Hiragana: M/Y/R/W/N Rows

This lesson completes the basic hiragana chart with the remaining 13 characters — the M row, Y row, R row, W row, and the special character ん (n). After this lesson, you will know all 46 basic hiragana.

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The M Row (ま行)

The M row is completely regular.

Character	Romaji	Pronunciation Tip	Example Word
ま	ma	"mah" as in "mama"	まち (machi) — town
み	mi	"mee" as in "meet"	みず (mizu) — water
む	mu	"moo" as in "mood"	むし (mushi) — insect
め	me	"meh" as in "met"	め (me) — eye
も	mo	"moh" as in "more"	もの (mono) — thing

Stroke Order Tips

• ま (ma) — 3 strokes. Two horizontal lines and a flowing vertical-to-loop stroke.
• み (mi) — 2 strokes. A compact character with a loop. Think of a person bowing.
• む (mu) — 3 strokes. Starts with a horizontal-to-vertical stroke, then a loop, then a dot.
• め (me) — 2 strokes. Similar to ぬ (nu) but the loop curls in a different direction.
• も (mo) — 3 strokes. Similar to し (shi) but with two horizontal lines crossing it.

Memory Aid: む (mu) looks like a moo-cow's face with horns and a nose ring. め (me) looks like an eye (me means "eye").

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The Y Row (や行)

The Y row has only three characters — ya, yu, yo. The yi and ye slots are empty in modern Japanese.

Character	Romaji	Pronunciation Tip	Example Word
や	ya	"yah" as in "yard"	やま (yama) — mountain
ゆ	yu	"yoo" as in "you"	ゆき (yuki) — snow
よ	yo	"yoh" as in "yoga"	よる (yoru) — night

Stroke Order Tips

• や (ya) — 3 strokes. A complex character — think of a person with their arms stretched out saying "yah!"
• ゆ (yu) — 2 strokes. Looks like a fish. The first stroke curves right, the second flows left and loops.
• よ (yo) — 2 strokes. A vertical line with a horizontal crossbar and a curve at the bottom.

Memory Aid: や (ya) looks like a "Y" leaning to the side. ゆ (yu) looks like a fish — "yummy fish!"

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The R Row (ら行)

The Japanese "r" sound is unique — it is neither an English "r" nor an "l". It is a quick flap of the tongue against the roof of the mouth, similar to the "tt" in the American pronunciation of "butter" or "better."

Character	Romaji	Pronunciation Tip	Example Word
ら	ra	Flap "d/l" + "ah"	さくら (sakura) — cherry blossom
り	ri	Flap "d/l" + "ee"	りんご (ringo) — apple
る	ru	Flap "d/l" + "oo"	くるま (kuruma) — car
れ	re	Flap "d/l" + "eh"	れいぞうこ (reizouko) — refrigerator
ろ	ro	Flap "d/l" + "oh"	ろく (roku) — six

Stroke Order Tips

• ら (ra) — 2 strokes. A short horizontal stroke, then a flowing curve downward.
• り (ri) — 2 strokes. Two separate vertical strokes, the second one curving. Similar to い (i) in shape.
• る (ru) — 1 stroke. A single stroke that loops at the bottom. Looks like a snail.
• れ (re) — 2 strokes. Starts like a vertical line, then a curve flowing right.
• ろ (ro) — 1 stroke. Like る but without the loop — just a simple curved stroke.