The Finest Hiragana & Katakana Studying Sources

Hiragana and katakana are actually the ABCs of Japanese. They’re probably the most fundamental varieties of Japanese characters and important components of the Japanese language. Studying these two varieties of characters is commonly the very first step to studying Japanese, too.

With the ability to learn hiragana and katakana is superb as a result of it is such an instantly sensible ability. You see them all over the place in Japan. The surroundings of Japan, and even your neighborhood Asian grocery retailer might begin to look totally different as soon as you recognize hiragana and katakana.

Fortunately, they’re pretty straightforward to grasp, too. No, you do not want a photographic reminiscence or superpower to memorize all of them. All you want is the proper technique and instruments to check successfully and effectively.

There are 46 hiragana characters for hiragana and katakana respectively. Memorizing 92 characters with unfamiliar shapes may sound intimidating now, however belief me. Folks have realized them in a pair weeks, a couple of days, or perhaps a few hours with these efficient strategies.

If you wish to examine hiragana and katakana pretty shortly, and always remember them, you have come to the proper place. I am going to discuss how you are able to do it, and introduce among the finest kana studying sources you should use for a profitable kana studying expertise.

How To Be taught Hiragana & Katakana

First, let me undergo the three key factors for profitable kana studying.

1. Use reminiscence hints aka “mnemonics”

Reminiscence hints, aka mnemonics, are actually the sport changer in remembering overseas characters like hiragana, katakana, and even kanji. Utilizing mnemonics, you possibly can simply affiliate the form of kana with the studying.
Curious how mnemonics really work? Here is an instance to recollect hiragana “ki” (き). This one is fairly easy. Simply consider a key! 🔑

Remembering a bunch of unfamiliar shapes out of the blue sounds doable, proper? Mnemonics make issues straightforward to recollect, recall, and never neglect. It truly is a robust instrument for kana studying.

2. Prioritize “studying” over “writing”

Concentrate on studying first. Not writing. I do know, it is not the standard approach kids be taught their characters. However, studying to learn is extra vital as the commonest type of “writing” these days is typing. (If you happen to can learn kana, you possibly can sort them.)

With the ability to handwrite hiragana from reminiscence is a superb ability to have too, but it surely takes much more time to grasp and has fewer real-life advantages. I like to recommend you put it aside for later. Handwriting or tracing over the characters along with your fingers may be a good way to spend time observing the shapes intently, however all the time have in mind the “studying” precedence reasonably than with the ability to handwrite out of your reminiscence. At the very least, for now.

3. Apply recalling

When you grow to be acquainted with the kana, follow studying repeatedly. Ensure that to evaluate gadgets you have realized and stick with it. And whenever you evaluate, focus in your recall. The extra effort you set into recalling one thing, the stronger reminiscence your mind will find yourself constructing.

The Finest Sources for Studying Hiragana/Katakana

So now that we have talked in regards to the three key factors for profitable kana studying, you could be considering, “What instruments can I take advantage of to be taught hiragana and katakana?”

I bought you — I put collectively an inventory of among the finest kana studying sources. They, in fact, have small variations, however all of them characteristic mnemonics and studying follow, that are the important thing factors for profitable kana studying.

Now, let’s take a more in-depth have a look at every useful resource.

Tofugu’s Be taught Hiragana/Katakana Books

Earlier than something, let me discuss Tofugu’s personal merchandise — our Be taught Hiragana/Katakana Ebook sequence. It is a shameless plug as I’m very happy with all of the learners who efficiently realized kana with our books and proved them to be efficient. They’re additionally obtainable without spending a dime, so nothing to lose in the event you give them a strive.

Tofugu’s Be taught Hiragana/Katakana Ebook sequence consists of two PDF workbooks, so you possibly can print or use them in your gadget offline. The workbooks cowl all the pieces you might want to find out about hiragana and katakana. You will discover ways to pronounce, and how you can bear in mind every character with mnemonics and writing follow sheets. There are additionally studying follow workouts that will help you evaluate what you have simply realized by filling in romaji. The quiz makes use of precise phrases made out of the characters you have realized, making a rewarding second that hopefully makes you go “Woah, I can learn Japanese phrases!” and motivates you to maintain going.

