Learn Hiragana and Katakana: Just like English has A to Z, the Japanese language also has its own alphabet. Fun fact is that Japanese doesn’t use a single language. It uses three writing systems, Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji. To start initially, students can start with Hiragana and Katakana – the two phonetic alphabets. Learn more about them here.
What are Hiragana and Katakana?
Imagine different sets of letters making the same sound but used for different purposes. That’s what Hiragana and Katakana are.
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Hiragana is the foundational Japanese alphabet. It is used for native Japanese words, verb endings and grammatical particles. Well, if you are writing a sentence in Japanese, most of it will be Hiragana.
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Katakana is used for words borrowed from other languages. An example can:
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If you are writing pizza in Japanese, then it would be written in Katakana because "pizza" is not a native Japanese word.
Hiragana Chart (Basic Sounds)
Students can check the basic sound here as per the Hiragana chart:
| あ (a) | い (i) | う (u) | え (e) | お (o) |
| か (ka) | き (ki) | く (ku) | け (ke) | こ (ko) |
| さ (sa) | し (shi) | す (su) | せ (se) | そ (so) |
(This pattern continues with other rows like ta, na, ha, ma, ya, ra, wa, and n.)
Katakana Chart (Basic Sounds)
Students can check the basic sound here as per the Katakana chart:
| ア (a) | イ (i) | ウ (u) | エ (e) | オ (o) |
| カ (ka) | キ (ki) | ク (ku) | ケ (ke) | コ (ko) |
| サ (sa) | シ (shi) | ス (su) | セ (se) | ソ (so) |
(This pattern also continues with ta, na, ha, ma, ya, ra, wa, and n.)
Both Hiragana and Katakana have 46 basic characters. Each of them represents a single sound. It is usually a vowel-consonant combination. Well, the cool thing about this is that each Hiragana character has a corresponding Katakana character that makes the same sound!
Why Should Kids Learn Hiragana and Katakana?
Kids must learn the Hiragana and Katakana languages due to the following reasons:
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To help them understand different phrases in Japanese.
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To build a strong base at the initial level when learning the language.
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With this, students will be able to understand the basics of the Japanese language.
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Students who are fans of Japanese anime can learn about the culture.
How To Remember French Words Easily?
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Daily practice helps the students learn easily.
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Create a flashcard to help you learn the language easily.
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Write French on one side and english on the other to know the meanings.
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Watch the videos or poems with French songs to learn the language.
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