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The Journey of Learning Japanese Hiragana: A Beginner’s Adventure

Mr. Smith
4 min readJan 8, 2025

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Courtesy of Leonardo.ai

Learning a new language is like embarking on a journey to a foreign land. The sights, sounds, and sensations are unfamiliar at first, but with each step, the world begins to make sense. For me, that journey began with Japanese hiragana — a beautiful, flowing script that serves as the foundation of the Japanese language. As a beginner, I had no idea what to expect, but looking back, I can confidently say that learning hiragana was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.

The First Step: Overcoming the Intimidation

When I first opened my Japanese textbook and saw the hiragana chart, I felt a mix of excitement and dread. The characters looked like elegant squiggles, each one unique and seemingly impossible to memorize. How was I supposed to tell あ (a) from お (o)? Or ぬ (nu) from め (me)? It felt like staring at an insurmountable wall.

But I reminded myself that every expert was once a beginner. I decided to take it one character at a time. I started with the vowels — あ (a), い (i), う (u), え (e), お (o) — and practiced writing them over and over until they felt familiar. Slowly but surely, the characters began to feel less like abstract art and more like letters I could recognize.

The Power of Repetition and Mnemonics

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Mr. Smith
Mr. Smith

Written by Mr. Smith

A poetpreneur. 📝 Over 15,000 students on Udemy. I teach people to make money with poetry and tech. https://www.youtube.com/@localeconomist

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