Language/Japanese/Grammar/Hiragana-Reading-and-Writing-Practice

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Japanese Grammar → Hiragana Basics → Hiragana Reading and Writing Practice

One of the first steps in learning Japanese is mastering the basic hiragana characters. Hiragana is a phonetic writing system that consists of 46 basic characters and several modified forms, which represent all the sounds in the Japanese language. In this lesson, you will learn to read, write, and pronounce all the basic hiragana characters through various exercises and practice sheets.

After mastering this lesson, these related pages might interest you: Adjectives 形容詞 & How to Use Be.

Hiragana Reading and Writing Practice

Before we start practicing hiragana, let's take a look at the basic hiragana characters and their sounds. You can find a chart of all the basic hiragana characters, their pronunciations, and romanizations on Wikipedia.

Once you familiarize yourself with the sounds and shapes of the basic hiragana characters, it's time to start practicing reading and writing them. Here are some tips and exercises to help you improve your hiragana skills:

Hiragana Reading Practice

1. Start with reading short words and phrases that consist of hiragana characters. You can find many examples on Wikipedia or from your Japanese textbook. 2. Practice reading hiragana aloud with a native speaker or an audio recording. Make sure to pay attention to the pronunciation, intonation, and accent. 3. Try to read whole sentences or paragraphs that include hiragana characters, and try to understand the meaning of the text.

For more reading practice, you can check Fluent in 3 Months or Nihongo Nooz.

Hiragana Writing Practice

1. Start with the stroke order of each hiragana character. Stroke order means how each stroke needs to be written to create each character. You can find the stroke order for all the hiragana characters on Wikipedia or from your Japanese textbook. 2. Practice writing each hiragana character correctly and neatly. Use a lined notebook or a sheet of paper with grid lines. 3. Try to copy hiragana texts from your textbook or online resources to practice writing and improve your motor skills.

For more writing practice, you can check Tofugu or FluentU.

Hiragana Pronunciation Practice

1. Practice repeating the sounds of each hiragana character until they become familiar and automatic. Listen to Japanese native speakers or audio recordings to learn the correct pronunciation. 2. Practice the pronunciation of hiragana characters in pairs or groups, and pay attention to the differences in sounds and accents. For example, し(Shi) and さ(Sa), に (Ni) and にゃ(Nya). 3. Try to distinguish between similar sounds and accents that exist in hiragana. For example, し (Shi) and しゅ(Shu), つ(Tsu) and す(Su).

For more pronunciation practice, you can check NHK World or JapanesePod101.

You can also find many hiragana practice sheets and quizzes on Learn Japanese Adventure or Tofugu.

Hiragana Table

Using a hiragana table can be helpful when practicing reading and writing hiragana. Here's an example of a hiragana table:

Hiragana	Pronunciation	English Translation
あ	a	a
い	i	i
う	u	u
え	e	e
お	o	o
か	ka	ka
き	ki	ki
く	ku	ku
け	ke	ke
こ	ko	ko
さ	sa	sa
し	shi	shi
す	su	su
せ	se	se
そ	so	so
た	ta	ta
ち	chi	chi
つ	tsu	tsu
て	te	te
と	to	to
な	na	na
に	ni	ni
ぬ	nu	nu
ね	ne	ne
の	no	no
は	ha	ha
ひ	hi	hi
ふ	fu	fu
へ	he	he
ほ	ho	ho
ま	ma	ma
み	mi	mi
む	mu	mu
め	me	me
も	mo	mo
や	ya	ya
ゆ	yu	yu
よ	yo	yo
ら	ra	ra
り	ri	ri
る	ru	ru
れ	re	re
ろ	ro	ro
わ	wa	wa
を	o	o
ん	n	n

Conclusion

Hiragana is a fundamental part of learning Japanese, and mastering hiragana pronunciation and writing is crucial for building a strong foundation in the language. With regular practice and dedication, anyone can become proficient in reading, writing, and speaking hiragana!

Sources

• Hiragana Practice Exercises – Learn Japanese
• Read, Write, Repeat: Japanese Hiragana Practice for Beginners ...
• Japanese Courses & Syllabi > East Asian Languages and Cultures ...

• Japanese Words of Portuguese Origin

With this lesson finished, you may want to explore these additional pages: Adverb Types and Usage & Nouns. {{#seo: |title=Japanese Grammar - Hiragana Basics - Hiragana Reading and Writing Practice |keywords=Japanese, Hiragana

Table of Contents - Japanese Course - 0 to A1

• Course Presentation

  ---

Hiragana Basics

• Hiragana Reading and Writing Practice
• Introduction to Japanese Sentence Structure
• Particle は and が
• Verb Conjugation
• Noun and Adjective Modification
• Question Words and Phrases

  ---

Greetings and Introductions

• Greetings
• Introducing Yourself and Others
• Describing People
• Counting Numbers and Time
• Basic Food and Drink Terminology
• Daily Activities and Hobbies
• Basic Directions and Transportation

  ---

Geography and History

• Introduction to Japanese Geography
• Brief History of Japan
• Traditional Arts and Customs
• Popular Culture and Entertainment

  ---

Adjectives and Adverbs

• Adjective Conjugation
• Adjective Types and Usage
• Adverb Types and Usage
• Comparison and Superlative
• Adjective and Adverbial Modification

  ---

Family and Social Relations

• Family Members and Titles
• Social Etiquette and Expressions
• Basic Workplace and Business Terminology
• Shopping and Consumer Culture

  ---

Religion and Philosophy

• Shinto and Buddhism
• Zen and Samurai Culture
• Contemporary Spiritual Movements

  ---

Particles and Conjunctions

• Particles に and で
• Particles へ and を
• Particles も and しか
• Conjunctions and Compound Sentences
• Conditional and Hypothetical Sentences

  ---

Travel and Tourism

• Basic Travel and Tourism Vocabulary
• Famous Tourist Attractions and Landmarks
• Japanese Hospitality and Service Culture

  ---

Education and Science

• Educational System and Vocabulary
• Traditional and Modern Science and Technology
• Natural Disasters and Risk Prevention

  ---

Prepositions and Interjections

• Prepositions and Postpositions
• Emphasis and Intensification
• Exclamation and Impression Expressions

  ---

Arts and Media

• Film and Theater Terminology
• Music and Dance Terminology
• Art and Literature Terminology

  ---

Politics and Society

• Basic Political Vocabulary
• Social Issues and Controversies
• Japanese Business and Work Culture

Other Lessons

• Feminine 女性
• Adjective Types and Usage
• Plural 複数
• Negation
• Give your Opinion
• Particles に and で
• Future Tense
• Nouns
• Pronouns
• Conditional Mood

Next Lesson — Introduction to Japanese Sentence Structure ▶️