Here are some mnemonics to help with learning Japanese katakana – which is the second best place (after hiragana) to start learning written Japanese (Check out this katakana chart, this one, and this one, too!):
- ア – a: Looks like an “A”xe. (pronounced “ah”)
- イ – i: Looks like a lowercase “I” with a long dot. (pronounced “ee”)
- ウ – u: Looks like the hiragana “U”!
- エ – e: Looks like an “E”levator!
- オ – o: Looks like a man tripping – “O” no!
- カ – ka: Looks like the hiragana “KA”!
- キ – ki: Looks like the top of the hiragana skeleton “KI”y!
- ク – ku: Looks like the side of a “KU”p! (pronounced “koo”)
- ケ – ke: Looks like a lopsided letter “KE”! (pronounced “keh”)
- コ – ko: Has two “KO”rners!
- サ – sa: Dancing the “SA”mba/”SA”lsa!
- シ – shi: “SHI” always smiles at me.