<< Part VI

This time, Superman puts in an appearance.

Normally, I avoid giving two similar characters together. I’d rather you learn one first and get used to it, then when the similar character appears, you’ll be so used to the old one that hopefully you won’t confuse them.

However, today I’m going to break that rule because two of the characters have useful mnemonics for remembering which is which. They are:

ム - mu

Start at the top and draw down-left, then right and slightly up all as one stroke. Add the shorter stroke - drawing top to bottom - afterwards.

This character, along with the following could be completed to form a triangle. In this case the triangle points up for mu.

マ - ma

Draw across the top and diagonally down as one stroke. Then the shorter line, top to bottom.

Here’s where superman helps us out. His logo is the same way up:

ク - ku

You should be getting used to these ‘across and curve down’ strokes now, appearing in ウ, ラ and in a slightly different form in カ. Draw the short stroke first, then the angled curve.

Adding dakuten gives you グ - gu.

Next, on to some esses…

サ - sa

Draw the horizontal line first, then draw リ - ri running through it.

Adding dakuten give ザ - za.

ス - su

Yet another of these angled curves - which is drawn first. Then the short diagonal.

Adding dakuten gives ズ - zu.

二 - ni

How simple could it be? Two lines. If you’re going for style, the upper one should be slightly shorter than the lower.

Note that the consonant ‘n’ is different here from the stand-alone ‘n’. Each character has a syllable of its own. You are probably aware of the phrase “Konnichi wa”, meaning “Hello”. Well, the first ‘n’ is ン and the second is the first letter of 二, so the proper pronunciation is ko-n-ni-chi-wa.

Real life usage

The font on this one is a little tough, and it’s written in the ‘vertical’ format, meaning you start on the top right, then read down the line, moving to the left to the next line. However, you should be able to pick out アイスクリーム here… and know what it means.

Hopefully, you’re feeling insanely clever now. You’re really doing it! You could go into the supermarket and buy one of these tubs of アイスクリーム and you’d know what to expect when you opened it. You’re reading a foreign language which you don’t know! I don’t even have to tell you what the word means… you just have to know how to say the characters.

You should also be able to tell me what the following things are:

テレビゲーム - an entertainment
マカロニ - a food
サイクリング - a sport

Next time, we’ll look at some lengthened consonants… I hope you can stand the suspense!

And I should mention… if there’s anything you don’t get at all, do feel free to ask. Research has shown* that if anybody in a class ever puts their hand up to say “I don’t get it”, you can guarantee that at least one other person doesn’t get it either.

(*source: I made this up from anecdotal evidence)