Index

Features

Japanese Alphabet Book

This is an attempted translation of the Japanese children's book "Che no tomodachi AIUEO" (Che's friends ABC's). It is all in hiragana, with one sentence per primary character in the hiragana alphabet. There are also example words for characters with nigori marks (for voiced consonant sounds). Thanks to my Japanese teacher, Noriko Ralphs, for help in improving the translations.

This is the version with romanized Japanese. There is also a version with Japanese letters.

See also the Japanese alphabet summary page.

Asahi ga nobotta higashi no sora ni
a: The morning sun rose in the eastern sky.

Itsumo no you ni kirei da ne
i: It's beautiful as always, isn't it?

Usumurasaki no kumo no naka kakurete ohisama mata deta yo
u: The sun came out again from behind a light-purple cloud.

Ehon de mita yori subarashii
e: It was more wonderful than in a picture book.

Okotte iru toki naindamono ohisama honto ni ii ko da yo
o: The sun has no time to be angry; she's a really good child.

Kaa kaa mori no karasu ga yatte kite
ka: "Caaw, caaw," the forest crow came calling.

Ki no eda ni tomatte kaa kaa naite ita
ki: On the branch of a tree it rested, crying "Caaw, caaw."

Kuroi happi no ojisan kuwa o furiage odokasu to
ku: When the black-coated man shooed it away with his hoe

Kerokero gaeru sore o mite
ke: the croaking frogs looked at this

Koe mo tatezu ni nigedashita
ko: and made their escape too.

Sakura no saitai naka no ouchi
sa: The cherry tree bloomed by the country house.

Shiroi usagi o katte iru
shi: We have white rabbits as pets.

Sunda omeme wa makkakka
su: Their clear eyes are bright red.

Senobi o shite wa pyonpyon haneru
se: They stand on tiptoes, hopping and leaping.

Sora de wa ohisama nikoniko shiteru
so: From the sky the sun smiles down.

Take kara umareta Kaguya hime
ta: Princess Kaguya was born from a piece of bamboo.

Chiisana toki kara kireina musume
chi: From her childhood she was a beautiful daughter.

Tsuki o nagamete naiteta ga
tsu: When she saw the moon, she cried.

Ten'nyo ni tsurerare kaette itta
te: A heavenly maiden came and took her back to her home on the moon.

Tooi mukashi no ohanashi yo
to: They say this happened long, long ago.

Natsu no hi naka no
na: In the middle of a summer's day...

Niji no hashi
ni: there was the bridge of a rainbow.

Nukete mitai ne nana iro no hashi
nu: We'd like to go under it, right? A seven-colored bridge.

Nennen korori no uta goe wa
ne: There's a voice singing a lullabye.

No michi de komori suru oneesan kashira
no: I wonder if that's an older sister babysitting on that path.

Hago ita tsuite
ha: They are playing with shuttlecocks.

Hii fuu mii dokoka de kiieru
hi: We hear "One..two..three" coming from somewhere.

Fue no nehanodoka na shirabe o shite koruyo
fu: A flute is making the soothing sound.

Heiwa na Nihon no oshougatsu
he: Peaceful Japan celebrates New Year's day..

Houra agatta yakkodako
ho: by flying kites.

Magarikunetta hosoi aze michi
ma: The narrow field paths zigzagged around.

Minna sesseto choushi o awase
mi: Everyone works hard to make things better.

Mukashi nagara no inekari shigoto
mu: Since long ago, rice-harvesting work is the same.

Mee mee iyaki mo otonashiku
me: "Baah, baah" bleated the boy's obedient pet lamb.

Mou sugushi mauyo hi ga kureru
mo: Not long after, they finished as the day grew dark.

Yama kara hyokohyoko tanuki no ko
ya: Baby racoons scampered down from the mountains.

Yuube koyabu ni yatte kite
yu: Last night, they came to a small thicket.

Yomichi ni mayotte kaerenai
yo: They lost their way in the dark and couldn't get home.

Randoseru seotte kaeri michi
ra: We go along the homeward trail with backpacks on our backs.

Ringo no hoppeta makkakka
ri: We have cheeks flushed red as apples.

Rusui no kaasan matteru yo
ru: Mother can wait to take care of us at home.

Renge no hana tabate ni kakae
re: I'm holding a bouquet of milk vetch flowers under my arm.

Roji no oku e kakete iku
ro: I go running deep into an alley.

Wataridori ga oozora chikaku tonde iru kita no okuni e kaeru no ne
wa: Migrating birds fly close to the heavens as they go home again, don't they?

Retsu o tsukutte tonde iru oyadori kotori tonde iru
wo: They form a line as they go: parent birds, then the little birds.

Gungun tooku e ikimashita genki de rainen
n: They fly steadily far away, looking forward to coming back next year.

Meushi ga ippiki kusa o tabete imasu
1: One cow is eating grass.

Hon o nisatsu katte kimashita
2: I bought two books and came back.

Ouchi ga sangen tachimashita
3: There are three houses in a group.

Enpitsu o yonhon motte imasu
4: I have four pencils.

Gonin bayashi hanigiyaka desu
5: Five court musicians are making lively music.

Asagao ga mutsu sakimashita
6: Six morning-glories are blooming.

Nanahiki no koyagi no ohanashi o shimashou
7: Let's talk about the seven sheep.

Bo-to ga hachisou ukande imasu
8: Eight boats are floating.

Hyoko ga kyuwa kaerimashita
9: Nine chicks have hatched.

Juugatsu ni haundoukai ga arimasu
10: In the tenth month (October) there's an athletic meet.

Here are the other example words:
gakkou
ga: school

ginan
gi: ginko nuts

guro-bu
gu: gloves

geta
ge: wooden sandals

gomugutsu
go: rubber boots

zaru
za: basket

jitensha
ji: bicycle

zu
zu: pants

zeri-
ze: candy

zou
zo: elephant

dachou
da: ostrich

ko-hi-jawan
ji (chi with nigori): coffee cup

mikazuki
zu (tsu with nigori): crescent moon

densha
de: electric train

donguri
do: acorns

barikan
ba: barber's clippers

pan
pa: bread

bi-dama
bi: marbles

pinpon
pi: ping-pong

buta
bu: pig

pu-ru
pu: swimming pool

benkei
be: strongman

pengin
pe: penguin

bo-to
bo: boat

posuto
po: mailbox

Home page	Personal	Anime
Links	Learn Japanese	What's New?
Japanese Translations