Japanese from Zero: Sounds and Scripts · Lesson 5 of 16

Lesson 5: Hiragana 3: H, M, Y, R, W and ん

Finish the 46 basic hiragana: は ひ ふ へ ほ, ま み む め も, や ゆ よ, ら り る れ ろ, わ を ん, with stroke order and audio.

MeroSir Team · 3 min read · Englishनेपालीमा पढ्नुहोस्
Lesson 5: Hiragana 3: H, M, Y, R, W and ん

The last 21 basic hiragana. After this lesson you can read and write all 46. Three of them have two jobs: は, へ and を are also particles, which you will use in Lesson 8.

Hiragana chart: the H, M, Y, R and W rows and ん

Note: the Y row has only 3 characters and the W row only わ, を and ん.

Listen and repeat

aiueo
は ha ▶ひ hi ▶ふ fu ▶へ he ▶ほ ho ▶
ま ma ▶み mi ▶む mu ▶め me ▶も mo ▶
や ya ▶ゆ yu ▶よ yo ▶
ら ra ▶り ri ▶る ru ▶れ re ▶ろ ro ▶
わ wa ▶を o ▶

And the lone nasal sound: ん n ▶

Stroke order for the hiragana of the H, M, Y, R and W rows and ん

ら is written with two strokes; り is two strokes. Check the numbers.

Stroke data: KanjiVG, © Ulrich Apel and contributors, CC BY-SA 3.0 (kanjivg.tagaini.net). The sheet images are shared under the same licence.

Things to know

  • ふ is fu, a soft breath (not a strong फ).
  • ら り る れ ろ use the light tap, like the Nepali र.
  • を is read o, the same sound as お. It is used only as the object particle, never inside a word.
  • ん is a full beat and never starts a word.
  • There is no yi, ye, wu in the basic table: the Y row has ya, yu, yo only.

Look-alikes to watch

  • ぬ / め: ぬ has a loop at the end of its curve; め ends with a plain curve.
  • ね / れ / わ: ね has a loop at the end, れ ends with an open curve, わ ends with a closed curve.
  • る / ろ: る has a loop at the bottom, ろ is open.
  • は / ほ: ほ has an extra horizontal stroke.
  • ま / も and い / り: take care with the bottom and the height of the strokes.

Words you can read now

JapaneseRomajiनेपालीEnglishListen
はなhanaफूलflower▶
ひとhitoमान्छेperson▶
ふねfuneडुङ्गा / जहाजboat▶
へやheyaकोठाroom▶
ほしhoshiताराstar▶
まどmadoझ्यालwindow▶
みみmimiकानear▶
やまyamaपहाडmountain▶
ゆめyumeसपनाdream▶
よるyoruरातnight▶
わたしwatashiमI, me▶
ほんhonकिताबbook▶
にほんnihonजापानJapan▶
ひるhiruदिउँसोdaytime, noon▶

A short phrase you can read: やまの ほし ▶ (yama no hoshi: नेपाली: पहाडका तारा. English: stars of the mountain). The small word の (no) works like को / का in Nepali.

Every ▶ button plays a clear computer voice, which is good for learning sounds and rhythm but is not a native speaker. Pitch (the rise and fall of the voice) can sound a little flat. Also listen to real Japanese as often as you can: videos, news for learners (NHK Easy), and Japanese people around you.

Check yourself

Try to answer every question before you look at the answers.

  1. Read: やま.
  2. Read: にほん.
  3. Read: わたし.
  4. Read: ゆめ.
  5. Read: ひと.
  6. Write the hiragana for the sound ra.
  7. Write the hiragana for the sound n (the lone nasal).
  8. How is を read, and where is it used?
  9. Which character is read fu?
  10. Which pair of characters differ only by an extra horizontal stroke: は and ___?

Answers

Count your correct answers. If you got fewer than 7 out of 10, read the lesson again and listen to the audio once more.

  1. yama: mountain.
  2. nihon: Japan.
  3. watashi: I, me.
  4. yume: dream.
  5. hito: person.
  6. ら.
  7. ん.
  8. As o. It is used only as the object particle.
  9. ふ.
  10. ほ (ho).
#Japanese#Hiragana#Beginner
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MeroSir Team
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Lesson 5: Hiragana 3: H, M, Y, R, W and ん | MeroSir