We’re up to 38 Hiragana now & making good progress!

あ い う え お a i u e o
か き く け こ ka ki ku ke ko
さ し す せ そ sa shi* su se so
た ち つ て と ta chi* tsu* te to
な に ぬ ね の na ni nu ne no
は ひ ふ へ ほ ha hi fu* he ho
ま み む め も ma mi mu me mo
や ゆ よ         ya yu yo

*Irregulars

After the rest of today’s lesson, you’ll be ready for the next writing video!
http://www.ehow.com/video_4498963_write-japanese-alphabet-hiragana-part.html

On to part 5! The last of the 46 Hiragana!

This will cover the Ra, & Wa lines, along with “n” which isn’t included in any line, but it pretty important anyway.

Ra Line
[Pronounced RLA RLI RLU RLEH RLOH]

ら  り  る  れ  ろ
ra ri ru re ro

Ra is special– Japanese doesn’t have a specific “R” or “L” sound; it’s a combo of both. *** See below for more

Wa, O & n
[Pronounced WAH OH  n]

わ   を   ん
Wa o  n

Wa & Wo are fairly regular, & n is never used on it’s own. It’s always used with other kana. Like in word さん san (meaning 3) it’s Sa さ & nん

Words using these kana:
りす — [risu] squirrel
さん — [san] three

*** Many Japanese speakers that learn English often have a hard time with words containing these letters.
I always think of this poor kitty:

<– EngRish lol
せんせい said she had a hard time with “roof” when she was learning English. Both the R sounds & F sound were foreign to her.

So how is it pronounced?  I listen to a lot of J-POP & it was easy for me to pick up. I also took alot of Spanish & it reminded me of when we’d have to roll our r’s like in the word “Amirillo.” It’s very similar. I’ve also had it explained to me like this: “When you go to say a word like “ramen” begin to say RA like normal. Then as your tongue hits the back of your teeth, drop it to the bottom quickly.” It helped some people, it confused others.  Other people have said “Try saying ra & la at the same time. That’s essentially the sound your going for.”
Whatever method works best for you, go for it. Listen to a bunch of anime or music to get the feel for it.