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 ヰ and ヱ. These characters are not in modern Japanese but because they were legitimate characters before, one sees them in old Japanese text.
| Brush Stroke: |  |
|---|---|
| Sound: |
It is pronounced the same as "イ", but in ancient times there was a clear difference. Scholars guess that the sound was something like "ウィ". |
| Mnemonic: | |
| Example: |
Not normally seen in modern Japanese. Occasionally, ウイスキー (whiskey) is written as ウヰスキー. |
| Brush Stroke: |  |
|---|---|
| Sound: |
It is pronounced the same as "エ", but in ancient times there was a clear difference. Scholars guess that the sound was something like "ウェ". |
| Mnemonic: | |
| Example: |
ヱビス - Ebisu, one of the seven lucky gods. |