Ha Hi Fu

Katakana 1

Chapter 11 Β· Ha Hi Fu

🌿 The H Row Begins β€” ハ γƒ’ フ

Three new characters: ハ (ha), γƒ’ (hi) and フ (fu). The big payoff today is γ‚³γƒΌγƒ’γƒΌ, coffee, the example from Chapter 1 that you can finally read yourself. Romaji is shown for everything.

✨ Your Three New Characters β€” ハ γƒ’ フ

ハ
ha
like "ha" in ha-ha ("hah")
2 strokes Β· stroke order β–Έ
Memory hook: ha-ha: two strokes spreading apart like the corners of a laughing mouth. Hiragana twin: は.
γƒ’
hi
like "hee" in heed, short ("hee")
2 strokes Β· stroke order β–Έ
Memory hook: a high-heeled shoe seen from the side: a flat sole and a curved heel. Hiragana twin: ひ.
フ
fu
a soft "foo", made by blowing gently with rounded lips, not by touching teeth to lip
1 strokes Β· stroke order β–Έ
Memory hook: a funnel: one stroke with a flat top and a spout bending down. Hiragana twin: ち.
KatakanaHiragana twinRomaji
ha
hi
fu
The Japanese "F" Is Not the English "F" The Japanese fu is made by blowing air between your lips, as if cooling soup, rather than by pressing your top teeth on your lower lip. In romaji it's spelled fu, but it sounds like a softer cousin of "h". You'll hear this in words like γƒŠγ‚€γƒ• and ハーフ.
Look-Alikes: フ, ウ and γƒ― フ (fu) is a single stroke. ウ (u), which you learned in Chapter 1, has an extra tick on top, and γƒ― (wa), which comes in Chapter 18, has an extra short stroke on the left. If you see a plain bent line with no extras, it's フ. Also, ハ (ha) will have a close relative in Chapter 12: γƒ˜ (he).

πŸ“– Read It β€” Real Words

#WordRomajiEnglishNote
1kōhīcoffeeko-o-hi-i: four beats
2hātoheartha-a-to
3naifuknifena-i-fu: the English "k" is silent, and so it is here
4hītāheaterhi-i-ta-a: four beats
5hāfuhalfha-a-fu
6sofutosoft; softwareso-fu-to
7shifutoshift (work shift)shi-fu-to
8haiyes; hiha-i; the everyday "yes" is usually written in hiragana
9haitekuhigh-techha-i-te-ku
Listen for the English Look at γ‚³γƒΌγƒ’γƒΌ: the English coffee has an "f" sound in the middle, but basic katakana has no "fi" sound, so Japanese substitutes hi: ko-o-hi-i. A good habit is to read each katakana word aloud, quickly, and listen for the English: with γƒ’γƒΌγ‚ΏγƒΌ, "heater" appears almost at once.

✍️ 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

ha Β· hi Β· fu

2. Read aloud and translate: Β·

Show answer

kōhī (coffee) · hāto (heart)

3. Read aloud and translate: Β· Β·

Show answer

naifu (knife) · hītā (heater) · hāfu (half)

4. Read aloud and translate: Β· Β·

Show answer

sofuto (soft; software) Β· shifuto (shift) Β· haiteku (high-tech)

5. How can you tell from ?

Show answer

フ is a single bent stroke; ウ has an extra tick on top.

6. Write in katakana: kōhī · hāto · naifu (check the stroke order).

Show answer

Β· Β·

Coming Up in Chapter 5 Two more H sounds: γƒ˜ (he) and ホ (ho), completing the H row. You'll read γƒ˜γ‚’ (hair) and ホース (hose), and see how γƒ˜ differs from ハ.