12 docs tagged with "hiragana"

Dakuten and handakuten explained: how the two dots voice k, s, t, h into g, z, d, b, why the small circle turns h into p, and where you meet them next.

Hiragana mnemonics compared: how the Tofugu, Dr. Moku, Kana Quest, and story-per-kana methods work, how to pair them with SRS, and when to retire them.

Hiragana stroke order explained: the MEXT standard for all 46 base kana, the universal rules behind them, and why typists still need it for kanji.

Hiragana vs. katakana, sorted: which script handles native words, loanwords, names, onomatopoeia, and emphasis, plus the curly-vs-angular visual test.

Hiragana writing practice that sticks: a four-week drill schedule, the free sheets worth printing, the Anki plus handwriting hybrid, and when to stop.

Long vowels in hiragana: the five patterns (ああ, いい, うう, ええ/えい, おう/おお), why おとうさん is spelled with う, and the closed list of おお exception words.

Lookalike hiragana, sorted: the loop, crossbar, mirror, and stroke-ending tests that disambiguate ぬ/め, わ/れ/ね, さ/ち, は/ほ, and る/ろ at a glance.

Hiragana chart explained: the 46 gojūon kana, 25 dakuten and handakuten, 33 yōon, plus why the chart's name says 50 but the modern count is 46.

History of hiragana: the Man'yōgana to sōgana to hiragana lineage, the qualified women's-script story, hentaigana, and the 1900 and 1946 reforms.

The small つ (sokuon) in Japanese is a silent beat that doubles the next consonant. Learn how to read, write, type, and pronounce っ with minimal-pair drills.

Hiragana spelling exceptions explained: why は is read wa, へ is read e, and を is read o when they act as particles, and why the 1946 reform kept them.

Yōon contracted sounds in hiragana: how small ゃ, ゅ, ょ fuse with i-column kana into one beat, the full 33 combinations, romanization, and worked examples.