Mastering Hiragana: The H to W Rows & Beyond (N5)

Welcome back to your journey toward Japanese fluency! You have already conquered the first half of the Hiragana syllabary. Today, we will master the final stretch: the H, M, Y, R, and W rows, along with the singular nasal consonant ん (n).

By the end of this guide, you will be ready to read and write dozens of essential N5 vocabulary words. Let’s dive in!

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Let's examine these final rows. Pay close attention to pronunciation nuances and visual traps.

H-Row:  は (ha)   ひ (hi)   ふ (fu)   へ (he)   ほ (ho)
M-Row:  ま (ma)   み (mi)   む (mu)   め (me)   も (mo)
Y-Row:  や (ya)             ゆ (yu)             よ (yo)
R-Row:  ら (ra)   り (ri)   る (ru)   れ (re)   ろ (ro)
W/N:    わ (wa)   を (wo)   ん (n)

Key Pronunciation & Usage Notes:

• ふ (fu): This is not a harsh English "fu" (as in "food"). Do not let your upper teeth touch your lower lip. Instead, blow air gently between your lips as if blowing out a candle. It is a hybrid of "hu" and "fu."
• The Japanese "R" (ら, り, る, れ, ろ): This is not the English retroflex "R." It is a "flap" consonant, produced by tapping your tongue quickly against the roof of your mouth, just behind your teeth. It sounds like a blend of "L," "R," and "D" (similar to the "tt" in the American pronunciation of "watter").
• を (wo): In modern Japanese, this is pronounced exactly like お (o). It is used exclusively as a grammatical particle marking the direct object of a sentence.
• ん (n): The only hiragana character consisting of a single consonant with no vowel sound. It can never start a word.

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Many hiragana characters look similar. Train your eyes to spot these subtle differences:

1. は (ha) vs. ほ (ho) vs. ま (ma):
   • は has one horizontal stroke and a loop.
   • ほ has two horizontal strokes and a "hat" on top that must not be crossed by the vertical line.
   • ま has two horizontal strokes, but the vertical line crosses through the top.
2. わ (wa) vs. れ (re) vs. ね (ne):
   • わ curves gently inward at the end.
   • れ sweeps sharply outward.
   • ね ends in a loop.

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The H-row is unique because it can transform into two different sound groups using diacritical marks:

• Dakuten (゛) turns H into B:
  • は (ha) $\rightarrow$ ば (ba) | ひ (hi) $\rightarrow$ び (bi) | ふ (fu) $\rightarrow$ ぶ (bu) | へ (he) $\rightarrow$ べ (be) | ほ (ho) $\rightarrow$ ぼ (bo)
• Handakuten (゜) turns H into P:
  • は (ha) $\rightarrow$ ぱ (pa) | ひ (hi) $\rightarrow$ ぴ (pi) | ふ (fu) $\rightarrow$ ぷ (pu) | へ (he) $\rightarrow$ ぺ (pe) | ほ (ho) $\rightarrow$ ぽ (po)

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Let’s combine your new knowledge to read real Japanese words:

• はい (hai) – Yes
• やま (yama) – Mountain
• くるま (kuruma) – Car
• さくら (sakura) – Cherry blossom
• わたし (watashi) – I / Me
• にほん (nihon) – Japan
• てんぷら (tenpura) – Tempura

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Can you romanize and translate the following N5 phrases? (Answers below)

1. はる (Hint: A warm season)
2. ふゆ (Hint: A cold season)
3. ほん を よみます (Hint: "read a book")

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Challenge Answers:

1. haru (Spring)
2. fuyu (Winter)
3. hon o yomimasu (Read a book — notice how を is written as "wo" but pronounced "o", and は as a topic marker would be "wa").