Tricky Hiragana: こ, て, に, た, and な
Understand the tricky hiragana characters こ (ko), て (te), に (ni), た (ta), and な (na) with this guide and flash cards. This is Part 3/6 of the Tricky Hiragana series.
Today we’ll continue our journey in understanding the tricky Hiraganas. The next group of tricky sets includes こ (ko), て (te), に (ni), た (ta), and な (na).
See the previous posts of the Tricky Hiragana series. Here is Part 1 and Part 2.
Why do they look similar?
The confusion in this group mainly comes from shared components. The character こ (ko) actually appears as part of other characters like に (ni), た (ta), and even て (te).
Meanwhile, た (ta) and な (na) share the exact same starting strokes on the left side that looks like a cross.
Let’s break them down in detail.
The こ (ko), に (ni) and た (ta) Connection
The character こ (ko) has two horizontal though slightly curved strokes that is similar in に (ni) and た (ta). The top stroke is short, and the bottom one is a gentle curve, like a smiley face.
See the red dotted line in the image guide to see how こ (ko) relates to に (ni) and た (ta).
On the other hand, に (ni) shares a similar two horizontal stroke but it has a vertical stroke first on the left.
See the orange dotted line in the image guide to see に (ni)’s vertical stroke.
Then for the character た (ta) it has a cross shape (like a lowercase ‘t’) on the left then followed by the two horizontal stroke on the right that looks like the character こ (ko) but smaller.
If it’s just two horizontal strokes it is こ (ko). If there’s a vertical on the left it is に (ni). If there’s a cross or plus sign on the left it is た (ta).
Quick Practice - こ, に, and た
Flip the cards below and test your understanding.
The た (ta) and な (na) Confusion
These two are often confused because they both start with the same cross shape on the left. The difference is all on the right side.
The character た (ta) starts with a cross shape. Then as mentioned, it has the character こ (ko) on the right side. On the other hand, the character な (na) also starts with a cross shape but the right side is quite unique with a short hook stroke then a small knotted loop.
See the green dotted line in the image guide to see how た (ta) relates to な (na).
な (na) has the lower case letter ‘t’ or plus sign followed by a small hook stroke and a knot.
Quick Practice - た and な
Let’s practice again. Flip the cards below and test your understanding.
Where does て (te) fit in?
The Hiragana て (te) is a little odd in this group but can sometimes look similar to こ (ko). Their top horizontal lines look the same but for て (te) the stroke continues towards the bottom in one single stroke. It continues into a curve without lifting the pen and it looks more vertical than horizontal.
See the blue dotted line in the image guide to see how こ (ko) relates to て (te).
て (te) is one single stroke the curves down.
Quick Practice - こ and て
Flip the cards below and test your understanding.
Further Resources for Your Hiragana Practice
Review the entire K, T, and N Hiragana sets with basic sample words and emojis using the following flash card sets:
- Hiragana K Set - Practice the full ka, ki, ku, ke, ko from this set.
- Hiragana T Set - Review the ta, chi, tsu, te, to set.
- Hiragana N Set - Try the na, ni, nu, ne, no set.
Practice again these five tricky Hiragana characters in one flash card deck at Tricky Hiragana: こ, て, に, た, and な.