Learn how to read and write hiragana characters, ま, み, む, め, も
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| みなさんこんにちは。(Mina-san konnichiwa.) |
| Hi everyone and welcome back to JapanesePod101.com’s kantan kana. In the last lesson, we learned the Hiragana characters は(ha), ひ(hi), ふ(fu), へ(he) and ほ(ho). If you are not feeling confident about those, review the last lesson before continuing on here. You’ve already learned 30 Hiragana characters so far. Great job. Only 16 left to go. |
| So let’s get started with ま(ma) . 1, 2, 3. This might also remind you of the right side of the character ほ(ho). The difference is, in ほ(ho), the vertical line doesn’t go past the top stroke but in ま(ma) it does. |
| くま(kuma) is “bear”. |
| And まち(machi) is “town” or “neighborhood”. You will hear this word a lot in place names around Japan. |
| Next this is み(mi). First, one long stroke like this and then one short one like this. Have you ever had Miso soup? |
| みそ(miso) is bean paste used a lot in Japanese food. |
| And みせ(mise) is store. |
| Now let’s move on to む(mu). 1, 2, down and around and up. When written the loop on む(mu) looks like it’s at the corner but when printed, it’s a bit higher up. |
| The word むし(mushi) means “bug” |
| And むかし(mukashi) means “a long time ago”. |
| Next is め(me). First we do one short stroke and then a long one here like this. Don’t confuse め(me) with ぬ(nu). ぬ(nu) has a loop but め(me) doesn’t. め(me) by itself is “eye”. |
| nother word is まめ(mame) which is the Japanese word for “Beans”. |
| Our last character today is も(mo). 1, 2 and 3. This character might remind you of ま(ma), but ま(ma) has a loop to the left and も(mo) has an open hook on the right. |
| もも(momo) is “peach” |
| And もの(mon) is “thing”. |
| Now let’s have a short quiz. I will show you the Hiragana and you read it. Bonus points if you remember what it means. |
| くま(kuma), “bear” |
| むし(mushi), “bug” |
| もも(momo), “peach” |
| Now it’s time for Chihiro’s tip. How is your kana learning going? If you are having a tough time learning the characters, why not check out the Hiragana chart on JapanesePod101.com’s learning center. You will be able to see all the kana, watch the stroke order and hear them pronounce by a native speaker. Don’t just get stuck in one learning method. Mix it up for best results. |
| Do you feel like taking やすみ(yasumi) or rest, when you are ready, we will show you how to write that word and many others in our next lesson. |
51 Comments
Hideみなさん、
In this Kantan Kana lesson, you'll learn the "m" set! :kokoro:
Hi James Grice,
Thank you for your comment!
I know your struggles with learning a language.
It's sometimes hard to make it a habit and keep motivated😅
So let's just take it easy and don't worry, as you enjoy learning Japanese with us!
Please let us know if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Miho
Team JapanesePod101.com
こんにちは Temarius Walker,
Welcome on board!! 😇😇 It's great to have you join us too. ❤️️
Feel free to contact us if you have any questions.
We wish you good luck with your language studies.
Best regards,
レヴェンテ (Levente)
Team JapanesePod101.com
Thank you for the helpful lessons. The assorted worksheets with each row of Hiragana have also been really helpful.
Not trying to sound negative but the opposite. I am struggling yet I completely enjoy studying the lessons, It is my lack of anyone to practice with who can tolerate my low skill level and I don't have the budget for paid teachers. Only take my frustration with a grain of salt because it is up to me to improve my study habits and find motivation and perhaps a group to join where we are all learning someplace along the continuum of language. Again please know that I completely plan to remain committed to studying through the JapanesePod101.com website. I like the lessons and the supportive atmosphere! 👍😄
kadir malakさん
Thank you so much for your comment😄
It's this one!
https://www.japanesepod101.com/learn-hiragana/
Please let us know if you have any questions :)
Sincerely
Ryoma
Team JapanesePod101.com
hi, could you please give the link of the hiragana chart you've mentioned at the end of the lesson?
Kon'nichiwa Noah,
Thank you for your comment!
Yes. I would say hiragana and katakana are the most important, basic things to learn first.😄
Also, I would recommend to learn kanji in order, by grade.
It is the easiest to start from 1st grade because the stroke orders are less such as 一、二、and 大.
Please let us know if you have any other questions!
Best regards,
Izumi
Team JapanesePod101.com
Kanban wa, i was wondering if i should learn Hirigana or Katakana first. Also, what is the best way to learn Kanji since it is so overwhelming? Arigato gozaimasu!
Konnichiwa Amy,
Thank you for asking.
お is Honorific prefixes and suffixes. 「お + noun form is to show respect or politeness for the things and also the person who you are talking together.
Please check out this lesson: https://www.japanesepod101.com/learningcenter/reference/grammar/372
Feel free to ask us any questions.
Sono
Team JapanesePod101.com
Konnichiwa,
in this example "あそこにおみせがあります" I thought that に was the particle, but there is also お in front of みせ. Could you explain this to me?