N5lesson

The First 15 Sounds (A, K, S rows) (Main)

The Foundation: The Vowel Sounds (あ, い, う, え, お)

Japanese syllables are built around five core vowel sounds. Think of these as the building blocks for everything else. Let's learn them first!

あ (a) - Sounds like the "a" in "father".
- Memory tip: This looks like a woman with a ponytail, saying "Ah!" in surprise.
い (i) - Sounds like the "ee" in "see".
- Memory tip: It's two ee-drops of water.
う (u) - Sounds like the "oo" in "moon", but with lips more relaxed and unrounded.
- Memory tip: It looks like the side view of a U-shaped cup.
え (e) - Sounds like the "e" in "red".
- Memory tip: Picture a man with his arms out, saying "Hey!" (which sounds like "e").
お (o) - Sounds like the "o" in "orchestra".
- Memory tip: It looks like an olympic gold medal hanging on a ribbon.

Practice Words:

あお (ao) - blue
いえ (ie) - house
うえ (ue) - above, on top
え (e) - picture
おおきい (ookii) - big

Adding a Consonant: The K-row (か, き, く, け, こ)

Now, let's add the "K" sound to our vowels. Simply say "k" + the vowel sound.

か (ka) - "kah" as in "car".
- Stroke hint: Start with the left diagonal, then the right crossing line.
き (ki) - "kee" as in "key".
- Memory tip: It looks like a key with a fancy handle.
く (ku) - "koo" as in "cool".
- Memory tip: It's the beak of a cuckoo bird.
け (ke) - "keh" as in "ketchup".
- Memory tip: It looks like a keg of beer with a tap.
こ (ko) - "koh" as in "co-exist".
- Memory tip: Two co-coins sitting side-by-side.

Practice Words:

かお (kao) - face
きく (kiku) - to hear, to listen
ここ (koko) - here

The S-row (さ, し, す, せ, そ)

Next is the "S" sound. Pay special attention to し (shi)!

さ (sa) - "sah" as in "salmon".
- Stroke hint: Looks similar to き (ki), but the bottom part is connected.
し (shi) - "shee" as in "she".
- Important: This is the only one in this row that sounds like "shi", not "si". Think of a hook pulling a she-ll from the sea.
す (su) - "soo" as in "sue".
- Memory tip: It looks like a sued (stitched) baseball.
せ (se) - "seh" as in "set".
- Memory tip: It looks like a mouth saying "Say...", which starts with "se".
そ (so) - "soh" as in "so".
- Memory tip: It looks like a so-ing (sewing) needle with thread.

Practice Words:

さくら (sakura) - cherry blossom
すし (sushi) - sushi
せかい (sekai) - world
そと (soto) - outside

Let's Make Sentences! Basic Grammar Patterns

With just these 15 sounds, you can already understand some basic Japanese sentence structures.

1. `A です。` - "It is A." (Statement)

This is the most basic sentence. です (desu) acts like "is/am/are".

あおです。 (Ao desu.) - It is blue.
さくらです。 (Sakura desu.) - It is a cherry blossom.

2. `A ですか。` - "Is it A?" (Question)

Simply add か (ka) at the end to make a question. In Japanese, you use a rising tone, not a different word order.

あお ですか。 (Ao desu ka.) - Is it blue?
すし ですか。 (Sushi desu ka.) - Is it sushi?

3. `A ではありません。` - "It is not A." (Negative)

ではありません (dewa arimasen) means "is not".

あお ではありません。 (Ao dewa arimasen.) - It is not blue.
せかい ではありません。 (Sekai dewa arimasen.) - It is not the world.

4. `A も B です。` - "A is also B." (Also/Too)

も (mo) replaces は (wa) to mean "also".

あおです。さくらもあおです。 (Ao desu. Sakura mo ao desu.) - It is blue. The cherry blossom is also blue.
すしです。これもすしです。 (Sushi desu. Kore mo sushi desu.) - It is sushi. This is also sushi.

5. `A と B です。` - "It is A and B." (And/With)

と (to) connects two nouns to mean "and".

すしとさくらです。 (Sushi to sakura desu.) - It is sushi and a cherry blossom.
あおとおおきいです。 (Ao to ookii desu.) - It is blue and big.

Practice Time!

Try reading these words and sentences out loud!

Words:

あき (aki) - autumn
いす (isu) - chair
おかし (okashi) - sweets, snacks
かさ (kasa) - umbrella
すこし (sukoshi) - a little

Mini-Conversation:
A: すしですか。 (Sushi desu ka?) - Is it sushi?
B: はい、すしです。 (Hai, sushi desu.) - Yes, it is sushi.
A: おおきいですか。 (Ookii desu ka?) - Is it big?
B: いいえ、おおきいではありません。すこしです。 (Iie, ookii dewa arimasen. Sukoshi desu.) - No, it is not big. It is a little.