Hiragana shapes, stroke order, core syllables, diacritics, contracted sounds, and common kana-only words.
Recognize, pronounce, and write the vowel kana あ, い, う, え, and お with correct stroke order.
Recognize, pronounce, and write the か row: か, き, く, け, and こ. Connect each kana to its ka, ki, ku, ke, or ko sound.
Recognize, pronounce, and write the さ row: さ, し, す, せ, and そ. Notice that し is read shi, not si.
Recognize, pronounce, and write the た row: た, ち, つ, て, and と. Notice the special readings ち chi and つ tsu.
Recognize, pronounce, and write the な row: な, に, ぬ, ね, and の.
Recognize, pronounce, and write the は row: は, ひ, ふ, へ, and ほ. Notice that ふ is read fu with a soft Japanese f sound.
Recognize, pronounce, and write the ま row: ま, み, む, め, and も.
Recognize, pronounce, and write や, ゆ, and よ. Use them as full-size kana for ya, yu, and yo.
Recognize, pronounce, and write the ら row: ら, り, る, れ, and ろ. Practice the light Japanese r sound.
Recognize, pronounce, and write わ, を, and ん. Read を as o in modern Japanese when it marks an object, and read ん as its own nasal mora.
Recognize dakuten on the か and さ rows: が, ぎ, ぐ, げ, ご and ざ, じ, ず, ぜ, ぞ. Compare the plain sounds with their voiced versions.
Recognize dakuten on the た and は rows: だ, ぢ, づ, で, ど and ば, び, ぶ, べ, ぼ. Notice the common readings じ and ず for ぢ and づ in many words.
Recognize handakuten on the は row: ぱ, ぴ, ぷ, ぺ, and ぽ. Compare は, ば, and ぱ row sounds.
Recognize small ゃ, ゅ, and ょ after き, し, ち, and に. Build contracted sounds like きゃ, しゅ, ちょ, and にゅ.
Recognize small ゃ, ゅ, and ょ after ひ, み, and り. Build contracted sounds like ひゃ, みゅ, and りょ.
Recognize small ゃ, ゅ, and ょ after voiced and p-row kana. Build sounds like ぎゃ, じゃ, びょ, and ぴゅ.
Recognize small っ and use it to mark a doubled consonant. Read words like きって and がっこう with a brief stop before the next consonant.
Build long vowel spellings in hiragana, such as おかあさん, おにいさん, くうき, せんせい, and おおきい. Distinguish short and long sounds because one extra mora can change a word.
Count Japanese words by mora, not English-style syllables. Treat ん, small っ, and long vowels as extra beats in words like さん, きって, and おばあさん.
Choose the special particle readings for は, へ, and を: wa, e, and o. Keep the regular readings ha and he when は and へ appear inside ordinary words.
Recognize and use common kana greetings and responses such as おはよう, こんにちは, こんばんは, さようなら, はい, and いいえ.
Translate words from your previous vocabulary lesson.
Recognize and use polite kana-only chunks such as ありがとう, すみません, おねがいします, and どうぞ. Match each expression to simple everyday situations.
Recognize and use common pointing words written in kana: これ, それ, あれ, ここ, そこ, あそこ, and どこ.
Read sentences using words you recently learned.
Listen to sentences using words you recently learned.
Review this chapter with practice based on your mistakes.
