Na Ni Nu

Hiragana 1

Chapter 9 · Na Ni Nu

🌾 The N Row Begins — ăȘ に く

The fourth consonant row is n, with ăȘ (na), に (ni) and く (nu). That makes twenty-three characters, and with them you can read the words for what, you, country and dog.

aiueo
(vowels)あいうえお
k +かきくけこ
s +さしすせそ
t +ăŸăĄă€ăŠăš
n +ăȘにくねた

Twenty-three down, twenty-three to go: exactly halfway. ね and た come in Chapter 10.

✹ Three New Characters — ăȘ に く

ăȘ
na
like "na" in nap, but with an open "ah" ("nah")
4 strokes · stroke order ▾
Memory hook: a nanny kneeling beside a cross-shaped toy.
に
ni
like "knee" ("nee"), short
3 strokes · stroke order ▾
Memory hook: a bent leg: the long line is the thigh, and the two bars are the knee.
く
nu
like "noo" in noodle, with relaxed lips
2 strokes · stroke order ▾
Memory hook: a tangle of noodles, with a loop at the bottom right.
Look-Alike Heads-Up: に and the け-は-ほ Family; く and the Loop Family に belongs to the family of characters that begin with a vertical line on the left: け, に, は and ほ. に is the simplest, with just two short bars to its right, no loop. く is the first of a look-alike group: く, ね and め all finish at the bottom right. く and ね end in a loop, while め ends in a plain sweep. Their cousins た, れ and わ look similar too. You'll meet the rest over the next few chapters, and we'll compare them carefully. For now, learn く's shape well: a short stroke at the top, then a long stroke ending in a loop.

📖 Read It — New Words

Twenty-three characters give you plenty to read. Remember that each character is one beat.

#WordRomajiEnglishNote
1naniwhat?na + ni; a question word
2anatayoua + na + ta
3kunicountry; home regionku + ni
4inudogi + nu
5sakanafishsa + ka + na
6nikumeatni + ku
7kanicrabka + ni
8natsusummerna + tsu
9nishiwestni + shi
10nakainside, middlena + ka
11onakastomach, bellythe polite お + ăȘか
12naithere isn't; notthe word for "not / none"

💬 Mini-Dialogs

① What Is It? — ăȘă«ïŒŸ

A: nani? What is it?
B: sakana! Fish!
A: oishii? Is it delicious?
B: ee, oishii. Yes, it's delicious.

② A Big Dog — ă„ăŹïŒ

A: soko, nani? What's there?
B: inu! A dog!
A: ookii? Is it big?
B: ee, ookii! Yes, big!
Real Japanese Tip — Be Careful with あăȘた あăȘた means "you", but Japanese speakers use it rarely, because saying "you" straight to someone can sound blunt or distant. Instead they use the person's name (plus a title), even when talking directly to them. You'll find あăȘた in textbooks and songs, and a wife might say it to her husband affectionately, but in real life, drop "you" and use the name. That's why the conversation courses concentrate on names and polite forms.
Real Japanese Tip — ăȘい Means "Not" or "There Isn't" ăȘい is the word for "there isn't / doesn't exist", and it's also the ending that makes verbs and adjectives negative (you'll see it at the end of many words soon). Keep it in mind: whenever you see 〜ăȘい at the end of a word, think "not".
Review: Reading Back Cover the English and read these again: (hand) · (clock) · (this year) · (sound) · (outside) · (thing) · (when) · (important) · (warm).

✍ Try It Yourself — れんしゅう

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

1. Read these aloud: · ·

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na · ni · nu

2. How many strokes do , and have?

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ăȘ has 4, に has 3, く has 2.

3. Read and translate: · ·

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inu (dog) · sakana (fish) · kuni (country)

4. Write in hiragana: nani (what?) · anata (you) · natsu (summer)

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· ·

5. Read and translate: · ·

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kani (crab) · niku (meat) · nishi (west)

6. Why do Japanese people often avoid saying ?

Show answer

It can sound blunt or distant, so they use the person's name (with a title) instead.

Coming Up in Chapter 10 Two characters finish the N row: ね (ne) and ぼ (no). You'll then read ねこ (cat), こぼ (this), そぼ (that) and あぼ (that over there). Warning: ね looks very like ぬ, so you'll compare the two side by side.