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Lesson Transcript

Hi everyone! Welcome to BASIC JAPANESE WRITING. The fastest, easiest, and most fun way to master the Japanese alphabet!
You've learned these 15 hiragana characters from the previous lessons.
In this lesson, you'll learn five new characters, 10 new syllable sounds, and an extra character function. Curious? Stay tuned to learn all about them.
ただちぢつづってでとど
The first Hiragana character for this lesson is た. た.
た actually looks like a "ta". Like a small letter t and a.
All of the Hiragana in this column can be altered by a dakuten as well. Can you guess what the new sound will be after adding a dakuten to た?
It will be だ. た; だ. た; だ.
Hiragana た is written in 4 strokes.
The first and second stroke is written like a small letter T but the second stroke goes diagonally to the bottom left. This should be a bit left of the center to make space for the following strokes.
The third stroke is a small curved stroke to the right of the T.
Then the fourth stroke is also a small curved stroke with an opposite curve to the previous stroke.
Ok, let's see it again.
Ok, next up is the Hiragana character ち. ち.
Does ち remind you of another character? It looks like the mirror image of さ doesn't it? Just think of ち as a CHEERLEADER angry at さ for copying her.
Now, let's add a dakuten to ち. How do you think it will sound like now? Is it "DI"?
Actually, ち with a dakuten is pronounced as ぢ. It's just like a し with a dakuten: "じ". ち; ぢ. ち; ぢ.
Hiragana ち is written in 2 strokes.
The first stroke goes from left to right. It is written at an angle.
The second stroke starts as a diagonal stroke that intersects the first stroke then continues into a semi-circle. Flick your pen at the end of this stroke.
Even though it's like a mirror image of さ, you don't need to lift your pen for this part to write it correctly.
Ok, let's see it again.
The third Hiragana for this lesson is つ. つ.
This Hiragana is very easy to remember. つ looks like a TSUNAMI wave.
Let's add a "dakuten" to つ as well. How do you think it will sound like?
It's actually pronounced as づ. It's similar to す with a dakuten: ず. Listen carefully. つ; づ. つ; づ.
Actually, つ has a special version that looks like this and is called 小さいつ, literally "small つ".
It's actually just a smaller sized つ. So what do we use it for?
The 小さいつ is used to prolong the consonant after it. Take a look at the following examples and listen to how I say them: かっこいい (cool), じっか (one's family home), かった (bought).
To compare, here are some words without it: かこ (past), じかん (time), かた (shoulder). Now listen as I say them side by side: かこ, かっこいい; じかん, じっか; かた, かった.
When found at the end of the word, the 小さいつ acts like a glottal stop. For example: あっ!,
Hiragana つ is written in 1 stroke.
It's written just like a big wave. Flick your pen at the end of this stroke.
Ok, let's see it again.
Next is the Hiragana character て. て.
Hiragana て looks like a dog's TAIL.
Let's modify て with a dakuten.
It is now pronounced as で. て; で. て; で.
Hiragana て is written in 1 stroke.
First, draw a line from left to right and then, go back and make a huge curve.
Ok, let's see it again.
Our final character for this lesson is the Hiragana と. と.
と looks like a TORNADO.
What does と sounds like with a dakuten?
と with a dakuten is pronounced ど. と; ど. と; ど.
Hiragana と is written in 2 strokes.
The first stroke is a small slanted stroke that goes to the middle.
The second stroke is a big curved line, meeting the first stroke in the middle then bends back almost near the bottom.
Try to keep the start and end of the second stroke aligned to ensure your handwriting is neat.
Also, make sure the second stroke doesn't cross the first stroke.
Ok, let's see it again.
Let's see all the characters again. た, だ, ち, ぢ, つ, づ, 小さいつ (っ), て, で, と, ど.
Quiz time!
Now, let's review what you've learned. I'll show you a character or group of characters and give you time to say them. Ready?
て. て as a word actually means "hand".
This is づ. づ.
Which one is the Hiragana ち? [pause 3 sec] It's this one. The one that looks like the angry CHeerleader.
ご.
せ.
くつ. This means "shoes."
ちず. ちず is "map."
でし. でし means "apprentice."
たつ. This means "to stand."
とおい. とおい means "far."
つづく. It means "to continue." If you've ever watched Japanese TV dramas or anime, I think you have seen this one.
どっち. It means "which"
だいがく. だいがく means "university". Literally it means "big school."
あさって. This means "the day after tomorrow."
おちつく. おちつく means "to calm down."
Great job! You might ask "If ち and し sound very similar with a dakuten, then how will I know which to use?" Most of the time we use "じ”. ぢ is very rarely used in Japanese. It is only used for compound Kanji which have ち as their original sound. For example, "blood" in Japanese is ち but "nosebleed" becomes はなぢ.
Ok, let's wrap up this lesson by recapping what you've learned.
In this lesson, you learned た and だ, ち and ぢ, つ, づ and 小さいつ, て and で, and と and ど.
よくできました!You've now mastered 20 characters and 35 Japanese syllables:
Now you know which is "which", but do you know what is "what?" Find out in the next lesson where I'll teach the Hiragana characters in the N column.
Before you go, practice writing the following words on your own!
[pause]
And to learn MORE Japanese, go to JapanesePod101.com.
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See you in the next lesson! またね!

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