Complete Hiragana Workbook: Yayuyo

ひらがな
Complete Hiragana Workbook

Table of Contents
1. Introduction …………….2
1. How to use the “Complete Hiragana workbook”
2. Hiragana at a glance
3. Hiragana writing tips
2. Hiragana Chart ………………4
3. Hiragana writing worksheet ……………..5

1. 46 basic Hiragana
2. Daku-on (Voiced and Semi-voiced Varieties)
4. Pronunciation Rules ………………….35

1. Chō-on (long vowel)
2. Soku-on (double consonants)
3. Yō-on (small ya yu yo with contracted sound)
4. Devoiced vowels
5. Pronunciation of ん
5. Hiragana in sentences ………………..42

1. Particles
2. Japanese sentences
6. Hiragana Flash Cards … appendix

7. Hiragana Flash Card Video … appendix
Chapters with this mark have accompanying videos.
Copyright © 2010 www.LearnJapanese123.com All rights reserved 1

1. Introduction
1-1. How to use “Complete Hiragana Workbook”

orkbook”
This Complete Hiragana Workbook covers all you need for Hiragana
self-study. The accompanied tutorial videos clarify each Hiragana character’s
writing stroke order and its pronunciation.
Hiragana has 46 basic writing characters and 58 variations and

combinations. Moreover, there are some special pronunciation and writing
rules. You’ll learn all about Hiragana writing through this workbook and
tutorial videos. Throughout this workbook, over 100 words are introduced.
To make the most of your study, I recommend you go through each
lesson in the same order as this workbook.
Step 1 Print out all of this Hiragana Workbook.

Step 2 Look at the Katakana Chart (p4) and grasp the total picture of Hiragana
Step 3 Watch video tutorials and practise writing and pronouncing each
Hiragana letter. Do exercise accordingly.
Sept 4 Play with Flashcards and Flashcard videos every day.
1-2. Hiragana at a glance
Japanese is a syllable-timed language while English is stress-timed. That

means, you can understand how to read any Japanese words once you know
how to pronounce each Hiragana character and some pronunciation rules.
(on the other hand for English, you need to know the spelling as well as the
pronunciation. We never know how to pronounce an English word such as

“photo” by just knowing how to read alphabet: a,b,c…). Japanese
pronunciation rule is very systematic, thus, once you know it, it’s much
easier for you to study Japanese further up to the upper level.
Each Japanese syllable is made up of either a single vowel: /a/, /i/, /u/, /e/ and
/o/ or a combination of a consonant plus a vowel. The only exception is the /n/,
/m/ or /ŋ/ sound which is represented by the character ん.
There are 46 basic Hiragana, 25 voiced or semi-voiced variations (called
“Daku-on) and 33 contracted sounds. Here, “voiced” means you use your
vocal cords to pronounce them. It begins with the consonants /b/, /d/, /g/, /j/
and /z/ and semi-voiced ones begin with /p/, that we call Daku-on. Contracted
sounds are basic Hiragana of the i-column combined with smaller versions of
the Hiragana from y-row.
Each Hiragana character takes one beat, “mora”. So please make sure to
pronounce each character with equal length and stress.
1-3. Hiragana writing tips
Stroke order is very important for writing well-balanced Hiragana.

Basically, all Japanese writing (Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji) write the
horizontal stroke first, then the vertical stroke if two lines are crossed. Of
course, there are some exceptions though.
If there are two parts, write the left side first then the right side, or write the
top part first then the bottom part.
Also, it’s important to pay attention to the direction and termination of each
stroke. In this workbook, you’ll see the following marks for each stroke end.
to stop the stroke.
to release the pen pressure.
to hook

2. Hiragana Chart
Basic 46 Hiragana
Yō-on
Daku-
Daku-on

3. Hiragana writing worksheet
3-1. 46 Basic Hiragana
Hiragana
あ
a

a i u e o
Let’s practise writing words!
あい
a i (love)
うえ
u e (above)
あお
a o (blue)
おおい
o o i (many)
いいえ
i i e (No)

ka
ki
ku
ke
ko

ka ki ku ke ko
かき
ka ki (persimmon)
くうき
ku u ki (air)
おけ
o ke (pail)
こい
ko i (carp)
けいかく
ke i ka ku (plan)

sa
shi
su
se
so

sa shi su se so
かさ
ka sa (umbrella)
おかし
o ka shi (snack)
おすし
o su shi (sushi)
せかい
se ka i (world)
うそ
u so (lie)

ta
chi
tsu
te
to

ta chi tsu te to
たこ
ta ko (octopus)
けち
ke chi (stingy)
つくえ
tsu ku e (desk)
たすけて
ta su ke te (help! –in emergency)
とけい
to ke i (clock / watch)

