NA in hiragana: な
The syllable ‘na’ in hiragana is written な.
な ‘na’ hiragana stroke order
な has four strokes:
- A short horizontal stroke from left to right.
- A vertical stroke that cuts down through the first.
- A very short stroke down to the right, which hooks slightly.
- A stroke that starts downwards then curls round to the left and then back through itself.
な ‘na’ hiragana mnemonics
See also: How to make mnemonics
These images should help you to remember how to write ‘na’ in hiragana by associating the letters na with the shape of な. Remember that the English words used here are not a pronunciation guide. They help you to remember how to write な, 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.
な is a narwhal.
Anaconda fight!
な ‘na’ hiragana origins
な is derived from the kanji 奈 (na) . This is pronounced nài in Mandarin Chinese (hanzi) and na 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