Greater than something, the last word focus of our content material is the standard of mnemonics. We have been updating and enhancing our mnemonics ever since we first revealed them, and that is what makes our kana content material particular. For instance, to elucidate the pronunciation of every kana, we use an English phrase that makes use of the identical or very comparable sound in order that you recognize precisely how you can pronounce it. And, when attainable, we use the English key phrase for mnemonics too. For instance, the hiragana い sounds similar to “e” as in “eel.” And that will help you affiliate the sound and the form of the characters, we use the identical key phrase “eel,” and say い seems to be like two eels hanging out. One other widespread mnemonic for い is that it seems to be just like the quantity eleven as in 11 (which, it completely does!) however we select “eels” for the extra correct pronunciation. We consider that studying kana can also be about studying the sounds of the Japanese language and the fundamentals of Japanese pronunciation, so we hope these key phrases assist you to bear in mind the right pronunciation.

We additionally hold our mnemonic artwork easy in a approach that makes it straightforward to see the unique form of the character. Not many mnemonics on the market have this high quality, and it is typically arduous to acknowledge the unique form within the mnemonic artwork.

If you’re in search of a one-stop answer for kana studying, you will not be disenchanted with Tofugu’s Be taught Hiragana/Katakana Books.

For many who need to have the ability to take heed to the pronunciation of every kana…

we now have internet web page variations too — Be taught Hiragana: The Final Information and Be taught Katakana: The Final Information. Whereas these do not include writing sheets, you possibly can play the audio, which is all the time a bonus.

So there you may have it. We even have extra kana studying instruments in numerous codecs and for various functions, so take a look at the record under to search out one thing that fits your choice and desires. You may combine and match too — they’re all free!

• Internet Pages
  They arrive with audio so you possibly can hear how every character is pronounced.
• YouTube Video Classes
• Mnemonic Charts
  A fast reference chart of our mnemonics.
• Quiz/Assessment

HIRAGANA/KATAKANA Reminiscence Trace

HIRAGANA Reminiscence Trace and KATAKANA Reminiscence Trace are cellular apps that will help you be taught kana with reminiscence hints (aka mnemonics). Developed by The Japan Basis Japanese-Language Institute, Kansai, each apps can be found without spending a dime.
The apps are divided into two components: Reminiscence Hints and Quiz.

The reminiscence hints are total useful and intuitive, they usually all include cute illustrations. If something, the distinctive artwork fashion makes it a bit arduous to acknowledge the unique characters within the illustration. Most of the illustrations kind of modify the shapes to make sense of the visible mnemonics (or no less than, many look so much totally different from generic font textual content). So in the event you ever use these apps, hold that in thoughts, and ensure to match the illustration to what the character really seems to be like. There are a pair choices within the app that assist you to with this; one to see the mnemonic illustration and the unique aspect by aspect, and one other to play an animation of the illustration steadily fading out and the unique character showing after that.

If you happen to go to the Quiz display screen, there are 4 varieties of quizzes you possibly can choose from. Along with the everyday follow of selecting the corresponding romaji studying for every kana, the choices embody Pay attention & Select, the place you hear a sound and select a corresponding kana out of three selections, and Comparable Hiragana / Comparable Katakana, the place you see a sound written in romaji and select a corresponding character out of two or three kana choices that look alike, resembling あ, め, and ぬ.

One other good factor in regards to the quiz characteristic is you can slim down the characters you wish to follow by choosing a gaggle(s) of kana. Every group accommodates two kana rows of eight to 10 characters. Not many individuals cram all of the kana in a single sitting, so it is good to have the ability to choose and follow the kana you simply turned acquainted with, earlier than shifting ahead to check extra.