Let’s practise more! (Review あ～と)
su i ka (watermelon)
shi o (salt)
ko ta e (answer)
o i shi i (tasty)
chi ka te tsu (subway)
a tsu i (hot)
a shi ta (tomorrow)
ke i sa tsu (police)
chi i sa i (small)

na
a tsu i (hot)
ni
nu
ne
no

na ni nu ne no
なす
na su (eggplant)
にく
ni ku (meat)
いぬ
i nu (dog)
ねこ
ne ko (cat)
たのしい
ta no shi i (fun, enjoyable)
おかね
o ka ne (money)

ha
hi
fu
he
ho

ha hi fu he ho
はは
ha ha (my mother)
ひこうき
hi ko u ki (airplane)
ふね
fu ne (ship)
へそ
he so (bellybutton)
ほし
ho shi (stars)
せいふく
se i fu ku (uniform)
おはし
o ha shi (chopstick)

ma
mi
mu
me
mo

ma mi mu me mo
なまえ
na ma e (name)
みせ
mi se (shop)
むね
mu ne (chest)
あめ
a me (rain)
のみもの
no mi mo no (drink)
はちみつ
ha chi mi tsu (honey)

ya
yu
yo
ya yu yo
ゆき
yu ki (snow)
よやく
yo ya ku (reservation)
やすい
ya su i (cheap)

ra
ri
ru
re
ro

ra ri ru re ro
たから
ta ka ra (treasure)
くすり
ku su ri (medicine)
さる
sa ru (monkey)
れきし
re ki shi (history)
ふろ
fu ro (bath)
ひるやすみ
hi ru ya su mi (lunch break)

wa
wo
* the pronunciation of を is the same as お. However when you write on

a computer, type “wo” for を.
* を is a particle, direct object marker.
* When you write ん on a computer, type “nn”.
wa wo n
わに
wa ni (crocodile)
にほん
ni ho n (Japan)

ほんをかいます。
ho n o ka i ma su.
(wo)
(I ) buy a book. (ほん: book, かいます: to buy)
“。” indicates the end of a sentence. = “period”.

This circle should be placed in the bottom left corner.
Please note the difference between the handwriting style and

the printing style of the following Hiragana. Also, there is a
variety of style by using different fonts.
ささききりりむむららふふ
sa ki ri mu ra fu
Please note the following similar looking Hiragana.

(Please check the pronunciation of each letter.)
さちいこまもはほ
れわねつしめぬらち
あおろるりい
Let’s review and practise!
1. Please fill in the chart.
A I U E O
(shi)
(chi) (tsu)
(fu)
H
(o)
W
(n/m/ŋ )
N

2. Write following words in Hiragana.
1. uchi (home)
2. eki (station)
3. kutsu (shoes)
4. kami (paper)
5. kuruma (car)
6. sakana (fish)
7. toriniku (chicken)
8. hana (flower)
9. heya (room)
10. yasai (vegetable)
* The answers are on the last page.

3-2. Daku-
Daku-on
ga
gi
gu
ge
go
ka ki ku ke ko
ga gi gu ge go

za
ji
zu
ze
zo
sa shi su se so
za zi zu ze zo
(*pronounce “ji”)

がめん
ga me n (screen)
かぎ
ka gi (key)
ぐあい
gu a i (condition/ body condition)
かげ
ka ge (shadow)
ぎざぎざ
gi za gi za (jagged)
がいこくご
ga i ko ku go (foreign language)
じさ
ji sa (time difference)
しずか
shi zu ka (quiet)
かぜ
ka ze (wind)
かぞく
ka zo ku (family)

