Hiragana s row: さ し す せ そ

The idea

The five basic hiragana are さ し す せ そ, read sa, shi, su, se, so in Hepburn romanization. The chart pairs them with katakana for the same sounds. Read すし・みせ as whole words, then find the row’s signs in the example sentences.

Examples

• 朝あさ、犬いぬと歩あるきます。I walk with my dog in the morning.
• 寿司すしを食たべます。I eat sushi.
• 椅子いすに座すわります。I sit on a chair.
• 空そらは青あおいです。The sky is blue.
• 店みせで本ほんを買かいます。I buy a book at the shop.
• 今朝けさは寒さむいです。It is cold this morning.

Watch out

The usual Hepburn spelling of し is shi, not si. Listen for the same sound in すし; the romanization is a guide, not another Japanese character.

Try it yourself

1. Write the hiragana counterpart of シ.

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   し

   シ and し represent the same sound, shi; し is the hiragana form requested.

2. Write the hiragana counterpart of ソ.

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   そ

   ソ and そ represent the same sound, so; そ is the hiragana form requested.

3. Complete す＿ (sushi) with one hiragana character.

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   し

   すし means sushi; し completes its spelling.

4. Complete み＿ (shop) with one hiragana character.

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   せ

   みせ means shop; せ completes its spelling.

Use it today

Cover the chart. Read two words from the examples aloud, write their readings in kana from memory, then compare them with the furigana and chart.