Age, Part 2: Reading Hiragana (s-/z-) and Practice

Let's practice Japanese from this lesson.

Hiragana s- and z-

Previously, you learned that the hiragana syllabary has 46 basic symbols. Since then you have been introduced to several lines of the chart and have practiced the different hiragana you've learned.

In this lesson, we will continue to see what happens when you add the two little marks called dakuten. For the hiragana using the sound s-, dakuten changes the sound to z-. Once again, you can easily make five new hiragana from five you've already learned. The line from the basic chart is:

さ　し　す　せ　そ　(sa, shi, su, se, so)

By adding the dakuten, we can easily create five new hiragana:

ざ　じ　ず　ざ　ぞ　(za, ji, zu, ze, zo)

Notice that Japanese speakers say shi and ji (not si and zi). Shi and ji do not seem at all related when you look at the roomaji, but in the hiragana the only difference is the addition of the dakuten for じ.

Practice Activity: Classroom Expressions

During the first part of this Japanese course, you have already picked up a lot of expressions from the TV lessons and from your audio interaction sessions. Can you match the Japanese and English equivalents? As you go through the Japanese expressions, say each one aloud to see if it sounds familiar to you.

Notebook Practice Activities

Complete the following in your notebook. Some suggest a partner, but if no one is available, just complete both parts of each activity on your own.

Generating questions and answers

With a partner practice generating questions and answers using the following cues. Alternate with your partner so you both have an opportunity to ask question and to give answers.

Example:

O-ikutsu - - - - (35)
- Partner A: O-ikutsu desu-ka?
- Partner B: San-juu-go-sai desu.

Exercises:

o-namae-wa ---- (George)
daigaku-sei ---- (kookoo-sei)
-nen-sei ---- (3)
gakkoo ---- (Miami)
-sai ---- (47)
doko ---- (Tookyoo-Daigaku)
Unicom-no- ---- (Maxi-com-no-)

Reading practice

Partner A and Partner B look at their respective parts only. Partner A reads the words in Line 1 while Partner B looks at the words in his/her Line 1. If the words in Partner B’s Line 1 are the same as what Partner A reads, Partner B says, “Hai.” If any of the words are different, Partner B says, “Iie,” and then reads the words he/she has. For Line 2, Partner B reads for Partner A. Continue alternating for each line. In other words: answer hai if the readings match and iie if they are different.

**Reading Practice Activity**
Partner A	Partner B
あし、ぐあい、せかい	あし、ぐあい、せかい
かぎ、さけ、げき	かげ、さけ、げき
ごご、かじ、そこ	ごご、かし、そこ
すこし、さがす、あおい	すこし、さがす、あおい
おそく、しき、すごい	おそく、せき、すごい
ざあざあ、かす、かぜ	ざあざあ、かず、かぜ
かぞく、あかい、うごく	かぞく、あかい、うごく

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Lesson content based on material created by Georgia Public Broadcasting, 1996. All rights reserved. Used with permission.