I understand that hiragana originates from Chinese characters. Is there an underlying rationale to the strokes used for the syllabary? I can’t be the first person in 3000 years to ponder the thinking behind Xu Shen’s character categorisation and strokes.
As an example, I find similarities between ぬ (nu) and の (no), as well as ぬ (nu) and ね (ne). But there’s also a similarity between ぬ (nu) and め (me), which makes no sense to me.
I can see how various hiragana are related to their consonant and/or vowel sound siblings. There are, however, outliers.
Q: Is there a *simplified* explanation of the strokes for each hiragana character? (I’ll tackle Kanji once I wrap my head around hiragana.)
When I understand the reasoning behind something it’s much easier to remember than via rote memorisation. An example: understanding the Latin root behind anatomical parts helps with remembering the name and purpose, i.e. biceps (two head), quadriceps (four head).
by n_howie