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Hiragana · vowel row

あ (a): hiragana stroke order and pronunciation

あ is the hiragana for a, the first of the five vowels. It is written with 3 strokes. Its katakana twin is ア (a).

Back to the hiragana chart
あ
123
Romaji
a
Strokes
3
Listen
Play a

How to write あ, stroke by stroke

Each frame adds one stroke. The number sits where the stroke starts; strokes run left to right and top to bottom.

  1. 1stroke 1
  2. 12stroke 2
  3. 123stroke 3

How to say a

Tip: like 'a' in 'father'

あ in a word

The course introduces あ with あい (love).

The five vowels

Every other kana is one of these five vowels with a consonant in front, so あ is the sound you hear at the end of the whole a column. Read the five together until each is automatic:

Course words written with あ

6 words from the beginner word lists use あ. Each links to the list it belongs to.

あ in a sentence

From the beginner stories, where あ turns up in running text rather than on its own.

Rules that involve あ

Held vowels — two beats, one sound

When a vowel is followed by the same vowel — or お by う, and え by い — you HOLD it for two beats instead of saying it twice. りょうり is 'ryōri', not 'ryo-u-ri'. せんせい is 'sensē'. The extra kana is the length mark; it is not a separate syllable.

  • りょうりcooking (おう is a held 'o')
  • せんせいteacher (えい is a held 'e')

Built from あ

The same sound in katakana

Stroke-order data from KanjiVG by Ulrich Apel, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0.

Practice this in Open Lingo

The Open Lingo Japanese course teaches あ with tracing practice, a listening drill and spaced review, then uses it in real words within the same lesson.

Practice this in Open Lingo

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