Nonetheless, it is value noting these quizzes are all in multiple-choice format. In comparison with typing or writing, it is a much less strict technique of testing your data, or training your recall. However in the event you choose easing into kana with a extra relaxed method, this could possibly be a superb possibility. No matter your reply being appropriate or not, you will be proven the mnemonic illustration of the reply proper after you reply every query. It is a good gesture for individuals who had a tough time recalling a lot of the characters, however this feels redundant whenever you attempt to get by means of the session as shortly as attainable or whenever you’re already assured and needn’t see them. Quiz periods are timed to encourage individuals to undergo shortly, so being proven the mnemonic picture can really feel extraneous.

General, regardless of minor particulars that you could be want to change, HIRAGANA/KATAKANA Reminiscence Trace is a authentic choice to be taught kana with the assistance of mnemonics. And it is free!

As a aspect word… As of reviewing the apps (February, 2023), the audio was sadly not working in any respect on my iPhone 13 mini. Audio play buttons to test the pronunciation of every character does not work, and the Pay attention & Select quiz does not play the audio both.

Be taught Languages with Dr. Moku (Hiragana & Katakana)

Be taught Languages with Dr. Moku is a cellular app that makes use of the facility of mnemonics to assist visible learners examine the characters of overseas languages, together with Japanese — hiragana, katakana, and even fundamental kanji.
Of their hiragana and katakana programs, you will be offered with mnemonic illustrations and a brief phrase or two that will help you affiliate the form of the character with the way it’s pronounced.

Upon tapping the mnemonic picture, it performs an animated model of the visible mnemonic (You will hear Dr. Moku studying the mnemonic aloud for you!), then an animation displaying how the character is written following its stroke order. Many mnemonics are intelligent, however simply bear in mind that there are some popular culture references used within the mnemonics, resembling Mr. T or Ed Sheeran, which might not be relatable to everybody.

Following mnemonics is an audio play button to listen to the pronunciation together with some helpful details about every character — how you can pronounce it or the place you may see the character. It additionally reveals a couple of phrases the place the character is used.

After studying a set of characters, you will be prompted with quizzes to evaluate what you have simply realized. It provides numerous codecs of quizzes, resembling typing in romaji, and choosing a personality akin to the sound you hear. It quizzes you with not solely single characters but additionally typically phrases which can be made out of a number of characters.

The app total has a fantastic design and high quality illustrations and animations, however you need to pay for what you get — it is not free to be taught all of the kana. You should use it without spending a dime to check eleven hiragana and eight katakana, however after that, you will must make a one-time in-app buy to improve to the total kana protection. Every kana package deal prices $5.99, however there is a Japanese Bundle package deal for $7.99, which incorporates each kana in addition to fundamental kanji and a phrase e-book.

The improve additionally unlocks some bonus options, together with a follow instrument the place you are able to do further quizzes, however this follow characteristic will not actually be helpful till you are already acquainted with the entire set of 46 fundamental kana plus variation characters. You may select what number of questions you wish to undergo in a session, but it surely does not take into account what kana you have already realized on the app, nor does it let you choose kana you are already acquainted with and wish to quiz.

Be taught ALL Hiragana/Katakana in 1 Hour – Write and Learn Japanese (JapanesePod101.com)

Be taught ALL Hiragana/Katakana in 1 Hour is a sequence of two video classes obtainable without spending a dime on YouTube. Every video is an hour lengthy, specializing in both a complete set of hiragana or katakana.
The video provides an summary of hiragana and katakana utilizing graphics and charts, then goes by means of every character that will help you bear in mind how you can write and browse them. Every character is launched with the stroke order of the character, and what the character seems to be like in numerous sorts of fonts. In addition they present an illustration mnemonic for every character to make it straightforward to recollect. You will additionally hear a quick clarification of the place you may see the character in Japanese grammar. After they introduce a brand new kana that has an identical form to the one you have already realized, they take the time to match and clarify the variations.

As soon as every column (a set of three to 5 characters) is launched, they do a fast quiz to evaluate, displaying you the characters you have simply realized whereas supplying you with a second to recall how they’re pronounced. Some quizzes use precise phrases the place the character seems.

