Hiragana vowels: あ い う え お

The idea

The five basic hiragana are あ い う え お, read a, i, u, e, o in Hepburn romanization. The chart pairs them with katakana for the same sounds. Read うえ・あお as whole words, then find the row’s signs in the example sentences.

Examples

• 犬いぬは小ちいさいです。The dog is small.
• 朝あさ、犬いぬと歩あるきます。I walk with my dog in the morning.
• 駅えきはどこですか。Where is the station?
• 机つくえの上うえに本ほんがあります。There is a book on the desk.
• 空そらは青あおいです。The sky is blue.
• 朝あさは早はやく起おきます。I get up early in the morning.

Watch out

Keep vowels separate: うえ has two sound units, as does あお. Vowel length also matters; do not treat an extra vowel as decoration.

Try it yourself

1. Write the hiragana counterpart of イ.

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   い

   イ and い represent the same sound, i; い is the hiragana form requested.

2. Write the hiragana counterpart of オ.

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   お

   オ and お represent the same sound, o; お is the hiragana form requested.

3. Complete う＿ (above) with one hiragana character.

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   え

   うえ means above; え completes its spelling.

4. Complete ＿さ (morning) with one hiragana character.

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   あ

   あさ means morning; あ 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.