Hiragana Chart & Stroke Order
If you want to learn the hiragana syllabary really fast what you need to do is immerse yourself in these beautiful looking characters . There are seve...
If you want to learn the hiragana syllabary really fast what you need to do is immerse yourself in these beautiful looking characters . There are several ways to do this;
- Have a Hiragana Chart above your study desk
- Carry a set of flashcards
- Practice each character’s stroke order daily
When I first learned hiragana I had my Japanese flatmate write each Japanese hiragana character on a small pad for me. She drew one character per page, and was very kind to take the time to use black ink and a calligraphy brush. I remember thinking how beautiful they looked. So I had these 46 small pieces of paper each with a character on them.
What did I do with them?
I stuck all of them on the walls of my bedroom. Every time I entered my room I would try to recall the sound of several of them. When I was confident I had mastered the reading of one I would remove it. It took about two weeks before my walls were bare again.
I recommend that you have a hiragana chart above your study desk. You can download this hiragana chart and picture chart
I also worked very hard on learning and practicing correct stroke order. This was years before the Internet so I used a book and got help from my Japanese friends. Writing out the characters really helped in cementing their readings. I highly recommend you do this.
I also carried a set of flashcards around. Whenever I took the train into college or work I would have them out recalling the readings and tracing the stroke order. This was a great way to pass the commute. Here are a set of hiragana flashcards for you.
I later basically used the same methods to learn Katakana and several hundred kanji before moving to Japan. Then in Japan it was all focused on learning kanji and studying for the Japanese Lanaguge Proficiency Test.
If you are interested in learning how to read and write Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji check out my product Read Japanese Fast. It teaches students how to read kanji in contect. If you are a beginner and are not ready for kanji then take a look at my Read Hiragana site.
