ようこそ！Welcome to Kiki+Koko: Let’s NihonGO!! Online, in blog form. We’re Kiki and Koko! We’re here to help you travel the world of Japanese language and culture all from your device, comfy in your home, or maybe commuting, as a passenger of course. We’re wherever you wanna be! It’s us travelling with you, sitting at your desk, standing poolside, on the moon, on holiday, at work, in your purse or organic tote bag, or really anywhere you have to be. We’re there to cheer you along and give you tools to head in the right direction.

So! In your Japanese learning journey, it’s not just enough to take a quick look at some characters and consider it learnt. You need to put those muscles to the test! Moji (文字, character) muscles that is!  With practise and quizzing, you can create your own learning environment on your own time to strengthen your skills. The skill? Oh-hoh-hoh, it’s a tale as old as time itself… Do You Know 「まみむめも」? These five hiragana are integral in reading important words and phrases, (a few of which you’ll actually be able to practise in the next bonus post!) Of course, at this point, if you’ve been with us since 「あいうえお」there are so many words you’ll be able to read at this point, but we’re narrowing it down to those that specifically use the ones you’ve learnt or would like to practise. But, we’re getting ahead of ourselves! This is about 「まみむめも」! This is about hiragana sound and character recognition! This is about… technology.

頑張りましょうね！Let’s try our best!

The technology being our helpful quiz generating robot computer friend: QUIZBO™くん！With the amazing technological advances of the internet and sound relay, he can assist you 24/7 in telling you how to read each character in the previous lesson, and reading hiragana to quiz you in this lesson. If you press the 「▶」button on the virtual sound player, QUIZBO™ will read the random hiragana to you. From there, all you have to do is answer which character he’s saying from the options below. (No worries, you can have him repeat it as many times as you wish, that’s what he’s here for!)

Why is romaji actually not the spawn of some sort of evil being like teachers and others make it out to be and why is it actually kind of important to know? (On top of hiragana that is! Gotta know how to read, boios~) Find out the important truth here

But, perhaps, you’re on an aeroplane or in a train or car without headphones! No worries, there, either, mate. We have you covered with a romaji transliteration which is also oddly something important.  

But, not so fast! Whilst romaji remains important for reasons, don’t get carried away and think reading is for squares. Romaji without kana and kanji knowledge is a dangerous way of life. The easy way isn’t always the best way.

Why is romaji debilitating in the wrong circumstances? Find out the shocking… shock here

Oh, but here we are chins a-wag about words like hiragana, kana, kanji, and romaji, but you may actually be new here! (Or at least new to Japanese language) but we can’t assume you’ve been here since the beginning. It won’t be a proper quiz without a bit of revising or at least learning. Be sure to visit the Kiki+Koko: Let’s NihonGO!! Blog or Kiki+Koko: Let’s NihonGO!! Online site where we all the lessons previously given are available. Any lesson marked with a 「🔊」usually has QUIZBO™ there to help you read. Though, if you’re on a different device, the speaker symbol may differ.

Shiny New Twitter: @kikikokoNihonGO 

Before you get out there, we want to remind you of the great that reading is an important step in your Japanese learning journey. You might be learning Japanese to travel, maybe for a family member, maybe to communicate with business associates. Whatever your motivation, get out there and use your moji muscles on your hiragana hustle! ハッスルハッスル！マッスルマッスル！Hassuru, hassuru! Massuru, massuru! …Or take your time and relax with it, whatever works best for you. Have a go at it with your own pace as many times as you like~

Let’s NihonGO!! まみむめも!!
[Questions with QUIZBO™]

#1) Which hiragana do you hear? Hint: 【me】

#2.) Which hiragana do you hear? Hint: 【ma】

#3.) Which hiragana do you hear? Hint: 【mo】

#4.) Which hiragana do you hear? Hint: 【mi】

#5.) Which hiragana do you hear? Hint: 【mu】

And there you have it, folks! 「まみむめも」!! Did you do well on your first try with these?  Or were you greeted by a lot of red 「× 惜しいなあ！」s? Either way, we want to say:  おめでとうございます, omedetou gozaimasu! Congratulations! While of course we’re impressed if you got all of these correct, we’re also very proud that you’ve made the effort to do your best even if you didn’t get them all correct. Learning Japanese, like anything in life, comes with many obstacles. These difficulties help us learn and grow. If everything were smooth sailing, it might not feel like much of an accomplishment. And if you are someone who catches on easy to things, that’s also neat! (Make sure to use your powers for good!)

But, for anyone who may have trouble making it through even this far, be proud of yourself! No matter if its 5 hiragana or 2000 kanji, you’ve learnt something new! You stepped out, above and beyond what’s required, to learn a new language, or even just bits and bobs. And, hey, we’re here for those who want to become truly fluent, and also those who just want to explore—dabblers who just want to get a taste of a new culture and language. we think that’s also a great act that can really make the Earth a smaller place, connecting everyone and helping them to understand everyone a bit better.

So take your time and do what you need to do! Repeat and revise with the knowledge that you’re already doing something great. Refresh the page and try them again and again as many times as you’d like! Come back another time if you’re not up to it now! Just know whatever way you need to learn is great—find what works for you. You may not always feel like it’s a trip or a holiday, but you can rest assured you’re doing something that will enrich you and maybe even others in the long run

We hope this was/will be helpful for you on your Japanese learning journey!
You mean so much to us, and we appreciate that you’ve chosen to learn with us.
We’ll be with you every step of the way~
Until next time, thank you for visiting!
♡Kiki+Koko