YU in hiragana: ゆ
The syllable ‘yu’ in hiragana is written ゆ.
ゆ ‘yu’ hiragana stroke order
ゆ has two strokes:
- A short vertical, downwards stroke that then curves up to right and back round again.
- A vertical stroke that cuts through this curve.
ゆ ‘yu’ hiragana mnemonic
See also: 10 ways to make mnemonics
This image should help you to remember how to write ‘yu’ in hiragana by associating the letters yu with the shape of ゆ. Remember that the English words used here are not a pronunciation guide. They help you to remember how to write ゆ, 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.
ゆ is a usual fish.
This mnemonic is a little bit of a stretch, I know, but ゆ looks so much like a fish that it seemed best to find a way to use this. Anyway, strange mnemonics work better than plain ones.
I actually remember ゆ by thinking of 魚 (fish) being pronounced yú in Mandarin.
ゆ ‘yu’ hiragana origins
ゆ is derived from the kanji 由 (yo) . This is pronounced yóu in Mandarin Chinese (hanzi) and yu 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
