Hiragana is one of the main ways Japanese is written, and it’s like the foundation of the language. If you’re serious about learning Japanese, hiragana is the first thing you have to master. Why? Because it’s used for pretty much everything: grammar, basic words, and even when people need to help you read harder kanji (those super complicated Chinese characters).
Think of Hiragana as the Building Blocks of Japanese
Hiragana is a set of 46 symbols, and each one represents a single sound—kind of like how you say “ba” or “no” in English. But instead of combining letters like “b” and “a” to make “ba,” hiragana has one symbol for the whole sound. It’s simple and clean, no extra fluff.
What’s a Mora?
Japanese doesn’t think in syllables the way English does. Instead, it uses something called morae (sounds fancy, right?). Basically, each mora is like a tiny beat of sound. It’s super regular and rhythmic, almost like a drumbeat.
For example:
- The English word “Tokyo” sounds like it has two syllables: To-kyo. (*Stop calling it To-ki-yo)
- But in Japanese, it’s actually written as とうきょう (To-u-kyo-u), which has four beats (morae). Each beat is one sound, super consistent.
Why Should You Care About Hiragana?
If you can read hiragana, you can:
- Read most beginner-level Japanese books and websites.
- Pronounce any Japanese word correctly because hiragana tells you exactly how to say it.
- Write anything you want, even if you don’t know kanji (because people will understand you if you use only hiragana).
How Does Hiragana Compare to an Alphabet?
Hiragana is not an alphabet.
- An alphabet (like English) breaks sounds down into vowels and consonants. For example, you combine “t,” “o,” and “p” to make “top.”
- Hiragana skips that step. Instead, each character is a full sound. Like “ta” is た, “to” is と, and “p” isn’t a thing by itself.
OK, now that you know what hiragana is, let’s get to learning them.