Hello Hiragana!

Here's an intro and a brief overview for anyone who's confused about the website: 

Hello Hiragana is an interactive website designed to help you practice and memorize Hiragana, which is the basic Japanese phonetic script. Whether you're just starting out or reviewing, this game makes learning fun and easy!

But before starting, what is Hiragana and why should we learn it? 

Hiragana (ひらがな) is one of the three main writing systems in Japanese, alongside Katakana and Kanji. It’s a phonetic alphabet made up of 46 basic characters that represent different sounds. Hiragana is essential for reading and writing in Japanese, it’s used for native Japanese words, grammar particles, and verb endings. (Also, the Japanese alphabet is completely different from English.  Instead of having a,b,c,d,etc. Hiragana is seperated into different groups like a, i, u, e, o, ka, ki, ku, ke, ko, etc) 

Why is Learning Hiragana Important?

If you want to learn Japanese, Hiragana is the building block. Once you can read it, you’ll be able to:

- Read simple Japanese texts and signs

- Learn vocabulary and grammar more effectively

- Move on to Katakana and Kanji with confidence

How to Use the Website:

This flashcard game will help you memorize Hiragana characters by testing your ability to match Romaji (the English spelling for Hiragana) with the correct Japanese symbol.

- Flashcard Setup:

Front side: Shows the Romaji (e.g., “a”, “ka”, “shi”)

Back side: Shows the Hiragana character (e.g., あ, か, し)

- Steps:

Look at the front of the flashcard and read the Romaji out loud.

Try to remember what the Hiragana character looks like.

Flip the card to see the correct Hiragana.

Repeat for the rest of the cards. Go back to any you missed!

Tip #1: Write every new Hiragana at least 5 times to ensure that you've memorized it!

Tip #2: Play with a friend:

Take turns guessing the characters together.