KO in hiragana: こ
The syllable ‘ko’ in hiragana is written こ.
こ ‘ko’ hiragana stroke order
こ has two strokes:
- A horizontal stroke from left to right.
- A second horizontal stroke underneath that one.
There is often a slight curve or flick in one or both of the strokes.
こ ‘ko’ hiragana mnemonic
See also: Making mnemonics
This image should help you to remember how to write ‘ko’ in hiragana by associating the letters ko with the shape of こ. Remember that the English words used here are not a pronunciation guide. They help you to remember how to write こ, not how to say it.
To learn pronunciation you need to get a lot of listening and speaking practice done. Online services like [JapanesePod 101](/recommended/japanesepod-101/” rel="nofollow “Learn Japanese [affiliate link]") can help with that.
こ is a corset.
こ ‘ko’ hiragana origins
こ is derived from the kanji 己 (onore). This is pronounced jǐ in Mandarin Chinese (hanzi) and gi in Korean (hanja).
Useful links
- [Kana Pict-o-Graphix: Mnemonics for Japanese Hiragana and Katakana](http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1880656183/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=19450&creativeASIN=1880656183&linkCode=as2&tag=easasistu-21" rel="external nofollow)
- [Let’s Learn Hiragana: First Book of Japanese Writing](http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0870117092/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=19450&creativeASIN=0870117092&linkCode=as2&tag=easasistu-21" rel="external nofollow)
- Hiragana mnemonics on asahi-net.or.jp
- Hiragana mnemonics on japanese.gatech.edu
- Japanese Hiragana - Omniglot
