“a” Hiragana

The stroke order for the “a hiragana” character is represented in the image below. As you can see three strokes are required. Writing out characters is the best way to learn and memorize the kana alphabets, hiragana and katakana. Grab a piece of paper and try to write the “a hiragana” character now. Getting the correct balance and smoothness with the curves will take a while. I found learning to write hiragana charaters to be a very relaxing exercise. It takes a certain about of concentrateion, but is stimulating in a passive kind of way. Strokes for both the kana alphabets and kanji generally move from left to right and from top to bottom. The “a hiragana” in particular is very beautiful.