Ma Mi Mu
Katakana 1
Chapter 13 · Ma Mi Mu
🌿 The M Row Begins — マ ミ ム
Three new characters: マ (ma), ミ (mi) and ム (mu). You can read ten real words today, including マイク, the "Mike" from Chapter 1. Romaji is shown for everything.
✨ Your Three New Characters — マ ミ ム
マ
ma
like "ma" in mama ("mah")
Memory hook: a mailbox with a flag: a flat top and a flag slanting down. Hiragana twin: ま.
ミ
mi
like "me", short ("mee")
Memory hook: three cat whiskers: miaow. Also, three slanting lines for the third note, mi, of do-re-mi. Hiragana twin: み.
ム
mu
like "moo", short and relaxed ("moo")
Memory hook: a cow's horn: a mooing cow with a pointed horn and a little tick. Hiragana twin: む.
| Katakana | Hiragana twin | Romaji |
|---|---|---|
| マ | ま | ma |
| ミ | み | mi |
| ム | む | mu |
Look-Alikes: マ and ア, ミ and ニ
マ (ma) is easy to confuse with ア (a), which you learned in Chapter 1: both start with a bar, but ア's second stroke is a long slash crossing down through the bar, while マ ends with a short tick. Compare them side by side on their stroke-order pages. And ミ (mi) is three slanting lines, while ニ (ni), from Chapter 9, is two horizontal lines.
📖 Read It — Real Words
| # | Word | Romaji | English | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ハム | hamu | ham | ha-mu |
| 2 | マスク | masuku | mask | ma-su-ku |
| 3 | ホーム | hōmu | (station) platform; home | ho-o-mu |
| 4 | ムース | mūsu | mousse | mu-u-su |
| 5 | マーク | māku | mark; logo | ma-a-ku |
| 6 | ミス | misu | mistake (a "miss") | mi-su |
| 7 | ミニ | mini | mini | mi-ni |
| 8 | マナー | manā | manners | ma-na-a |
| 9 | テーマ | tēma | theme | te-e-ma: borrowed from German Thema, not English |
| 10 | マイク | maiku | microphone; Mike | ma-i-ku: a mic, and also the name from Chapter 1 |
Not Only English
Not every katakana word comes from English. テーマ (theme) comes from the German Thema, and many other loanwords come from Portuguese, Dutch, French and other languages. Don't be surprised if a katakana word doesn't sound quite like the English one: it may not be English at all. Meanwhile, マイク can be both the name Mike and a microphone, so context is your guide.
✍️ Try It Yourself — れんしゅう
Say each answer out loud first, then click to check.
1. Read aloud: マ · ミ · ム
Show answer
ma · mi · mu
2. Read aloud and translate: ハム · マスク · ホーム
Show answer
hamu (ham) · masuku (mask) · hōmu (platform; home)
3. Read aloud and translate: マーク · ミス · ミニ
Show answer
māku (mark) · misu (mistake) · mini (mini)
4. Read aloud and translate: マナー · テーマ · マイク
Show answer
manā (manners) · tēma (theme) · maiku (microphone; Mike)
5. How can you tell ミ from ニ?
Show answer
ミ is three slanting lines; ニ is two horizontal lines.
6. Write in katakana: hamu · masuku · maiku (check the stroke order).
Show answer
ハム · マスク · マイク
Coming Up in Chapter 5
Two more M sounds: メ (me) and モ (mo), completing the M row. You'll read メモ (memo), アニメ (anime) and メキシコ (Mexico).