In this lesson you are going to learn how to read and write か, き, く, け, こ. Adding two small lines called 濁点dakuten, but commonly known simply as 点々tenten, meaning "two marks", causes clear sounds to change to their voiced sound. Thus, adding the 点々tenten marks will cause か, き, く, け, and こ to produce が, ぎ, ぐ, げ, ご.
It looks like the head of a cock (rooster). The neck and wattle are on the left, and the beak is the stroke on the right.
Example:
かいもの (kaimono) shopping
かばん (kaban) briefcase, suitcase
かお (kao) face
がくせい (gakusei) student
がいこく (gaikoku) foreign country
がっこう (gakkou) school
Brush Stroke:
Sound:
ki as in kiwi, or like the word key.
gi
Mnemonic:
It looks like a key!
Example:
きのう (kinou) yesterday
きって (kitte) stamp (postage)
きれい (kirei) clean, beautiful
ぎんこう (ginkou) bank
ぎゅうにく (gyuuniku) beef
ぎん (gin) silver
Brush Stroke:
Sound:
ku as in kudos or haiku, or like the word coup
gu
Mnemonic:
It's a bird's beak opened wide to make the sound "Coo!" (Ku!)
Example:
くるま (kuruma) car
ください (kudasai) please (do me the favor)
くも (kumo) cloud
ぐんじん (gunjin) soldier
ぐうぜん (guuzen) coincidence
ぐあい (guai) condition (health, state)
Brush Stroke:
Sound:
ke as in kettle or as in keg (or between these two sounds)
ge
Mnemonic:
It's a keg. Picture a Spanish missionary facing you, holding up a cross, saying, "¿Que?" (Spanish for "What?")
Example:
けいさつ (keisatsu) police
けっこん (kekkon) marriage
けが (kega) injury
げきじょう (gekijou) theatre
げんき (genki) energy, healthy
げんだい (gendai) modern
Brush Stroke:
Sound:
ko as in koala or the co in cola.
go
Mnemonic:
The second line is a copy of the first one. It's the top and bottom of a coin. It's a race, with the finish line at the top and the starting line at the bottom (with a flag): ready, set, GO!