あ
A
Open and relaxed.
INDOMURA JAPANESE
LANGUAGE • LIFE • CULTURE
Lesson 03
Your first
Japanese sounds.
Japanese is about to stop looking like a page of unfamiliar shapes. Today you will meet the five sounds at the heart of hiragana — then hear them, recognise them, write them and use them to read real Japanese.
あ・い・う・え・お
LISTEN
READ
WRITE
USE
あ
い
う
え
お
あ
Today you'll learn
See. Hear. Trace. Write.
We are not going to teach hiragana as a chart that you simply memorise. Every character becomes a sound, a visual shape, a movement of the hand and eventually part of a real Japanese word.
01
See it
Begin recognising each kana without translating it into an English letter.
02
Hear it
Connect the written shape directly with a Japanese sound.
03
Write it
Watch the actual stroke order, then trace and reproduce the character.
04
Use it
Join the sounds together and read your first Japanese words.
Meet the five vowels
あ い う え お
These five sounds sit at the centre of Japanese pronunciation. Keep them clear and compact. Listen first — then say each one aloud.
い
I
A short, clean “ee”.
う
U
Light, with relaxed lips.
え
E
A clear short “eh”.
お
O
A compact short “oh”.
Hear the rhythm
Five sounds.
One foundation.
Listen to the five sounds together. Follow the characters with your eyes from left to right.
あ
い
う
え
お
A
I
U
E
O
LISTEN · FOLLOW · REPEAT
Japanese around you
Reading begins before conversation does.
Once you recognise even a few characters, Japan starts to look slightly different.
A shape that yesterday seemed unfamiliar becomes a sound today. Later, that sound becomes part of a word, a sign, a message or a conversation.
First notice.
Then recognise.
Then read.
Then recognise.
Then read.
Sound detective
Do not force Japanese into English sounds.
Roman letters are only temporary support. The real goal is to connect each kana directly with the sound you hear.
Keep vowels clean.
Japanese vowels are generally steady. Avoid turning one vowel into two moving sounds.
Listen to the recording, imitate the sound, and keep your mouth relaxed.
Kana first. Romaji later.
At the beginning, A · I · U · E · O helps you orient yourself.
But very soon, your eyes should recognise あ・い・う・え・お without needing those letters.
Kana Writing Studio · 書いてみよう
One character at a time.
This is your first handwriting studio. Select one vowel kana, press play, watch its stroke order once at a calm teaching speed, then trace and write it before moving on.
Loading writing guide…
Ready. Press play when you are ready to watch.
あ
A
Watch the first two strokes set the structure, then follow the final flowing stroke around the centre.
Practice: Select → Play → Watch → Trace → Write
Trace → then write
Let your hand remember the shape.
First copy the pale model. Then try the empty square beside it on paper, tablet or touchscreen. Accuracy matters more than speed.
あ · 3 STROKES
あ
TRACE
い · 2 STROKES
い
TRACE
う · 2 STROKES
う
TRACE
え · 2 STROKES
え
TRACE
お · 3 STROKES
お
TRACE
Do not aim for beautiful handwriting yet. Your goal today is simpler: remember where each character begins, watch how the strokes move, and reproduce the overall balance.
You can already read
Three real Japanese words.
Nothing new is hidden here. Every word below is built only from sounds you have already learned.
あお
AO
blue
いえ
IE
house / home
うえ
UE
above / on top
Quick recognition
Can your eyes find the sound?
Try to recognise the kana immediately rather than mentally translating it.
Which sound is this?
え
Choose the matching sound.
音
Remember this
Shape, sound and movement belong together.
Avoid thinking: “this strange Japanese symbol equals an English letter.”
Instead, let the sight of あ begin to trigger its Japanese sound directly.
Seeing the character, hearing it and writing it with the correct stroke movement strengthens the same memory from three directions.
Quick check
You are already reading Japanese.
One final check before you leave Lesson 03.
What does いえ mean?
Choose an answer.
あ
Hiragana milestone complete
Japanese is no longer
completely unreadable.
You can recognise and pronounce あ・い・う・え・お, watch their correct stroke sequence, begin writing them, and read your first words: あお, いえ and うえ.