あ (a), hiragana basic
あ
a
Vowel a
hiraganabasic3 strokes
Stroke order
Pronunciation
Open your mouth for a short, steady a. Keep your tongue low and relaxed; do not use the vowel in English cat.
katakana counterpart
Similar characters
Words with あ
あなたyou
あれthat / that one over there
あのthat … over there (+ noun)
How to remember it
あImagine an acrobat balancing beside a loop. The acrobat is your visual cue for a; listen to the Japanese vowel rather than copying the whole English word.
Where it comes from
安あ
あ developed from a flowing handwritten form of 安. The kanji supplied a sound; あ does not carry its meaning of peaceful.