🧱 Basic Hiragana Sounds

Basic sounds are the foundation of the Japanese writing system. Each character represents a syllable that's made of a single vowel or a consonant + vowel combo.

There are five pure vowel sounds: あ (a), い (i), う (u), え (e), and お (o). They're short, clear, and never change — no diphthongs like in English.

All the other sounds simply combine a consonant with one of these vowels. It's super consistent — once you get the pattern, it feels very logical!

So start with these basic sounds, and you'll have everything you need to read and pronounce most Japanese words!