Learning hiragana by writing it, not just looking at it, is the foundation of writing Japanese by hand. There is no magic timeline (everyone moves at their own pace), but there is an order that avoids getting stuck.
Step 1: study by rows
Hiragana is organized in rows by sound. A common order is:
- あ い う え お
- か き く け こ
- さ し す せ そ
- た ち つ て と
- な に ぬ ね の
- は ひ ふ へ ほ
- ま み む め も
- や ゆ よ
- ら り る れ ろ
- わ を ん
Add one row at a time (or half a row if that is hard) and do not move on until the previous one comes out without looking.
Step 2: the three-pass loop
For each character:
- Look at the stroke order and the direction of each stroke.
- Trace it following that order, a few times.
- Write it from memory and compare.
If you hesitate on the third pass, go back to the first: it is a sign that character is not fixed yet. The general rules of order are in the stroke order rules.
Step 3: review before moving on
Before starting a new row, write the previous one from memory (and some from days ago). A few spaced repetitions work better than one long session you never review.
Step 4: watch the look-alikes
Some pairs and trios get mixed up every time: ぬ and め, わ and れ and ね, る and ろ, は and ほ. Give them a separate review; we explain them in similar-looking kana.
Step 5: add the marks
Once you have the 46 basic characters down, learn the marks ゛ and ゜ (か → が, は → ぱ) and the small characters ゃ, ゅ and ょ. They are not new characters: they change the sound of the ones you already know.
A few useful habits
- Short, frequent sessions: a little every day beats one whole afternoon.
- Say the sound out loud while you trace.
- Alternate phone and paper: see phone or paper.
With Kaku!
In Kaku! you can follow this plan by tracing each character with your finger: the app checks the order and direction of your strokes, and offers a daily character challenge with hints. Hiragana is free and you do not need to register to start. Once you have it down, the next step is the differences from katakana.