The host of the video classes, Risa, is a local speaker of Japanese, so that you get to listen to her genuine pronunciation of every character. Nonetheless, have in mind there’s typically a niche between the precise Japanese sound and the English key phrases they use of their mnemonics. For instance, they encourage you to consider the form of an apple to recollect a hiragana あ (a). Nonetheless, あ is nearer to the sound of “ah” (ɑ), not “apple” (æ). This may occasionally journey you up, so strive specializing in how the host reads the character, reasonably than the mnemonic key phrases for correct pronunciation.

They do cowl all of the kana in an easy-to-understand approach utilizing illustrations and animations. Nonetheless, an hour lengthy video lesson is so much to pack in. If you happen to’re thinking about utilizing this video lesson sequence for studying kana, do not drive your self to undergo it multi functional sitting.

The sequence is created by JapanesePod101.com, who’re identified for providing an enormous quantity of Japanese studying content material. Nonetheless, on the identical time, their content material group tends to be tough to navigate. For instance, these YouTube movies do not have timestamps, so you could discover it arduous to maintain coming again to the place you left off.

If you happen to choose a set of bite-size classes, you possibly can take a look at the 10-Day Hiragana Problem and 10-Day Katakna Problem playlists. Every of the 2 movies from the Be taught ALL Hiragana/Katakana in 1 Hour sequence are divided into ten components with movies simply a number of minutes lengthy. The draw back of this 10-Day Problem sequence although is that it contains extra commercials for JapanesePod101.com merchandise.

For Additional Quiz Apply and Opinions

The sources that I’ve talked about to date are all one-stop options that assist you to bear in mind kana with mnemonics and evaluate and follow by means of quizzes. As I’ve talked about, kana is all over the place. When you begin finding out different points of the Japanese language, you will see them continuously. So in a approach, you will be naturally reinforcing your kana data shifting ahead. That mentioned, you will wish to first follow so much and be sure you solidify your kana data.

You may get some follow in with the sources above, however I additionally needed to introduce you to a few different instruments particularly designed to quiz your kana data for further follow. One standout characteristic is that they allow you to really sort in romaji for the kana readings as an alternative of simply providing you a number of alternative solutions. This implies they’re a greater evaluation of your true kana data, and may also help you establish what kana you may be struggling to recollect.

Tofugu’s Be taught Kana Quiz

That is one other shameless plug (okay okay, I promise this would be the final).

Tofugu’s Be taught Kana Quiz is an internet app initially designed to be a quiz instrument that will help you solidify the kana data from our kana merchandise, such because the workbooks and internet pages I launched earlier. Nonetheless, it will be a fantastic companion for actually any type of kana-learning useful resource as what it does is assist you to follow no matter kana you need, as many instances as you need. It additionally lets you establish the characters you continue to have a tough time with.

The way in which it really works is straightforward. On the principle web page, you get to decide on the kana you wish to follow by column (a set of three to 5 characters). You may test all hiragana or all katakana with a single button too, in the event you’re already acquainted with all of the kana listed.

In the course of the quiz, you will be prompted with a set of the chosen hiragana characters and requested to sort within the readings for each. You may select to skip gadgets so it can save you those you may have a tough time recalling and circle again on these later. We consider the act of recalling is vital, so in contrast to every other quiz instruments, we really will not let you know the right reply even whenever you get issues improper. (We deliberately make it arduous to cheat, and it is all for you!) Nonetheless, you possibly can strive answering the identical merchandise till you sort in the proper reply so you possibly can check your recall time and again.

Then, whenever you end a session, the outcomes present you what number of failed makes an attempt you had with the characters you could not reply appropriately on the first go. This may assist you to establish what kana characters usually are not nonetheless sticking in your reminiscence so you are able to do one thing about them — revisiting the mnemonics, inventing new mnemonics, or tracing the characters — no matter you gotta do to lastly bear in mind them!

Actual Kana

So that is it! Hope you discovered one thing that you just wish to give a strive on this article. Once more, with the ability to learn kana is an enormous first step, and it is not as arduous as you suppose. I hope the strategies and sources that I talked about provides you with a fantastic head begin in your Japanese studying journey! Pleased Kana Studying!