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Hiragana Page 48 り ri

Oni's picture

Don't confuse this with い i


- [listen to the file]

MEMORY: It looks like 2 arms REAching for something

EXAMPLES: How do you say them?
- This means 'bird'

- This means 'glue'

- This means 'impossible'


Listen to them all HERE 53 k wav

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I'm confused... I don't know how to write it. I mean, ok. here it's said that I should write it like this: り (two arms), but on top of this page, on that little tab [and also in the examples] i noticed that it is written like this: http://carmescrapbook.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/hiragana-ri.jpeg
are they both correct?

DarkAge's picture


On my chart that I have, under Hiragana it shows this one and for Katakana it shows り. So maybe TJP mixed up and put it under Hiragana?

phreadom's picture

No, these are just stylistic

No, these are just stylistic differences. The Katakana one is drawn with more clear cut straighter lines. The Hiragana one though can be drawn more script like... as though you've painted it with a brush. This means that you can have the line sort of connect both sides or not. It's still the same kana.

り vs リ


DarkAge's picture


Ah I see... so as long as it looks like ri you can mess around with the style of writing? (And I assume it goes for all symbols since I keep seeing different variations)

I'm guessing this is because in the past a paintbrush was used instead of a pen so more creativity came into writing their symbols? Also different hand writing? If you take the English letter A as an example, different people will have tiny differences in their style of writing that letter. To English speakers that difference is not noticed, but to people that are not English speakers I would assume it looks like Japanese to them. xD

phreadom's picture

That's pretty much it in a

That's pretty much it in a nutshell! :)

Of course some letters you have a lot more leeway with than others, but that's the general gist of it.


NileCat-sensei illustrates this point a bit more in that post on the forum. :)


It sounds like... Dee. Or if

It sounds like...

Dee. Or if I want to get technical I can say it sounds like "REEd"


To me it sounds like

Da - Di - Du - De - Do insted of with and R

is this correct or am i completely off the mark

phreadom's picture

I think that's actually kind

I think that's actually kind of close...

I heard it explained once as the sound a British English speaking person would make saying the word "very", which ends up sounding a bit like "veddy".

Of course that's not entirely accurate... but it gives you an idea. :)


so its sort of a vda -vdi

so its sort of a vda -vdi -vdu -vde -vdo sort of sound if you get what i mean?


phreadom's picture

just the "d" sound you're

just the "d" sound you're referring to.

so らり might sound kind of like "dah-dee" or "lah-lee".



ok doki thank you


Just flip it top down, and you have an ri. Also works for ri in katakana. Great site btw!


Actually it looks like the Opposite of " i " right? haha


Yaa~ It sure do! =]

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