You can already recognise thirty-five hiragana. Today you add three more — and learn one of the most useful questions for everyday Japan: how to ask where something is.
The や-row is shorter than the rows you have learned before. Listen first, then let shape and sound settle together.
Hear the complete row at careful teaching speed.
Select a kana. Play the stroke order once. Watch, trace, then write it yourself.
Read the Japanese first. Use the small romanisation only as support when you need it.
New characters become useful when they connect with what you already know. Read these aloud slowly, then once again without romanisation.
Put the place or thing first, mark it with は, then ask どこですか. Do not force an English word-for-word translation. Learn the whole Japanese pattern as one useful question.
Listen line by line, then play the complete exchange.
ありがとうございます。 · Thank you very much.
A useful language course should help you recognise the places around you, not only memorise sentences.
For people living in Japan, the municipal office is an important practical place for many local administrative procedures. Official names differ by municipality, but recognising 市役所 and being able to ask where it is can be immediately useful.
市役所 · しやくしょ · city hall / municipal office
A 交番 is a neighbourhood police box. Kōban are familiar local landmarks and can be useful places to seek assistance when you are unsure where something is. Recognise the word now; detailed kanji study can come later.
交番 · こうばん · kōban / police boxImagine you are standing here and are not sure which way to go. Choose the Japanese that would solve the problem politely.
The goal is not perfect grammar analysis. The goal is being able to act.
Hear the same useful question twice: first the tutor version, then a natural-speed voice.
Play the word, then choose what you heard.
Hear first. Look second. Can you distinguish ゆ from よ?
Keep every earlier character active. Today’s three new kana are quietly marked at the end.
IJ-0011 unlocks the ら-row and begins connecting actions with the places and situations you can already recognise.