Reading and Writing Hiragana Mnemonics from: Animations from:

Hiragana Chart

A あ An antenna is up on the roof. あ as in ‘up on the roof’.

I い There are two eels. い as in ‘eels’.

U う Ooo! This is heavy! う as in ‘Ooo!’

E え I have to exercise. え as in ‘exercise’.

O お A golf ball is on the green. お as in ‘on the green’.

＊ NOTE: Handwritten Print

KA か A kite is flying in the sky. か as in ‘kite’.

KI き I have a key. き as in ‘key’.

KU く Here comes a cuckoo bird. く as in ‘cuckoo’.

KE け A keg of beer. け as in ‘keg’.

KO こ An apple core. こ as in ‘core’.

＊ NOTE: Handwritten Print

SA さ I love sake! さ as in ‘sake’.

SHI し She has a ponytail. し as in ‘she’.

SU す The pigs tail will soon fall off. す as in ‘soon’.

SE せ Sensei’s hat. せ as in ‘sensei’.

SO そ Zig-zag sewing. そ as in ‘sewing’.

TA た A letter ‘t’ and ‘a’ make ta. た as in ‘ta’.

CHI ち She’s a cheerleader. ち as in ‘cheerleader’.

TSU つ Tsunami is a tidal wave. つ as in ‘tsunami’.

TE て The dog is wagging his tail. て as in ‘tail’.

TO と Ouch! A nail is in my toe. と as in ‘toe’.

NA な A nun is kneeling in front of the cross. な as in ‘nun’.

NI に A needle and thread. に as in ‘needle’.

NU ぬ The egg fell out of the bowl with noodles and chopsticks. ぬ as in ‘noodles’.

NE ね I caught a big fish in my net. ね as in ‘net’.

NO の Do not enter! の as in ‘not’.

HA は I live in a house. は as in ‘house’.

HI ひ He is on the wall. ひ as in ‘he’.

FU ふ I climbed Mt Fuji. ふ as in ‘Fuji’.

HE へ There is a haystack. へ as in ‘haystack’.

HO ほ A house becomes a home with a satellite. ほ as in ‘home’.

MA ま Mum loves music. ま as in ‘mum’.

MI み Who’s 21? Me! み as in ‘me’.

MU む Moo-moo cow. む as in ‘moo’.

ME め Chopsticks and noodles without any mess. め as in ‘mess’.

MO も The more worms, the more fish. も as in ‘more’.

YA や Yay, I’m on a yacht. や as in ‘yay’.

YU ゆ Make a U-turn. ゆ as in ‘U-turn’.

YO よ Yoga is hard. よ as in ‘yoga’.

＊ NOTE: Handwritten Print

RA ら I love steamy ramen noodles. ら as in ‘ramen’.

RI り A pretty ribbon. り as in ‘ribbon’.

RU る Catch a kangaroo with a loop in the rope. る as in ‘kangaroo’.

RE れ Ready, set, go. Let’s race! れ as in ‘Ready’.

RO ろ No loop in the rope. The kangaroo got away! ろ as in ‘rope’.

WA わ Wow! A magic wand. わ as in ‘Wow’.

O を Oh! A cheerleader is on my toe. を as in ‘oh!’.

N ん The letter ‘n’ in end. ん as in ‘end’.

＊ NOTE じ ず mostly used ぢ づ not commonly used

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Long sounds ā ii or ī ū ei or ē ō kyā, kyū, kyō ああ いい うう ええ OR えい おう OR おお (less common) きゃあ、きゅう、きょう etc

Pause sound (small tsu つ ) kk pp ss tt tch けっこん (marriage) きっぷ (tickets) まっすぐ (go straight) きって (ticket) サンドイッチ (sandwich)

Particles – Hiragana changes wa o e は （ not わ ) を （ not お） へ （ not え） Particles are grammatical markers and are put before or after Japanese words to make a sentence. Eg. In romaji particles are written on their own separate from other words. Ie. Watashi wa kōen e ikimasu.