Mastering Hiragana: n, h, m, y Rows

The N-Row: な (na), に (ni), ぬ (nu), ね (ne), の (no)

We'll start with the n-row. The sounds are straightforward combinations of the 'n' consonant and the five vowels: na, ni, nu, ne, no.

Let's watch the video segment for this row to get acquainted with the shapes and sounds.

To help these characters stick in your memory, mnemonics can be incredibly useful. The Tofugu guide offers some creative ways to remember these shapes.

Let's break down their structures:

• な (na): Four strokes. A short horizontal stroke, a diagonal, a small tick, and then a looping vertical stroke on the right. It can look complex, but think of it as a 't' shape followed by a loop.
• に (ni): Three strokes. A vertical line with a small hook, followed by two shorter, parallel horizontal lines. The mnemonic of a 'knee' with a kneecap and the leg below works well here.
• ぬ (nu): Two strokes. This is one of the more complex single characters. It starts like the left part of に, but the second stroke is a long, looping one. The 'noodle' mnemonic is helpful, as it's very curvy.
• ね (ne): Two strokes. A vertical line, followed by a complex second stroke that creates a 'Z' shape and finishes with a loop. Note the sharp turn, which distinguishes it from the smoother ぬ (nu).
• の (no): One simple, large, curving stroke. It's one of the most common characters you'll see, both as a sound and as a grammatical particle.

Take a few minutes now to practice writing each of these five characters. Pay special attention to the difference in flow between ぬ (nu) and ね (ne).

The H-Row: は (ha), ひ (hi), ふ (fu), へ (he), ほ (ho)

Next up is the h-row. This row has a few special points to keep in mind.

1. The character ふ (fu) is pronounced with a sound halfway between an 'h' and an 'f'. It's a soft, breathy sound, made by blowing air lightly through your lips, rather than the hard 'f' of English.
2. The characters は (ha) and へ (he) have special pronunciations when used as grammatical particles. We will study grammar later, but it's crucial to know this now:
   • When は marks the topic of a sentence, it is pronounced "wa".
   • When へ marks a direction, it is pronounced "e".

Let's watch the video, which explains these points well.

Now, let's look at the stroke order in a clear, static format.

To further solidify these, let's turn back to our mnemonics guide.

Let's review the strokes:

• は (ha): Three strokes. A vertical hooked line on the left, a horizontal line, and a final looping vertical line on the right. Note the similarity in structure to the ほ (ho) character.
• ひ (hi): One single, elegant curved stroke. It's simple but requires practice to get the proportions right.
• ふ (fu): Four strokes. A small tick, a large 'S' curve, and two smaller ticks on the sides. It looks a bit like Mount Fuji.
• へ (he): One simple stroke, like a small, lopsided hill. It is very easy to write but can be confused with the katakana version, which is identical.
• ほ (ho): Four strokes. It's almost identical to は (ha), but it has an extra horizontal line at the top. This is a key distinction.

Practice writing these five characters, paying close attention to the difference between は (ha) and ほ (ho).

The M-Row: ま (ma), み (mi), む (mu), め (me), も (mo)

The m-row is refreshingly straightforward, with no sound exceptions. The sounds are ma, mi, mu, me, mo.

And now for some mnemonics to help you remember them.

• ま (ma): Three strokes. Two parallel horizontal lines and a vertical line that goes through them and ends in a loop.
• み (mi): Two strokes. The first is a complex stroke that loops around, and the second is a long diagonal line.
• む (mu): Three strokes. A short horizontal line, a vertical line that goes through it and makes a loop, followed by a small tick.
• め (me): Two strokes. This one is very similar to ぬ (nu). The key difference is that め (me) lacks the final loop at the end.
• も (mo): Three strokes. A vertical line with a hook, followed by two parallel horizontal lines. It looks like the character for し (shi) with two extra horizontal lines.

Practice writing these five characters. Focus on distinguishing め (me) from ぬ (nu).

The Y-Row: や (ya), ゆ (yu), よ (yo)

Finally, we have the y-row. This row is unique because it only has three characters. The sounds for 'yi' and 'ye' do not exist in modern standard Japanese, so you only need to learn ya, yu, yo.

• や (ya): Three strokes. A large hook-and-loop shape, a small tick, and a long vertical line on the right.
• ゆ (yu): Two strokes. A vertical line with a loop at the bottom that then continues to the right, and a second vertical stroke that cuts through it.
• よ (yo): Two strokes. A short horizontal line and a vertical line with a loop at the bottom.

Practice writing these last three characters.

Consolidation and Practice

You have learned an incredible 18 new characters today! The best way to make them permanent is through practice.

Pronunciation Practice:
The MLC Japanese Language School website has excellent audio resources. Listen to the native pronunciation for the rows we learned today.

• Listen to the n- and h-rows here: na, ni, nu, ne, no, ha, hi, fu, he, ho
• Listen to the m- and y-rows here: ma, mi, mu, me, mo, ya, yu, yo
  (Audio files courtesy of MLC Japanese Language School, Tokyo)

Writing Practice:
For writing, nothing beats repetition. I strongly recommend downloading and printing these worksheets.

Reading Practice:
Let's try reading some words that use the characters you now know. Read them aloud, then practice writing them.

Conclusion

You've made fantastic progress today. By adding these 18 characters, you are getting very close to knowing the entire basic hiragana script.

Key Takeaways:

• You can now read and write the n-row (なにぬねの), h-row (はひふへほ), m-row (まみむめも), and y-row (やゆよ).
• You learned the special pronunciation of ふ (fu).
• You are now aware that は (ha) and へ (he) are pronounced "wa" and "e" when used as grammatical particles.
• You can distinguish between similar-looking characters like ぬ/め, and は/ほ.

Looking Ahead:

In our next lesson, we will complete our study of the basic hiragana by learning the final few characters: the r-row, the w-row, and the very important syllabic nasal ん (n). Keep practicing