Ya Yu Yo

Hiragana 1

Chapter 15 · Ya Yu Yo

🌸 The Y Row — やゆよ

The Y row has only three characters: や (ya), ゆ (yu) and よ (yo). The "yi" and "ye" slots on the chart are empty, because Japanese doesn't use those sounds. That brings you to thirty-eight characters, with just eight left to learn.

	a	i	u	e	o
(vowels)	あ	い	う	え	お
k +	か	き	く	け	こ
s +	さ	し	す	せ	そ
t +	た	ち	つ	て	と
n +	な	に	ぬ	ね	の
h +	は	ひ	ふ	へ	ほ
m +	ま	み	む	め	も
y +	や		ゆ		よ

Thirty-eight down, eight to go: the R row, わ, を and ん.

✨ Three New Characters — やゆよ

や

like "ya" in yard, short ("yah")

3 strokes · stroke order ▸

Memory hook: a yacht with a tall mast and a sail, heading off to the right.

ゆ

like "you", short ("yoo")

2 strokes · stroke order ▸

Memory hook: a U-shaped hot bath with a fish swimming through it. (ゆ is also the word for "hot water".)

よ

like "yo" in yo-yo, short and pure ("yoh")

2 strokes · stroke order ▸

Memory hook: a yo-yo hanging from its string.

Look-Alike Warning: よ and まよ (yo) and ま (ma) share a vertical stem that ends in a loop. The test is the bars: ま has two horizontal bars (3 strokes), whereas よ has just one short bar at the top left (2 strokes). Count the bars each time.

📖 Read It — New Words

With thirty-eight characters, you can read all of these. Remember that each character is one beat.

#	Word	Romaji	English	Note
1	やま	yama	mountain	ya + ma
2	ゆき	yuki	snow	yu + ki
3	ゆめ	yume	dream	yu + me
4	やさい	yasai	vegetables	ya + sa + i
5	やすみ	yasumi	holiday; a rest; a day off	ya + su + mi
6	やすい	yasui	cheap	the opposite of たかい (expensive)
7	よこ	yoko	side; beside	yo + ko
8	よむ	yomu	to read	a verb: the one this course is training you for
9	よく	yoku	often; well	an adverb
10	よい	yoi	good	a slightly formal alternative to いい
11	ゆか	yuka	floor	yu + ka
12	ゆうめい	yūmei	famous	four beats: yu-u-me-i

Real Japanese Tip — ゆ on the Bathhouse Curtain ゆ is the word for "hot water", and the single character ゆ hangs on the curtain (noren) outside traditional public bathhouses (sentō), so a person who reads nothing else can still find a hot bath. It's the first character in this course that you're likely to see standing alone on a real sign.

A Peek Ahead — Small や, ゆ, よ Later in Hiragana 3, you'll meet small versions of these three characters, written ゃゅょ. They join the character before them to make a single combined sound, as in きゃ (kya), きゅ (kyu) and きょ (kyo). For now, just read each full-size や, ゆ or よ as its own sound.

🎎 More Polite Verbs — From む to み

Remember the pattern from Chapter 13: the final u-row character changes to its i-row partner and takes ます. Today's verb よむ shows the M row doing the same: む → み.

Dictionary form	Polite form	Romaji	English
よむ	よみます	yomimasu	read
いく	いきます	ikimasu	go
まつ	まちます	machimasu	wait

💬 Mini-Dialogs

① Cheap? — やすい？

A: たかい？ takai? Is it expensive?

B: いいえ、やすい！ iie, yasui! No, it's cheap!

② To the Mountain — やまへ

A: やまへいきますか？ yama e ikimasu ka? Are you going to the mountain?

B: はい、いきます。ゆき、おおいね。 hai, ikimasu. yuki, ooi ne. Yes. There's a lot of snow, isn't there.

A: そうね。 sō ne. Yes, there is.

③ Often — よく

A: よくいきますか？ yoku ikimasu ka? Do you go there often?

B: はい、よくいきます。 hai, yoku ikimasu. Yes, I go often.

Review: Reading Back Cover the English and read these again: め (eye) · あめ (rain) · かめ (turtle) · もも (peach) · もの (thing) · もち (rice cake) · くも (cloud) · もう (already) · おもい (heavy) · おもう (to think) · いもうと (younger sister).

✍️ Try It Yourself — れんしゅう

Say each answer out loud first, then click to check.

1. Read these aloud: や · ゆ · よ

Show answer

ya · yu · yo

2. How many strokes do や, ゆ and よ have, and how can you tell よ from ま?

Show answer

や has 3, ゆ has 2, よ has 2. ま has two horizontal bars; よ has only one short bar.

3. Read and translate: やま · ゆき · ゆめ

Show answer

yama (mountain) · yuki (snow) · yume (dream)

4. Write in hiragana: yasui (cheap) · yomu (to read) · yūmei (famous)

Show answer

やすい · よむ · ゆうめい

5. Make よむ polite.

Show answer

よみます (yomimasu): む changes to み, then add ます.

6. What does a single ゆ on a curtain outside a building mean?

Show answer

"Hot water": it marks a public bathhouse (sentō).

Coming Up in Chapter 16 The R row begins: らりる (ra, ri, ru). The Japanese "r" is neither an English "r" nor an "l": it's a quick tap of the tongue, a bit like the "d" in "ladder". You'll then read さくら (cherry blossom), くるま (car), そら (sky) and りす (squirrel).

Ya Yu Yo

🌸 The Y Row — や ゆ よ

✨ Three New Characters — や ゆ よ

📖 Read It — New Words

🎎 More Polite Verbs — From む to み

💬 Mini-Dialogs

① Cheap? — やすい？

② To the Mountain — やまへ

③ Often — よく

✍️ Try It Yourself — れんしゅう

🌸 The Y Row — やゆよ

✨ Three New Characters — やゆよ