Kanji

Kanji are adopted logographic (logograms are visual symbols that represent a part of a word or whole word) Chinese characters which are used in the Japanese language along with hiragana and katakana. Several thousand kanji are in regular use in Japan.

Learning Japanese language

The best learn order for learning the Japanese language is: hiragana, katakana, and then kanji. Romaji is also sometimes used at first for non-speakers of the language.

How to remember hiragana characters

Some of the hiragana characters look like something already familiar or remind you of a word. Here are some examples that I use.

The hiragana character と "to" looks like a toe.
The hiragana character う "u" looks like an ear.
The hiragana character へ "he" reminds me of Mount St. Helens.
The hiragana character や "ya" reminds me of the word "yap" because it looks like a "P".

Hiragana - trivia 45

What sound is this hiragana character?
り
a) ra
b) ri
c) ro

Check comments for the answer.

Hiragana - trivia 44

What sounds are these hiragana characters?
ろ
a) ra
b) ro
c) ri

る
a) ru
b) ri
c) ro

Check comments for the answers.

Hiragana - trivia 43

What sounds are these hiragana characters?
ら
a) ra
b) ri
c) ro

れ
a) ra
b) re
c) ro

Check comments for the answers.

Hiragana - trivia 42

What sounds are these hiragana characters?
を
a) wa
b) wo
c) yu

ん
a) n
b) wa
c) wo

Check comments for the answers.

Hiragana - trivia 41

What sounds are these hiragana characters?
よ
a) yo
b) yu
c) ya

わ
a) yu
b) wa
c) wo

Check comments for the answers.

Hiragana - trivia 40

What sounds are these hiragana characters?
む
a) ma
b) mu
c) mo

も
a) mi
b) ma
c) mo

Check comments for the answers.

Hiragana - trivia 39

What sounds are these hiragana characters?
ぷ
a) pe
b) pi
c) pu

み
a) mi
b) mo
c) mu

Check comments for the answers.

Hiragana - trivia 38

What sounds are these hiragana characters?
ぴ
a) pa
b) pi
c) po

ぽ
a) po
b) pa
c) pi

Check comments for the answers.

Hiragana - trivia 37

What sounds are these hiragana characters?
ぼ
a) bi
b) bo
c) ba

ぺ
a) pe
b) po
c) pu

Check comments for the answers.

Hiragana - trivia 36

What sounds are these hiragana characters?
へ
a) he
b) ha
c) fu

べ
a) ba
b) bu
c) be

Check comments for the answers.

Hiragana - trivia 35

What sounds are these hiragana characters?
ふ
a) hi
b) ha
c) fu

ほ
a) ho
b) ha
c) he

Check comments for the answers.

Hiragana - trivia 34

What sounds are these hiragana characters?
ね
a) ne
b) no
c) na

は
a) hi
b) ha
c) fu

Check comments for the answers.

Hiragana - trivia 33

What sounds are these hiragana characters?
ち
a) chi
b) tsu
c) to

づ
a) da
b) ji
c) zu

Check comments for the answers.