ひらが な (hiragana) is a set of characters used is Japanese (日本語) for everyday things. Unlike the roman based alphabet, each character is a sound not just a letter. Using hiragana as an example-

ひ   ら   が   な
hi   ra   ga    na

There are 46 basic hiragana, & they are organized for  easy memorization. The Vowels go across the top setting the columns. Each row adds a consonant sound. If this is confusing, don’t worry, it’ll work out.

First, we’ll cover the 1st 2 rows- also known as the “a” line, & “ka” line.

The 1st 5 are straight vowels- a i u e o
[Pronounced AH IE OO EH OH]

あ い う  え  お
a    i    u    e   o

Then comes the “ka” line: ka ki ku ke ko
[Pronounced KA KEE KOO KEH KO]

か き く け こ
ka ki ku ke ko

Some words using these kana:
あおい — blue
あかい — red

That’s it for today… to practice these kana, try this:
http://www.realkana.com
1) On the Hiragana tab, click the check box for the 1st 2 columns
2) On the Katakana tab, uncheck the 1st column
3) Click Practice!

Can’t see the Japanese text? Click here.
Want a little bit more background on Japanese? Click here.