Japanese/Kana/Lessons/Katakana/Lesson 5

Hiragana: [ a ] [ ka ] [ sa ] [ ta ] [ na ] [ ha ] [ ma ] [ ya ] [ ra ] [ wa, wo, n ] [ ゐ and ゑ (ancient hiragana in disuse) ]
Katakana: [ a ] [ ka ] [ sa ] [ ta ] [ na ] [ ha ] [ ma ] [ ya ] [ ra ] [ wa, wo, n ] [ ヰ and ヱ (ancient katakana in disuse) ]

In this lesson you are going to learn how to read and write ナ、ニ、ヌ、ネ、ノ.

Brush Stroke:
Sound:	na
Mnemonic:	That nail didn't go in straight. Napa cabbage soup with spoon to the side and spices on top. Nah - you started drawing one character, then you changed your mind and crossed it out.
Example:	ナイジェリア (naijeria) Nigeria ナース (naasu) nurse ナイフ (naifu) knife

Brush Stroke:
Sound:	ni
Mnemonic:	Needle - Two needles, laid parallel.
Example:	ニブル (niburu) nibble ニッケル (nikkeru) nickel ニット (nitto) knit

Brush Stroke:
Sound:	nu
Mnemonic:	New - You need a new (nu) boat after piercing the hull. Noodles handing over the side of a bowl of soup.
Example:	ヌード (nuudo) nude ヌードル (nuudoru) noodle ヌル (nuru) null

Brush Stroke:
Sound:	ne
Mnemonic:	Nest - Half of a bird's nest, suspended on a pole. Neko soup, for cats, not of cats, with the cat tongue on top, paw to the side, and tail curled under.
Example:	ネオン (neon) neon ネクタイ (nekutai) necktie ネスト (nesuto) nest

Brush Stroke:
Sound:	no
Mnemonic:	No more - You mark an item off of a list with a single stroke. A wave, with a mark to indicate the strength. ノ = no wave. ソ = soft wave. ツ = tsunami
Example:	ノルウェー (noruuee) Norway ノート (nooto) notebook ノッチ (nocchi) notch