Hiragana consists of 46 characters. Compared to the 26 letters of the English alphabet, that does seem like quite a lot. For many learners, memorizing all those characters can feel overwhelming. But don’t worry—I have a fun suggestion for you!
Try learning hiragana through music! While there are children’s songs for memorizing hiragana, I’d like to share something a bit more unique and enjoyable, especially for adults.
Let me introduce you to a song called “AIUEO” by the Japanese rock band Happy End, who were active in the early 1970s. This experimental tune is constructed simply with hiragana in order—“a i u e o / ka ki ku ke ko / sa shi su se so so so so…” and so on. Isn’t that fascinating?
You might notice that the lyrics include some characters like “ゐ (wi)” and “ゑ (we),” which are no longer used in modern Japanese. Today, we say “ya, yu, yo” instead of “ya, i, yu, e, yo” and “wa, o” instead of “wa, wi, u, we, wo”.
It’s interesting to see how the language has evolved over time.
Years later, in the 1990s, the stylish pop duo Pizzicato Five, who gained international fame, created their own chic cover of this song. Their version has a sophisticated, playful vibe that makes memorizing hiragana even more enjoyable.
Why not give it a listen? Happy learning!
