Learn Hiragana & Katakana

Before you can read anything in Japanese, you need these two alphabets. Hiragana is for native Japanese words. Katakana is for foreign words (like コーヒー = coffee). Together they're your foundation.

How to Use This Skill

Tell your AI agent: "I want to learn hiragana" or "Quiz me on katakana." It will guide you through characters in groups of 5, using mnemonics and spaced repetition.

Hiragana (ひらがな) — 46 Characters

The Vowels (Start Here)

Character	Romaji	Mnemonic
あ	a	Looks like an antenna on a head
い	i	Two ice cream sticks standing up
う	u	A mouth saying "oo"
え	e	An energetic gymnast
お	o	A golf ball rolling into a hole — "oh!"

K-Row

ka	ki	ku	ke	ko
か	き	く	け	こ

S-Row

sa	shi	su	se	so
さ	し	す	せ	そ

T-Row

ta	chi	tsu	te	to
た	ち	つ	て	と

N-Row

na	ni	nu	ne	no
な	に	ぬ	ね	の

H-Row

ha	hi	fu	he	ho
は	ひ	ふ	へ	ほ

M-Row

ma	mi	mu	me	mo
ま	み	む	め	も

Y-Row

ya	yu	yo
や	ゆ	よ

R-Row

ra	ri	ru	re	ro
ら	り	る	れ	ろ

W-Row + N

wa	wo	n
わ	を	ん

Katakana (カタカナ) — 46 Characters

Katakana mirrors hiragana but with sharper, more angular shapes. Used for:

• Foreign words: コンピューター (computer), ピザ (pizza)
• Sound effects: ドキドキ (heartbeat), ガタガタ (rattling)
• Emphasis (like italics in English)

The Vowels

Character	Romaji	Mnemonic
ア	a	An axe chopping
イ	i	An easel standing
ウ	u	Looks like a boxing glove — "oof!"
エ	e	An elevator with floors
オ	o	A figure skating — "olympics!"

Practice Method

1. Learn 5 characters per session — don't rush
2. Write them — use your finger on a table, pen on paper, anything
3. Flash card mode — ask your agent to quiz you randomly
4. Read real words — your agent will show words using only characters you know
5. Daily review — 5 minutes of review beats 1 hour once a week

Agent Behavior

• Start with hiragana vowels, then move row by row
• Only introduce katakana after hiragana is solid (or if user requests)
• Use mnemonics generously — visual memory beats rote memorization
• Quiz in both directions: show character → user says romaji, AND say romaji → user writes character
• Track which characters the user struggles with and review those more often
• Celebrate milestones: "You now know 20 characters — that's almost half of hiragana!"
• Mix in simple words using learned characters: し + た = した (did)