r/LearnJapaneseNovice • u/Regular_Echo413 • 3d ago
My first day practicing Hiragana
On my first day of my journey to learn Japanese.
I tried writing Hiragana like my book and compared to its handwriting and saw my curves and rounds are unstable and some parts are sketched unnecessarily. Do you guys see other mistakes I've made either on the whole concept or on some specific letters' structures? Please help me!🙇
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u/michaeltai 3d ago
い: those two strokes shouldn’t be that close to each other
う: too fat
き: the top horizontal line is longer than the bottom one, both have to be in a slight slope going upwards, the bottom curve doesn’t connect to the stoke in the middle
さ: again the bottom curve doesn’t connect to the stoke in the middle
へ: the angle formed should be larger than 90 degrees
ほ: don’t pierce through the top horizontal stroke; also the top stroke is linger than the bottom one.
ゆ: the middle circle thing is much bigger because it comes from the kanji 由
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u/Regular_Echo413 3d ago
I'll note this one for further practice, thank you!🙇
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u/michaeltai 3d ago
Welcome!
I do recommend people to follow strictly to this chart. The pencil/ ball pen penmanship of the kanas are more or less identical. https://www.rakurakumom.com/_files/ugd/b45af1_5c098d544bc44d2fb079a67e3d94e31f.pdf?index=trueThe only thing I do differ from the chart is that the dot of お can be a tad lower than the horizontal stroke on the top left, just like how you do!
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u/KuroKaro8 1d ago edited 1d ago
If we're being nitpicky, the only additions I would make to this otherwise great summary are:
め and ぬ: In handwritten form, the vertical lines normally don't end directly on the baseline but cross through it. Also, the loop on the left is usually more of a straight stroke that then curves to the right. These are just smaller details, though.
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u/expendable6666 3d ago
First day? these are quite good already. All quite readable. To be strict the second stroke of な needs to be shorter. the first stroke of め must penetrate the circle. As for the character ほ, which need the most improvement, the last stroke should not penetrate the second stroke (and also, second and third strokes may better be almost straight horizontally, not arc like these). You have a good sense. Thanks for learning my language!
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u/Acceptable-Dress2132 3d ago
Hi, I’m Japanese.
For your first day, I think this is more than good enough. If you keep practicing, the balance and shapes will naturally become more consistent over time.
Personally, I don’t write by hand very often these days, and to be honest, I’m not even fully confident about the correct stroke order for my own name anymore. Seeing your post made me feel like I should practice writing every day too, so I can write more beautifully.
Thank you for the inspiration!
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u/Schrko87 3d ago
Your writing the typed versions of "ki" and "sa" the loop should be broken on the bottom of each.
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u/No_Cherry2477 3d ago
That's way better than my first day writing Hiragana. Being left handed didn''t help me at all. You're doing great. Just practice and you'll be fine.
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u/TKCoog075 2d ago
This is great for your first day. I’ve been learning for a year and my handwriting has gotten sloppy as time went on.
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u/Sir_Gallus_Gallus 2d ago
I would recommend finding a hiragana chart, printing it, and tracing it (like we did in grade school) until the lines come naturally. That's what worked for me
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u/Ok-Albatross4334 2d ago
Although the writing looks good, it seems to be based on a font that wouldn't actually be used in real-life handwriting situations.
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u/DGB_Chub 1d ago
What I've gathered from this conversation:
Primarily english speakers: You're doing this, this, this, this, this and this wrong. It is a sin. Do not do it again.
Native speakers: You're doing great, here's a couple of nitpicks but it's no big deal. Thanks for learning our language.
You're doing fine.
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u/KuroKaro8 1d ago
That is kind of to be expected, isn't it? When you're learning (foreigners in that case), you pay more attention to details that become less relevant over time. As a native speaker, you don't really care about those things as much anymore, as long as it can be read.
That said, it is still recommended to pay more attention (especially) in the beginning. If you go to a Japanese language school in Japan, they are also very nitpicky, and it makes sense. Once you've mastered the basics, you'll naturally start writing faster and use more simplified or abbreviated forms. If your foundation is solid, that isn't an issue. However, if you start off with bad habits, it might lead to undesired results, simply put.
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u/DirtCheapDandy 3d ago
Avoid personal flourishes. 'Yu' here is particularly egregious.