あ
da
ji
zu
de
do
ta chi tsu te to
da ji zu de do
ぢ pronounce as “ji”(same as じ). However, writing on a computer,

type “di”.
づ pronounce as “zu”(same as ず). However, writing on a computer,
type “du”
ba
bi
bu
be
bo
pa
pi

pu
pe
po
ha hi fu he ho
ba bi bu be bo
pa pi pu pe po

ただ
ta da (free of charge)
はなぢ
ha na di *pronounce “hanaji” (nosebleed)
つづき
tsu du ki *pronounce “tsuzuki” (continuation)
でんわ
de n wa (telephone)
ときどき
to ki do ki (sometimes)
おばけ
o ba ke (ghost)
えび
e bi (prawn, shrimp)
ぶた
bu ta (pig)
べんり
be n ri (convenient)
ぼたん
bo ta n (button)
Review of Daku-on
Fill in the chart below.
A I U E O
Z (ji)
D (ji) (zu)
Write following words in Hiragana.
1. denwa __________ (telephone)
2. kagi __________ (key)
3. buta __________ (pig)
4. gaikokugo (foreign language)
5. jisa (time difference)
6. anzen (safe)
7. kazoku (family)
8. tokidoki (sometimes)
9. ebi __________ (prawn, shrimp)
10. benri __________ (convenient)

4. Pronunciation Rules
4-1. Choo-
Choo-on (Long vowels)
There are five vowels in Japanese: /a i u e o/.
When a vowel is doubled e.g. /a/, it takes two beats and is expressed as
/aa/ or /ā/. It is the same for other vowels /i/, /u/, /e/ and /o/.
Also, when there is /e/ and /i/ or /o/ and /u/ it has two beats on the first
vowel, which are /ē/ or /ee/ and /ō/ or /oo/ respectively.
Example:
おかあさん a a sa n → /okāsan/ : mother

o ka
いいえ i i e → /īe/ : No
くうき ku
u u ki → /kūki/ : air
ええ ee → /ē/ : Yes (casual)
おおい ooi
oo → /ōi/ : many
くうこう ku
u u ko
ou → /kūkō/ : airport
えいが e i ga → / ēga/ : movie
とうふ to
o u fu → /tōfu/ : tofu (bean curd)
おはよう o ha yo
o u → /ohayō/ : Good morning (casual)
Thus, you need to differentiate between this long vowel and a normal vowel
carefully because sometimes it ends up as an entirely different word. For
instance, if you wanted say “your mother is calling”, it might be
misunderstood as “Mr. Oka is calling” if you say “okasan” not “okaasan”

As explained above ( /e/&/i/ and /o/&/u/)
Combinations of the following letters have a sound of /ē/
(= /ee/).
えいけいせいていねいへいめいれい
Combinations of the following letters have a sound of /ō/
(=/oo/).
おうこうそうとうのうほうもうようろう
Let’s practise!
ぼうし
bo u shi *bōshi , (hat, cap)
せんせい
se n se i *sensē (teacher)
きれい
ki re i *kirē (beautiful, clean)
へいわ
he i wa *hēwa (peace)
こうこう
ko u ko u *kōkō (high school)
きいろ
ki i ro *kīro (yellow)

4-2. Soku-
Soku-on (Double Consonants)
Besides full-sized つ, you’ll see a small size of っ.
When you see this small っ, make the previous letter’s sound as “contracted”
and hold a breath for one beat.
Small っ doesn’t require “tsu” sound, but it takes one beat with the contracted
previous sound and double the following consonant.
Example:
いか /i･ka/ (2 beats: squid)
いっか /i･k･ka/ (3 beats : a whole family)
いつか /i･tsu･ka/ (3 beats: Day 5th)
1. きて /ki･te/ 5. もて /mo･te/
2. きって /ki･t･te/ 6. もって /mo･t･te/
3. けして /ke･shi･te/ 7. かて /ka･te/

4. けっして /ke･s･shite/ 8. かって /ka･t･te/
いっかい In vertical writing, the small

っ is written in the right half
In horizontal writing, っ of the square.
the small っ is written in the
lower half of the square. か
Let’s practise writing!
きっぷ
kippu (ticket)
ざっし
zasshi (magazine)

