Hiragana: Lesson 7 - 'き' [ki] & 'ぎ' [gi]

Pronunciation:
'き' is romanized 'ki' and pronounced 'ki' as in 'kid'.

Word beginning with 'き':

• 木/き (ki -> tree; wood; timber)
• 切る/きる (kiru-> to cut)
• 着物/きもの (kimono -> Japanese traditional clothing)
• きのう (kinou -> yesterday)
• きみ (kimi -> you)
• 訊く/きく (kiku -> to hear; to listen; to ask; request)

Stroke order:

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Same with the previous lesson, the Japanese character 'ki き (and the other 4)' can easily be modified/change to 'gi 'ぎ'' by adding two small little curve at the top on the right (look below).

Word with 'ぎ':

1. 右/みぎ (migi-> right)

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YO-ON: In the Japanese language there are also contracted words called 拗音(yo-on). They are made up of two letters written together. A hiragana ending with "i" such as ki (き), shi (し), chi (ち) etc... and a smaller version of ya (や), yu (ゆ) and yo (よ). The hiragana's ending with "i" also include their dakuten and handakuten versions gi(ぎ), ji (じ), pi (ぴ) etc...

The yoon’s for 'ki' are:

1. きゃ/kya Ex. 脚立/きゃたつ (ladder)
2. きゅ/kyu Ex.休憩/きゅうけい (rest)
3. きょ/kyo Ex. 今日/きょう kyou (Today)

The yoon’s for 'gi' are:

1. ぎゃ/gya Ex. ギャソリン/ぎゃそりん (gasoline) *English names are written in katakana
2. ぎゅ/gyu Ex. 牛乳/ぎゅうにゅう (milk)
3. ぎょ/gyo Ex. 餃子/ぎょうざ (dumplings)

A full list can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y%C5%8Don

Task: You shall write 'き' & 'ぎ' 50 - 100 times in your textbook. If you want, like with the previous lesson, write 'き' 70 times and 'ぎ' 30 times. Memorize the shape, the stroke order, the sound, the pronunciation, etc.

Will be going to the next character in a short time.