How to Read and Write Hiragana – Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners

So you’ve decided to learn Japanese — that’s awesome! 🎌

Before you can read or write anything in Japanese, the first thing you must learn is Hiragana (ひらがな).

It’s the foundation of everything — from children’s books to anime subtitles.

Once you master Hiragana, the entire world of Japanese words and grammar becomes much easier.

Let’s begin your Hiragana journey together, step by step!

🌸 What Is Hiragana?

Hiragana (ひらがな) is one of the three writing systems used in Japanese:

Hiragana (ひらがな) – for native Japanese words and grammar

Katakana (カタカナ) – for foreign words like coffee → コーヒー

Kanji (漢字) – for complex words borrowed from Chinese

When you’re starting, focus only on Hiragana.

It has 46 basic characters, each representing one syllable (sound).

Unlike English, where a letter means one sound (like A or B), in Japanese each character represents a whole sound such as ka, mi, su, etc.

✏️ Step 1: Understand the Basic Structure

There are 5 basic vowel sounds in Japanese:

Japanese

Romanization

Pronunciation

あ

a

like “a” in car

い

i

like “ee” in see

う

u

like “oo” in food

え

e

like “e” in met

お

o

like “o” in go

All other Hiragana characters are built by combining a consonant + vowel.

For example:

か = k + a → ka

き = k + i → ki

く = k + u → ku

け = k + e → ke

こ = k + o → ko

So if you can memorize the basic vowel pattern (a, i, u, e, o), the rest follows a clear rhythm.

📘 Step 2: Learn Hiragana in Groups

There are 10 main groups (rows) in Hiragana, usually taught in this order:

A-row (あいうえお)

K-row (かきくけこ)

S-row (さしすせそ)

T-row (たちつてと)

N-row (なにぬねの)

H-row (はひふへほ)

M-row (まみむめも)

Y-row (やゆよ)

R-row (らりるれろ)

W-row (わを) + special ん (n) sound

Each row repeats the vowel pattern a, i, u, e, o — so you can practice like singing a song! 🎶

Example pattern:

ka, ki, ku, ke, ko → sa, shi, su, se, so → ta, chi, tsu, te, to …

🧠 Step 3: Use Mnemonics to Remember Easily

Instead of just memorizing shapes, connect them with pictures or stories.

Here are a few fun examples:

あ (a) → looks like an apple with a stem — “a for apple” 🍎

い (i) → looks like two people standing — “two i’s”

う (u) → looks like a bowl — “you eat from it” 🍜

え (e) → looks like a smiley face — “eh, I’m happy” 😄

お (o) → looks like an old man with a cane — “old man says o!” 👴

You can create your own visual stories — this makes memorization fun and fast!

✍️ Step 4: Learn to Write Properly (Stroke Order)

Japanese characters have stroke order rules — the direction and order you draw the lines.

They’re important for neat handwriting and learning Kanji later.

Basic rules:

Write from top to bottom, left to right

Don’t lift your pen unnecessarily

Follow natural flow (horizontal before vertical)

You can practice using free Hiragana worksheets (you can make printable PDFs later for your blog).

🔊 Step 5: Practice Reading Simple Words

Once you know the first few rows, try reading simple Japanese words!

Japanese

Romaji

Meaning

あい

ai

love

いえ

ie

house

うみ

umi

sea

ここ

koko

here

ねこ

neko

cat

いぬ

inu

dog

As you see — you’re already reading Japanese! 🎉

That’s how fast progress happens with Hiragana.

🕒 Step 6: Daily Practice Routine (15 Minutes)

Here’s a simple daily routine to learn all Hiragana in one week:

Day 1: あ–お (a, i, u, e, o)

Day 2: か–こ (ka, ki, ku, ke, ko)

Day 3: さ–そ (sa, shi, su, se, so)

Day 4: た–と (ta, chi, tsu, te, to)

Day 5: な–の, は–ほ (na to ho)

Day 6: ま–も, や–よ, ら–ろ, わ, を

Day 7: Review all + ん (n)

In just 7 days, you’ll be able to read basic Japanese texts and phrases.

📱 Step 7: Use Apps and Tools

Some great free tools to master Hiragana:

Tofugu Hiragana Guide – fun mnemonics & stories

Duolingo / LingoDeer – gamified practice

JapanesePod101 – free audio lessons

Hiragana Quest – visual mnemonic app

Combine one app + your notebook practice every day.

💬 Step 8: Speak What You Read

When you write ねこ (neko), say it out loud:

“ねこ… ne-ko… cat!”

Speaking activates memory and pronunciation at the same time.

It’s okay to sound silly — that’s how you become fluent faster!

🌺 Step 9: Test Yourself

After one week, try this quiz:

👉 Can you read these words?

いぬ

はな

すし

あさ

みず

Answers:

いぬ (inu) – dog

はな (hana) – flower/nose

すし (sushi) – sushi

あさ (asa) – morning

みず (mizu) – water

If you got them right — congratulations! You can officially read Japanese. 🎉

🌸 Final Thoughts

Learning Hiragana is the first and most exciting step in your Japanese journey.

It’s the alphabet that connects you with everything — from anime to real conversation.

Be patient, practice every day, and use your imagination to remember shapes and sounds.

Once Hiragana becomes natural to you, the next step will be Katakana (カタカナ) — the alphabet for foreign words.