One of the best ways for English-speakers to learn Hiragana is to associate each character with a picture that reminds you of its sound. I'll post some of the ones I used to learn Hiragana back in my day. (I'm so old... razz
あ (A) - This is a turtle with a bowtie saying AHHH.
た (TA) - This looks like the English syllable "Ta".
み (MI) - This is ME at 21 years old!
ら (RA) - This is a cheerleader's megaphone - RAH RAH RAH!
や (YA) - This is a German with a big pitcher of beer saying "YA!" (My old sensei was a wee bit racist, methinks...)
お (O) - This is a golfball flying "O"ver the golf tee.
ち (CHI) - This is a cheerleader, jumping into the air.
せ (SE) - This is a girl SAYing "I love you" on her boyfriend's lap.
... this may be cheesy to the point of cringe-worthy, but they really do help. What pictorial associations have you found/invented? Share them! ) Some of them might be a little hard to see in this font, so my apologies if you don't see what I'm talking about. In handwritten fonts they make sense, I promise.
Japanese Academy
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