Yō-on (small ya yu yo with contracted sound)
4-3. Yō
Small や, ゆ and よ are added to i-column

of Hiragana (left in the red circle).
きゃ(kya) きゅ(kyu) きょ(kyo)
しゃ (sha) しゅ(shu) しょ(sho)
ちゃ(cha) ちゅ(chu) ちょ(cho)
にゃ(nya) にゅ(nyu) にょ(nyo)
ひゃ(hya) ひゅ(hyu) ひょ(hyo)
みゃ(mya) みゅ(myu) みょ(myo)
りゃ(rya) りゅ(ryu) りょ(ryo)
ぎゃ(gya) ぎゅ(gyu) ぎょ(gyo)
じゃ(ja) じゅ(ju) じょ(jo)
びゃ(bya) びゅ(byu) びょ(byo)
ぴゃ(pya) ぴゅ(pyu) ぴょ(pyo)
Although each of this contracted sound is composed of two characters (one

big and one small), it represents only one beat, just like a single hiragana
character.

Small や, ゆ, よ are written in the lower half of the square, if they are
written on a horizontal line. They are written in the right half of the square
in vertical writing.
Example:
ひやくひゃく
hiyaku (leap) hyaku (hundred)
Let’s Practise!
おちゃ
ocha (tea)
きょう
kyou *pronounce “kyō” –long vowel- (today)
じゅうしょ
juusho *-long vowel- (address)
じどうしゃ
jidousha *pronounce “jidōsha” -long vowel- (car)
ぎゅうにゅう
gyuunyuu *-long vowel- (milk)

4-4. Devoiced Vowels
Devoiced Vowels
There are four voiceless consonants in Japanese sound, /k
k/, /ss/,/tt/ and /h
h/.
A vowel becomes voiceless when the vowels (i and u) falls between the
voiceless consonants
Example:
すし su
ushi (Compared to すま su
u ma
,which requires a “u” sound)
くつ ku
utsu (Compared to くに ku
u ni
, which requires “u” sound)
きく kiiku (Compared to きぬ kii nu
, which requires “i” sound)
When the vowels (i and u) follow one of the voiceless consonants and ends a
word, these vowels are whispered.
Example:
～です。~ desu
u. ( end of a noun phrase: e.g. Watashi wa
Yamada desu
u.)
すし su
ushii (Compared to すみ su
u mii)
くつ ku
utsu
u (Compared to つり tsu
u rii)

4-5. Pronunciation of ん
Pronunciation of ん is basically the same as the English /n
n/, and requires
the same length of time as all the other Hiragana sounds.
However, there are some exceptions as follows:
ん before /b
b/, /p
p/ or /m
m/ sound becomes /m
m/ sound.
ん before /k
k/ or /g
g/ sound becomes /ŋ
ŋ/ sound.
Example
/n
n/ sound: ほんとう ho n tō みんな mi n na
/m
m/ sound: しんぶん shi n bu n てんぷら te n pu ra
うんめい u n mē
/ŋ
ŋ/ sound: てんき te n ki おんがく o n ga ku

5. Hiragana in sentences
5-1. Particle
The particle is something like a preposition in English, however, the concept
of the Japanese particle is quite different from the one in English.
The Japanese particle itself doesn’t have meaning but it indicates the
relationship between the subject, object and verb.
The details about the particle will be explained in many grammar books and
will not be explained in this section.
There are many types of particles and each particle has several functions as
well. In this section, three particles will be introduced: は, へ and を.
は：as a particle, pronounced as “wa”, exactly the same pronunciation of わ.
は is a topic marker and translated like “as for”, “regarding”
Example
はがくせいです。watashi wa gakusē desu.

わたしは
: I’m a student. (As for I, student.)
はあめでした。kinō wa ame deshita.

きのうは
: It rained yesterday. (As for yesterday, it was a rain)
Please note that は is pronounced as “ha” if it’s used as a word.
ははいしゃです。watashi wa haisha desu.

わたしは
: I’m a dentist. (As for I, dentist.)

へ: as a particle, is pronounced as “e”, exactly the same pronunciation as え.
へ is a direction marker.
Example
えきへいきます。 eki e ikimasu.

: (I) go to the station.
Please note that へ is pronounced as “he” if it’s used as a word.
へやへもどります。 heya e modorimasu.

: (I) go back to the room.
を: is only used as a particle. Direct object marker.
を is pronounced “o”, and it pronounces same as お.
Example
をたべます。 osushi o tabemasu.

おすしを
: (I) eat sushi.
をべんきょうします。 nihongo o benkyō shimasu.

にほんごを
: (I) study Japanese.

