ra-ro.wavHere is the ninth row of the Japanes alphabet. Starting from the left and going right is RA, RI, RU, RE, RO.
Welcome to another exciting lesson in the Learn Kana series. Well, after
this first section, you will be done with the complete main part of the
syllabary. Omedetou. Let's get started then.
ra-ro.wav
Here is the ninth row of the Japanes alphabet. Starting from
the left and going right is RA, RI, RU, RE, RO.
How to write RA
ra.wav
Pronunciation: RA
is pronounced like the "ra"
in mirage but
shorter.
How to write RI
ri.wav
Pronunciation: RI
is pronounced like the "re"
in reject but
shorter.
How to write RU
ru.wav
Pronunciation: RU
is pronounced like the "ru"
in rule but shorter.
How to write RE
re.wav
Pronunciation: RE
is pronounced like the "re"
in red.
How to write RO
ro.wav
Pronunciation: RO
is pronounced like the "ro"
in roar but shorter.
Now, to continue with learning Katakana, I must introduce a little character
called dakuten. Below is the drawing
for dakuten with its stroke order.
Dakuten acts like a nasaling modifier.
It is added at the top of most of the characters that you've learned so
far and it is drawn after the main body character. Why I call it a nasaling
modifier is quite simple. Take, for example, KA.
If you plug your nose and say KA, you
get a sound that should be GA. This
is exactly what happens to KA when
you add the dakuten to the top. Here
are the other katakana constants and what they are changed to after you
add dakuten.
| k -> g | t -> d |
| s -> z | h -> b |
As you can see, there aren't that many and you'll learn the first column
in this lesson. The IMPORTANT POINT is that
the dakuten is drawn AFTER
THE MAIN CHARACTER. I'll keep saying this throughout the lesson.
Since you've learned the main characters already, I won't draw them over
again. But if you forget how they are drawn, I'll put a link back to the
lesson where they were first introduced. Let's get started then.
ga-go.wav
Starting from the left and going right is GA,
GI, GU, GE, GO.
How to write GA
ga.wav
Pronunciation: GA
is pronounced like the "ga"
in garden but
shorter.
Remember: Draw the main character first (in this case, ka) and then the
dakuten .
To recall how to draw KA,
click
here
How to write GI
gi.wav
Pronunciation: GI
is pronounced like the "gee"
in geese but
shorter.
To recall how to draw KI,
click
here
How to write GU
gu.wav
Pronunciation: GU
is pronounced like the "goo"
in goose but
shorter.
To recall how to draw KU,
click
here
How to write GE
ge.wav
Pronunciation: GE
is pronounced like the "ge"
in get.
To recall how to draw KE,
click
here
How to write GO
go.wav
Pronunciation: GO
is pronounced like the "go"
in gore but keep
it short.
To recall how to draw KO,
click
here
za-zo.wav
Starting from the left and going right is ZA,
JI, ZU, ZE, ZO.
How to write ZA
za.wav
Pronunciation: ZA
is pronounced like the "za"
in bizarre but
shorter.
To recall how to draw SA,
click
here
How to write JI
ji.wav
Pronunciation: JI
is pronounced like the "jee"
in jeep but shorter.
To recall how to draw SHI,
click
here
How to write ZU
zu.wav
Pronunciation: ZU
is pronounced like the "zu"
in Zulu but shorter.
To recall how to draw SU,
click
here
How to write ZE
ze.wav
Pronunciation: ZE
is pronounced like the "ze"
in zest.
To recall how to draw SE,
click
here
How to write ZO
zo.wav
Pronunciation: ZO
is pronounced like the "zo"
in Azores but
keep it shorter.
To recall how to draw SO,
click
here
Examples
Help on Making Your Own Words
I think the best tips are the following.
If you want something to end in "l"
or "el",
use a RU
or ERU.
Next, if you want to have an "s"
at the end of your word, it's better to use a ZU
than SU.
Answers: game, control, Zeta, Titans
