Ba Bi Bu

Hiragana 2

Chapter 7 Β· Ba Bi Bu

🌸 The B Row Begins β€” ば び ぢ

The dakuten turns h into b, giving ば (ba), び (bi) and ぢ (bu). This chapter also solves a small puzzle: why the greeting こんばんは ends in a character you'd read ha but say wa. Romaji is shown for everything.

PlainWith γ‚›Sound beforeSound now
haba
hibi
fubu
aiueo
hはひちへほ
b (h + γ‚›)ばびぢべぼ

The three highlighted characters are today's. べ and ぼ come in Chapter 8.

✨ Three New Characters β€” ば び ぢ

ば
ba
like "ba" in bar ("bah")
5 strokes Β· stroke order β–Έ
Memory hook: a bat with two flapping wings: は with two dots. Three strokes plus two for the mark.
び
bi
like "bee", short ("bee")
3 strokes Β· stroke order β–Έ
Memory hook: a bee with two buzzing marks: ひ with two dots. One stroke plus two for the mark.
ぢ
bu
like "boo", relaxed lips ("boo")
6 strokes Β· stroke order β–Έ
Memory hook: a ghost going boo: ち with two dots. Four strokes plus two for the mark.
Why Is H Voiced Into B? The H row is unusual: the dakuten turns it into b, not into a "voiced h". Linguists believe that in Old Japanese the H row was pronounced with a p sound, which explains why this row is the only one with two marks: γ‚› gives ba bi bu (this chapter) and γ‚œ gives pa pi pu (Chapter 9).

πŸ“– Read It β€” New Words

Read the Japanese first, then check the romaji.

#WordRomajiEnglishNote
1konbanwagood eveningko-n-ba-n-wa: the last は is read "wa"
2bangōnumberba-n-go-u: as in a phone number
3bangohandinner; evening mealba-n-go-ha-n: ばん + ごはん
4kabanbagka-ba-n
5abunaidangerous; careful!a-bu-na-i: you'll see it on warning signs
6budōgrapesbu-do-u
7butapigbu-ta
8bararoseba-ra
9yubiwaring (jewellery)yu-bi-wa
10sabishiilonelysa-bi-shi-i: the しい is a long i
Real Japanese Tip β€” Why こんばんは Ends in は こんにけは (good day) and こんばんは (good evening) both end in は, but it is pronounced wa, not ha. These greetings were once the start of a longer sentence in which は was the particle meaning "as for", and the spelling stayed even though the sentence was dropped. The particle は (read wa) is coming in Hiragana 3.
A Handy Pair こんにけは is for daytime, こんばんは for evening, and γŠγ―γ‚ˆγ†γ”γ–γ„γΎγ™ for morning. Put them together with γ‚γ‚ŠγŒγ¨γ†γ”γ–γ„γΎγ™ and γ©γ†γž and you can greet and thank anyone politely.
Review: Words from Chapter 6 (is; am; are) Β· (where) Β· (telephone) Β· (exit) Β· (please) Β· (thanks).

✍️ Try It Yourself β€” γ‚Œγ‚“γ—γ‚…γ†

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

1. Read aloud: Β· Β·

Show answer

ba Β· bi Β· bu

2. Read aloud and translate: Β· Β·

Show answer

kaban (bag) Β· buta (pig) Β· bara (rose)

3. Read aloud and translate: Β· Β·

Show answer

budō (grapes) · yubiwa (ring) · abunai (dangerous)

4. Read aloud: . How is the last character pronounced?

Show answer

konbanwa. The final は is read wa, not ha.

5. Which consonant does the dakuten make from the H row?

Show answer

B: は β†’ ば, ひ β†’ び, ち β†’ ぢ.

6. Write in hiragana: kaban · buta · bangō (check the stroke order).

Show answer

Β· Β·

Coming Up in Chapter 8 The rest of the B row: べ (be) and ぼ (bo). You'll be able to read γŸγΉγ‚‹ (to eat), γŠγΉγ‚“γ¨γ† (lunch box) and ぼく (I, said by a man or boy).