Learning Nihongo means starting to memorize katakana and hiragana chart. Most of the people find it challenging while some do not. It may differ from one person to another depending on their study method but what if I tell you that you can do it in less than a day?
Yes! you can do it if you think you can. Just be patient in reading this blog and do watch every guide video along the way. For the bonus part, I will share with you my secrets on how did I passed N5 and N4 in just 1 take.
Step 1: Learn how to read each character
Looking at the katakana and hiragana chart above can help you memorize the image of each character faster. Now, if you are still struggling to understand how to read the hiragana and katakana characters based on the chart, refer to the table below.
Hiragana and Katakana reading
| Romaji | Hiragana | katakana |
|---|---|---|
| a | あ | ア |
| i | い | イ |
| u | う | ウ |
| e | え | エ |
| o | お | オ |
| ka | か | カ |
| ki | き | キ |
| ku | く | ク |
| ke | け | ケ |
| ko | こ | コ |
| sa | さ | サ |
| shi | し | シ |
| su | す | ス |
| se | せ | セ |
| so | そ | ソ |
| ta | た | タ |
| tsi/chi | ち | チ |
| tsu | つ | ツ |
| te | て | テ |
| to | と | ト |
| na | な | ナ |
| ni | に | 二 |
| nu | ぬ | ヌ |
| ne | ね | ネ |
| no | の | ノ |
| ha | は | ハ |
| hi | ひ | ヒ |
| hu/fu | ふ | フ |
| he | へ | へ |
| ho | ほ | ホ |
| ma | ま | マ |
| mi | み | ミ |
| mu | む | ム |
| me | め | メ |
| mo | も | モ |
| ya | や | ヤ |
| yu | ゆ | ユ |
| yo | よ | ヨ |
| wa | わ | ワ |
| wo | を | ヲ |
| n | ん | ン |
| ga | が | ガ |
| gi | ぎ | ギ |
| gu | ぐ | グ |
| ge | げ | ゲ |
| go | ご | ゴ |
| za | ざ | ザ |
| zi/ji | じ | ジ |
| zu | ず | ズ |
| ze | ぜ | ゼ |
| zo | ぞ | ゾ |
| da | だ | ダ |
| di/ji | ぢ | ヂ |
| du/zu | づ | ヅ |
| de | で | デ |
| do | ど | ド |
| ba | ば | バ |
| bi | び | ビ |
| bu | ぶ | ブ |
| be | べ | べ |
| bo | ぼ | ボ |
| pa | ぱ | パ |
| pi | ぴ | ピ |
| pu | ぷ | ポ |
| pe | ぺ | ぺ |
| po | ぽ | ポ |
| kya | きゃ | キャ |
| kyu | きゅ | キュ |
| kyo | きょ | キョ |
| sha | しゃ | シャ |
| shu | しゅ | シュ |
| sho | しょ | ショ |
| tsa/cha | ちゃ | チャ |
| tyu/chu | ちゅ | チュ |
| tyo/cho | ちょ | チョ |
| nya | にゃ | ニャ |
| nyu | にゅ | ニュ |
| nyo | にょ | ニョ |
| hya | ひゃ | ヒャ |
| hyu | ひゅ | ヒュ |
| hyo | ひょ | ヒョ |
| mya | みゃ | ミャ |
| myu | みゅ | ミュ |
| myo | みょ | ミョ |
| rya | りゃ | リャ |
| ryu | りゅ | リュ |
| ryo | りょ | リョ |
| gya | ぎゃ | ぎゃ |
| gyu | ぎゅ | ギュ |
| gyo | ぎょ | ギョ |
| zya/ja | じゃ | ジャ |
| zyu/ju | じゅ | ジュ |
| zyo/jo | じょ | ジョ |
| bya | びゃ | ビャ |
| byu | びゅ | ビュ |
| byo | びょ | ビョ |
| pya | ぴゃ | ピャ |
| pyu | ぴゅ | ピュ |
| pyo | ぴょ | ピョ |
Take note that in Writing Hiragana, Katakana and kanji follows stroke order. So, there are two things that you should remember now. First is its reading and then second is its stroke.
Why does stroke order matter in hiragana and katakana?
Each stroke that makes up a Japanese character is designed to be written in a certain order. Learning the proper stroke sequence is crucial since it will help you write new characters more naturally and has a significant impact on how legible the final result appears.
How can I memorize Japanese vocabulary FASTER?
Memorizing vocabulary each day is definitely essential in order for you to understand and eventually read Japanese characters. There is no special technique in order to master everything at once. It requires dedication, perseverance, and hard work.
For N5 vocabulary it is roughly 800 words. When I am still studying, we are required to memorize 50 words per day. Putting it on your head for a day is no big deal but retention is the most challenging part. Now, what should you do then?
Make a flash card, or download this android application: “takoboto”. There is no other phone application I can recommend better than this one. Aside from being free, it has a lot of features that paid applications cannot even compete with its functionalities.
Vocabulary from N５ – N１ is already available on this app and you don’t even need to make a list for that. Just use the official word list. If you are a little bit hesitant, then check out our complete list of n5 vocabulary.
