For those following my Japanese series, apologies that this lesson came a day late. My plan was to do these daily, but I’d like to be able to separate these posts with other posts a bit. Anyways, onto the Japanese lesson! Today, we’re going over the sa series. You’ll also be doing a test that will help you remember the hiragana you’ve learned so far.
さ sa
Most people say this looks like a backward 5, but don’t think of it that way because there are other similar characters like this that differ slightly. Instead, imagine the loop at the base is a patch of dirt, the vertical line is a wooden post, and the horizontal line through it is a sign nailed to it. Sa as in sign.
し shi
Remember when I said one of these is deviant? It’s this one. Instead of si, it makes the sh plus い sound. This shape is easy enough to remember without a mnemonic. But, it doesn’t hurt. She has a ponytail. し as in she.
す su
See the swing doing the loop-de-loop? That’s because a kid flew off of it and yelled “I’M GONNA SUE SOMEBODY FOR THIS!!!”. Su as in swing.
せ se
This kana looks like a mouth with a saber toothe in it. Se as in saber toothed tiger.
そ so
Who likes Led Zeppelin? This kana reminds me of Jimmy Page’s ZoSo emblem. So as in ZoSo.
Alright, you know the drill! 50 times!! When you’re done with that, head over to realkana.com, click on the hiragana tab and choose the a, ka, and sa series. In the options tab, choose ALL the typefaces. Then, click on the practice tab and enter the romaji equivalent for the characters you see. Test yourself until you feel confident that you know these kana. The different typefaces can be confusing sometimes, but don’t sweat it. The number of answers you got correct will show up in the bottom right corner. For those with Android, you can also try out Obenkyo!
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