There’s a hiragana character for every sound made in Japanese, which means anything you can say in Japanese, you can write in hiragana! Some charts also include the stroke order to use when writing hiragana. If handwriting hiragana is something you want to learn, you might find one of these charts more beneficial.

あ (a) is a mix between the A sound in “father” and “cat”. い (i) is pronounced like the ee in the English word “eel. " う (u) is an “oo” sound, somewhat like the ou in the English word “you. " え (e) is pronounced like the e in the English words “exotic” or “egg. " お (o) is an “oh” sound, somewhat like the o in the English word “or. "

か (ka), き (ki), く (ku), け (ke), こ (ko) さ (sa), し (shi), す (su), せ (se), そ (so) た (ta), ち (chi), つ (tsu), て (te), と (to) な (na), に (ni), ぬ (nu), ね (ne), の (no) は (ha), ひ (hi), ふ (fu), へ (he), ほ (ho) ま (ma), み (mi), む (mu), め (me), も (mo) や (ya), ゆ (yu), よ (yo) ら (ra), り (ri), る (ru), れ (re), ろ (ro) わ (wa), を (o), ん (simply the “n” consonant sound without a vowel)

Say “lah” about a dozen times and pay attention to the position of your tongue on the roof of your mouth. Say “dah” about a dozen times, again paying attention to the position of your tongue on the roof of your mouth. Alternate between “lah” and “dah” and notice how the tip of your tongue moves back and forth between the same two positions. To pronounce the Japanese “R,” have the tip of your tongue hit the roof of your mouth directly in between the “lah” position and the “dah” position. Now all you have to do is practice until you’ve acquired the muscle memory of it.

“H” becomes “B”: ば (ba), び (bi), ぶ (bu), べ (be), ぼ (bo) “K” becomes “G” (hard “G” as in the English word “goat”): が (ga), ぎ (gi), ぐ (gu), げ (ge), ご (go) “S” becomes “Z” (with 1 exception): ざ (za), じ (ji), ず (zu), ぜ (ze), ぞ (zo) “T” becomes “D” (with 2 exceptions): だ (da), ぢ (ji), づ (zu), で (de), ど (do) “H” becomes “P”: ぱ (pa), ぴ (pi), ぷ (pu), ぺ (pe), ぽ (po)

Here’s an easy example: の looks like a “No” sign ( 🚫 ) to many people. Conveniently enough, it also represents the sound “no. " But what if that’s not what you see? To you, it might look like a fortune cookie—and if you don’t like fortune cookies, you can just think “no fortune cookies” and you’ve got it! Here’s another example: You might decide that く looks like a mouth to you. Since く represents the “ku” sound, your mnemonic could be a dove’s beak saying “coo, coo. "

Anki has customizable flash cards available for Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, and Android. Install the Japanese Support add-on to make sure it works for you to learn hiragana. Memrise has apps for iOS and Android. Disable “tap” questions so you have to type in your answer rather than using multiple choice.

Duolingo has a free Japanese course that includes exercises that will teach you hiragana. In addition to the desktop version, the app is also available for Android and iOS devices. Dr. Moku offers a free app for Android and iOS devices (with a paid option). The company also makes physical flash cards if that’s more your thing. Hiragana Quest is a game created in partnership with Japanese language school Go! Go! Nihon that will teach you all 46 characters of hiragana and all 46 characters of katakana. It’s available for Android and iOS devices.

Even though the stroke order isn’t emphasized as much as it used to be, it’s still an efficient way to learn how to create hiragana characters in your own hand.

すし is sushi. Don’t you think し looks like a fishhook? かわいい is kawaii. こんにちは is ko + n + ni + chi + wa. Konnichiwa! さようなら is sayōnara. See if you can break this word down into its syllables, as represented by the hiragana characters.

Fuku Musume has about 500 traditional Japanese fairy tales available. Since Japanese children are typically familiar with these stories, reading them also gives you insight into Japanese culture. EhonNavi has hundreds of Japanese children’s picture books available to download for free (along with paid content). Fanta Jikan has videos of Japanese stories and dialogue with Japanese subtitles so you can read along. Manga for children

Start with shows for kids since they’re likely to use the simplest language. A word of caution: depending on the speed of dialogue in the show, the subtitles sometimes move too fast for beginners to follow. They might also include quite a bit of kanji, which you don’t know yet.

If you’re using a tablet or smartphone, the characters on the onscreen keyboard will automatically change when you change the keyboard’s language. Search for forums and social media groups that use hiragana. The posts from others will help you practice reading, and you can check your understanding by typing replies in hiragana. Typing hiragana on your computer or device is also a great way to familiarize yourself with how hiragana looks in different fonts.

If Japanese children’s books have any kanji, they typically also include furigana over the kanji characters.