Hiragana: な to わ Rows

Six more rows and you have all 46 hiragana.

な行: The n-sounds

▶Listen to な (na)

Hiragana	Source kanji	Mandarin	Meaning
な	奈	nài	Nara (place name), how (classical)
に	仁	rén	benevolence, humaneness
ぬ	奴	nú	servant (classical)
ね	祢	mí / nǐ	ancestral shrine
の	乃	nǎi	then, indeed (classical)

Mandarin Bridge 中文橋

奈 appears in 无奈 (helpless) and the city name 奈良 (Nara). 仁 is one of the core Confucian virtues, as in 仁义 (benevolence and righteousness). 乃 is classical but survives in compounds like 乃至 (even to). Even the less common 奴 and 祢 appear in historical and literary contexts you may have encountered.

For shapes: な from 奈 has the top (大 + 木) compressed into a rounded loop. の from 乃 is one of the most recognizable hiragana, two strokes flowing into a curve. ぬ from 奴: look for the hand shape (又) in the looping tail.

は行: The h-sounds

▶Listen to は (ha)

Hiragana	Source kanji	Mandarin	Meaning
は	波	bō	wave
ひ	比	bǐ	compare
ふ	不	bù	not
へ	部	bù	section, part
ほ	保	bǎo	protect, maintain

波 in 波浪 (waves). 比 in 比较 (compare). 不 is possibly the most common negation in Chinese. 部 in 部分 (part). 保 in 保护 (protect). This entire row is built from high-frequency characters.

False Friend 偽りの友

は is pronounced ha when it is part of a word, but as the topic particle (は) it is pronounced wa. Same character, two readings. Context tells you which. We will cover particles in the grammar chapter; for now, just know this exception exists.

Memory Trick 記憶のコツ

• ひ from 比: 比’s two parallel strokes became ひ. They look almost identical.
• ふ from 不: 不’s top stroke and sweeping leg became ふ.
• は from 波: the 氵 water radical vanished, leaving 皮’s flowing form.

When は appears as the topic particle in こんにちは, how is it pronounced?

A. waB. haC. baD. pa

Which kanji is ふ derived from?

A. 不 (not)B. 波 (wave)C. 比 (compare)D. 保 (protect)

ま行: The m-sounds

▶Listen to ま (ma)

Hiragana	Source kanji	Mandarin	Meaning
ま	末	mò	end, tip
み	美	měi	beautiful
む	武	wǔ	military, martial
め	女	nǚ	woman
も	毛	máo	hair, fur

末 in 周末 (weekend). 美 in 美丽 (beautiful). 武 in 武术 (martial arts). 女 needs no introduction. 毛 in 毛笔 (brush) and 毛巾 (towel).

Memory Trick 記憶のコツ

• め from 女: 女’s crossed legs became め’s loop. One of the clearest kanji-to-hiragana transformations.
• ま from 末: 末’s horizontal top and cross became ま’s rounded box.
• も from 毛: 毛’s sweeping strokes became も’s hook and tail.

や行: The y-sounds

▶Listen to や (ya)

Hiragana	Source kanji	Mandarin	Meaning
や	也	yě	also (classical particle)
ゆ	由	yóu	reason, from
よ	与	yǔ	and, with, give

Only three characters in this row. No い-column or え-column variants exist for や行. 也 is the classical particle in 之乎者也. 由 in 理由 (reason) and 由于 (due to). 与 in 与其 (rather than) and 参与 (participate). For shapes: や from 也 is nearly preserved; ゆ from 由 has the box and vertical line wrapped in curves; よ from 与 has two strokes where the outstretched arms used to be.

How many characters are in the や行?

A. 3 (や, ゆ, よ)B. 5 (full vowel set)C. 4D. 2

ら行: The r-sounds

▶Listen to ら (ra)

Hiragana	Source kanji	Mandarin	Meaning
ら	良	liáng	good
り	利	lì	profit, sharp
る	留	liú	stay, remain
れ	礼	lǐ	ritual, courtesy
ろ	呂	lǚ	spine, musical pitch (classical)

良 in 良好 (good). 利 in 利益 (profit). 留 in 留学 (study abroad). 礼 in 礼貌 (politeness). 吕 is less common today but appears in surnames and classical music theory.

Memory Trick 記憶のコツ

The ら行 is the hardest for English speakers but easier if you think of it as a light tap, like Mandarin l in 来 (lái) but softer. For shapes:

• り from 利: 利’s right 刂 became two short strokes. り is literally two lines.
• る from 留: 留’s right side became る’s loop.
• れ from 礼: 礼’s right 乙 radical became れ’s hook.

わ行 and ん: The extras

▶Listen to わ (wa) ▶Listen to ん (n)

Hiragana	Source kanji	Mandarin	Meaning
わ	和	hé	harmony, peace, Japan
を	遠	yuǎn	far, distant
ん	无 / 無	wú	without, none

和 in 和平 (peace) and 和谐 (harmony). 远 (simplified 远) in 远方 (far away). 无 in 无所谓 (doesn’t matter). The character for “nothing” became the character for “n,” which is a neat bit of history. わ from 和: the left 禾 radical melted into a soft curve. ん from 无: the sweeping stroke became ん, the only hiragana that cannot start a word. It usually comes at the end: さん (three), ほん (book).

False Friend 偽りの友

を is pronounced o (same as お), never “wo.” It appears almost exclusively as the object particle marking what receives an action. You will rarely see it inside words. It is grammar glue, not vocabulary.

Culture 文化メモ

Hiragana was once called 女手(おんなで) (onnade), “women’s hand,” because Heian-era women, excluded from formal Chinese writing, developed this cursive script for literature like The Tale of Genji (源氏物語). Men wrote in kanji and katakana; women wrote in hiragana. Today, everyone uses all three scripts, but hiragana still carries a soft, native, literary feeling in Japanese culture.

Which statement about ん is correct?

A. It cannot start a word — it usually appears at the endB. It is pronounced 'm' before b and pC. It replaces な in the middle of wordsD. It has the same reading as の

How is を pronounced?

A. o (same as お)B. woC. waD. e

なClick to reveal

nanaFrom 奈 (nài, Nara)

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How to study this chart

Work through one row at a time. Five characters a day is a pace many learners can sustain. Say each sound aloud when you look at a character, so your eye, mouth, and ear connect. When you forget ぬ, think 奴. When you forget れ, think 礼. Writing by hand helps too: ten repetitions of each character takes about five minutes and usually improves recognition faster than reading alone.

Do not rush to dakuten. The next page adds voicing marks and combinations, but only after these 46 are solid.

You now have the complete foundation. In the next lesson, we add dakuten (濁点), two small dots that change か into が and open up many more sounds.

Key takeaways

• You now know all 46 basic hiragana — the complete gojūon foundation
• Watch for special cases: は as topic particle (wa), を pronounced o, ん never starts a word
• The や行 has only three characters; わ行 includes the rare object particle を
• Study one row at a time, say each sound aloud, and use kanji origins (女, 不, 和) when you forget a shape

Mark as CompleteNext: Dakuten and Combinations →