RI in hiragana: り
The syllable ‘ri’ in hiragana is written り.
り ‘ri’ hiragana stroke order
り has two strokes:
- A short, downwards vertical stroke that hooks up slightly to the right.
- A longer downwards vertical stroke that curves slightly to the left.
り ‘ri’ hiragana mnemonic
See also: Ways to make mnemonics
This image should help you to remember how to write ‘ri’ in hiragana by associating the letters ri with the shape of り. Remember that the English words used here are not a pronunciation guide. They help you to remember how to write り, 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/japanesepod101/” rel="nofollow “Learn Japanese with JapanesePod101”) can help with that.
り is a reel of thread.
り ‘ri’ hiragana origins
り is derived from the kanji 利 (ri) . This is pronounced lì in Mandarin Chinese (hanzi) and li in Korean (hanja).
Useful links
