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お (o), hiragana basic

o

Vowel o

hiraganabasic3 strokes

Stroke order

Pronunciation

Round your lips gently for a short, steady o. Do not add the glide at the end of English go.

katakana counterpart

Similar characters

Words with お

man / male
woman / female
tea

How to remember it

Look for the loop and the separate little mark at the upper right. Imagine a person saying “Oh!” and tossing a hat into the air: o.

Where it comes from

お developed from the cursive writing of 於. Follow the overall flowing shape rather than looking for a single printed component.