5-2. Japanese sentences
Let’s practise writing sentences! (Trace the sentences below and
write the copy on the second line)
1. わたしはがくせいです。 I’m a student.

watashi wa gakusē desu.
2. あしたびょういんへいきます。

I’m going to the hospital tomorrow.
ashita byōin e ikimasu.
3. まいにちやさいをたべます。

(I) eat vegetable everyday.
mainichi yasai o (wo) tabemasu.
4. おげんきですか。 How are you?

ogenki desu ka?
(“ka” is a question marker)
5. はい、げんきです。 Yes, I’m fine.

hai, genki desu.
(“、” is a punctuation.)

Answer of page26
1. uchi (home) うち
2. eki (station) えき
3. kutsu (shoes) くつ
4. kami (paper) かみ
5. kuruma (car) くるま
6. sakana (fish) さかな
7. toriniku (chicken) とりにく
8. hana (flower) はな
9. heya (room) へや
10. yasai (vegetable) やさい

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ひ ら が な

Complete Hiragana Workbook

2. Hiragana Chart ………………4

3. Hiragana writing worksheet ……………..5

4. Pronunciation Rules ………………….35

5. Hiragana in sentences ………………..42

6. Hiragana Flash Cards … appendix

Chapters with this mark have accompanying videos.

Copyright © 2010 www.LearnJapanese123.com All rights reserved 1

1-1. How to use “Complete Hiragana Workbook”

Hiragana has 46 basic writing characters and 58 variations and

Step 1 Print out all of this Hiragana Workbook.

1-2. Hiragana at a glance

Japanese is a syllable-timed language while English is stress-timed. That

Copyright © 2010 www.LearnJapanese123.com All rights reserved 2

1-3. Hiragana writing tips

Stroke order is very important for writing well-balanced Hiragana.

Copyright © 2010 www.LearnJapanese123.com All rights reserved 3

Copyright © 2010 www.LearnJapanese123.com All rights reserved 4

Copyright © 2010 www.LearnJapanese123.com All rights reserved 5

Let’s practise writing words!

Copyright © 2010 www.LearnJapanese123.com All rights reserved 6

Copyright © 2010 www.LearnJapanese123.com All rights reserved 7

Let’s practise writing words!

Copyright © 2010 www.LearnJapanese123.com All rights reserved 8

Copyright © 2010 www.LearnJapanese123.com All rights reserved 9

Let’s practise writing words!

Copyright © 2010 www.LearnJapanese123.com All rights reserved 10

Copyright © 2010 www.LearnJapanese123.com All rights reserved 11

Let’s practise writing words!

Copyright © 2010 www.LearnJapanese123.com All rights reserved 12

chi ka te tsu (subway)

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Let’s practise writing words!

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Copyright © 2010 www.LearnJapanese123.com All rights reserved 16

Let’s practise writing words!

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Let’s practise writing words!

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Let’s practise writing words!

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Let’s practise writing words!

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* the pronunciation of を is the same as お. However when you write on

Let’s practise writing words!

Copyright © 2010 www.LearnJapanese123.com All rights reserved 23

(I ) buy a book. (ほん: book, かいます: to buy)

“。” indicates the end of a sentence. = “period”.

Please note the difference between the handwriting style and

Please note the following similar looking Hiragana.

1. Please fill in the chart.

Copyright © 2010 www.LearnJapanese123.com All rights reserved 25

10. yasai (vegetable)

* The answers are on the last page.

Copyright © 2010 www.LearnJapanese123.com All rights reserved 26

Copyright © 2010 www.LearnJapanese123.com All rights reserved 27

Copyright © 2010 www.LearnJapanese123.com All rights reserved 28

Copyright © 2010 www.LearnJapanese123.com All rights reserved 29

ぢ pronounce as “ji”(same as じ). However, writing on a computer,

ひらがな

いっかい In vertical writing, the small

はがくせいです。watashi wa gakusē desu.

はあめでした。kinō wa ame deshita.

ははいしゃです。watashi wa haisha desu.

えきへいきます。 eki e ikimasu.

へやへもどります。 heya e modorimasu.

をたべます。 osushi o tabemasu.

をべんきょうします。 nihongo o benkyō shimasu.

1. わたしはがくせいです。 I’m a student.

2. あしたびょういんへいきます。

3. まいにちやさいをたべます。