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Japanese Greetings Reading Practice: Short Dialogues for Beginners
【How to Use This Reading Practice】 Each dialogue below is written in hiragana and katakana with furigana-style romaji below. Read the Japanese first without looking at the English, then check your comprehension. These conversations cov... -
Hiragana K, S, T, N Rows: Full Guide with Examples and Memory Tricks
【The Core Consonant Rows of Hiragana】 After the five vowels (あいうえお), the K, S, T, and N rows form the most essential consonant sounds in Japanese. Combined, these 20 characters give you the building blocks for hundreds of common w... -
Hiragana vs Katakana: Combined Review and Study Strategy
【You've Learned Both — Now What?】 Many learners reach a frustrating plateau: they know hiragana well, katakana less well, and mixing both in real text feels overwhelming. This article shows you how to bridge the gap and start reading n... -
Japanese Kana Reading Practice: 50 Exercises from Beginner to Intermediate
【How to Use This Practice Guide】 This article gives you 50 kana reading exercises across four levels. Cover the answers, attempt to read each word or sentence aloud, then check. Work at your own pace — the goal is zero hesitation, not ... -
The Katakana Long Vowel Mark (ー): How and When to Use It
【What Is the Long Vowel Mark?】 The horizontal line ー (called the choonpu, 長音符) appears constantly in katakana text. It simply means: extend the previous vowel for one extra beat. Examples: コーヒー = ko-o-hi-i = "koohii" (coffee) —... -
Katakana for English Speakers: The Complete Learning Guide
【Why Katakana Is Easier Than You Think】 Many English-speaking learners dread katakana because it looks "spiky" and foreign. But here's the good news: once you know what katakana is used for, your English knowledge becomes a huge asset.... -
Hiragana H, M, Y, R, W Rows: Full Guide with Stroke Order and Examples
【Overview: The Final Rows of Hiragana】 After mastering the A, K, S, T, and N rows, these five rows complete the hiragana syllabary. They include some of the trickiest characters for beginners — especially the R-row (which has no Englis... -
Katakana Loanwords: 100 Essential Words Every Japanese Learner Should Know
【Why Katakana Loanwords Are Your Secret Weapon】 Here's a fact that often surprises beginners: as an English speaker learning Japanese, you already "know" thousands of Japanese words. Japanese has borrowed extensively from English, and ... -
Kana Reading Speed: How to Stop Sounding Out Every Character
【The "Sounding Out" Problem】 When most learners first read hiragana or katakana, they go character by character: "That's... き... and that's... ょ... and that's... う...". This is normal at first, but it stalls reading comprehension an... -
Japanese Yoon: How Compound Kana Sounds Work (きゃ, しゅ, にょ…)
【What Is Yoon (拗音)?】 Yoon (拗音) are compound sounds formed by combining a consonant kana with a small や, ゆ, or よ. The small kana is written at half-size and is pronounced together with the preceding kana in a single beat (one mor...
