursts. Set a stop watch to help you stay motivated and focused. When the timer goes off, you should stop studying (and do something else to recharge). Most importantly, make sure you’re strict with yourself.

Hiragana is the test to see if you have what it takes to study Japanese. If you can’t make it through hiragana, then maybe you just don’t want it badly enough (maybe you should learn French instead?). Get it done, and get it done well. Hiragana is the hardest thing you’ll ever run into.

The Importance of Scheduling #

“How does a project get to be a year behind schedule? One day at a time.” - Fred Brooks

Especially when it comes to something that takes so much consistency of practice as in Japanese, creating a schedule for yourself can be very, very important. I recommend using Google Calendar, but any calendaring system will work just as well. When it comes to self-study, it’s extremely important to be strict with yourself. Take one day off or let one excuse get to you and everything could unravel just like that. This is partly why I had you create your own Japanese studying happy place, as well as your own Japanese language blog.

Think about it this way. If you decide to practice a sport, let’s say baseball, you have to go to a physical location and follow a specific schedule. When someone says “hey, do you want to go hang out at the mall at 5pm today?” you might respond with “Sorry, I have baseball practice.” It’s important to do the same thing with your Japanese studies as well.

It’s the same thing with Japanese. You should set up specific study times that can only be used to study Japanese. If someone wants to do something at that time, too bad. You have prior commitments (studying Japanese). I know it’s tough, and I know it’s even worse because it’s self-studying we’re talking about, but if you don’t do things like this it will be hard to make progress on a consistent basis. Force yourself to do this for a while and it will become habit. You will get used to it and it will become the norm. The hard part is breaking in.

Take things seriously, schedule out your study time, and JFDI (as a Nike truck driver might say).

Chapter Content:

Before You Continue:

  • Create a smart.fm account
  • Start learning hiragana. I’d recommend learning to read / write hiragana before moving on, though there are still a couple of chapters left before it’s completely necessary. Your call. Depends on how quickly you burn out on hiragana (and how much you need to recharge between burn-out bouts).
  • Create a “Japanese studying Schedule” and make it strict. Tell others around you that you’ll be on this schedule and shouldn’t be interrupted. Write it down in your Japanese language learning blog.
  • Keep studying hiragana. Consistency is key!

Studying What You’re Passionate About →