< Japanese < Kana < Lessons < Katakana

Hiragana: [ a ] [ ka ] [ sa ] [ ta ] [ na ] [ ha ] [ ma ] [ ya ] [ ra ] [ wa, wo, n ] [ ゐ and ゑ (ancient hiragana in disuse) ]
Katakana: [ a ] [ ka ] [ sa ] [ ta ] [ na ] [ ha ] [ ma ] [ ya ] [ ra ] [ wa, wo, n ] [ ヰ and ヱ (ancient katakana in disuse) ]

In this lesson you are going to learn how to read and write サ、シ、ス、セ、ソ. Adding two small lines called 濁(だく)点(てん) dakuten, but commonly known simply as 点々(てんてん) tenten, meaning "two marks", causes clear sounds to change to their voiced sound. Thus, adding the 点々(てんてん) tenten marks to サ、シ、ス、セ、ソ will produce ザ、ジ、ズ、ゼ、ゾ.

Brush Stroke:
Sound:

sa

 za
Mnemonic:
  • A hand holds a piece of wood down as it's cut with a bow saw.
  • Sake, being poured by a hand from the right into a cup on the left.
  • It looks roughly like a satanic goat head.
Example:
  • サウジアラビア (saudiarabia) Saudi Arabia
  • サイズ (saizu) size
  • サラダ (sarada) salad
  • ザンビア (zanbia) Zambia
  • ザッパ　(zappa) Zappa
  • ピザ (piza) pizza
Brush Stroke:
Sound:

shi

zhi, ji
Mnemonic:
  • The face of a girl, tilted, and she (shi) smiles at you.
Example:
  • シンガポール (singapooru) Singapore
  • シソーラス (sisoorasu) thesaurus
  • シェフ (shefu) chef
  • ジーンズ (jiinzu) jeans
  • ジェット (jet) jet
  • ジェネラル (jienararu) general
Brush Stroke:
Sound:

su

 zu
Mnemonic:
  • You're going to sue (su) the pilot because he crashed your boat into a submerged tree.
  • Plain miso soup with a spoon
Example:
  • スイス (suisu) Swiss
  • スポンジ (suponji) sponge
  • スキル (sukiru) skill
  • ズック (zukku) canvas
  • ズーム (zuumu) zoom
  • ズボン (zubon) trousers, pants
Brush Stroke:
Sound:

se

 ze
Mnemonic:
  • "Game. Set. Match." This fellow is so good at tennis that he can play sitting down. That's the racket handle on the right pointing towards him.
  • The serial killer has a knife.
Example:
  • セーター (seetaa) sweater
  • セロリ (serori) celery
  • セメント (semento) cement
  • ゼラチン (zerachin) gelatin
  • ゼロ (zero) zero
  • ゼルダ (zeruda) Zelda
Brush Stroke:
Sound:

so

 zo
Mnemonic:
  • The work of a lazy calligrapher. "So what if I didn't finish my ツ (tsu)?"
  • A wave, with a mark to indicate the strength. ノ = no wave. ソ = soft wave. ツ = tsunami
Example:
  • ソックス (sokkusu) socks
  • ソフトウェア (sofutouea) software
  • ソファ (sofaa) sofa
  • ゾンビ (zonbi) zombie
  • ゾーン (zoon) zone
  • ゾロアスター (zoroasutaa) Zoroaster
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