る and ル
Pronunciation
These characters represent a blend between the “Lu” sound in “Loop” and the “Du” sound in “Dude”.
Despite usually being written as "RU" in roman characters.
る Memorization Story
The hiragana る looks like an unRUly DUde, with the LOOP being his BOXING gloves, as he tries to start a fight with another dude.
ル Memorization Story
The katakana ル is this unRuly Dude’s legs.
Writing
The hiragana る starts out almost identically to そ, with a small Z/zed. Instead of the stroke that looks like the hiragana て on the bottom though, we do a つ that curls back in on itself.
For the katakana ル, make sure to curve out the first stroke, and cut the end of the second stroke up at a sharp angle.
Font Examples
る ル
る ル
る ル
る ル
る ル
Typing
Hiragana る
Type the letters “ru”.
Katakana ル
Type “ru” and press the F7 key, or press spacebar until the katakana appears.
Word(s)
ルール
rule
かえる
to go home
つくる
to make
はしる
to run
ねる
to sleep
Historical Form
Hiragana
留→る
HISTORICAL VERSION
Katakana
流→ル
PART BORROWED
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ToKini Kana Introduction Page
あ・ア
い・イ
う・ウ
え・エ
お・オ
Consonant Vowel Combinations
か・カ
き・キ
く・ク
け・ケ
こ・コ
Kana Reading Practice 1
さ・サ
し・シ
す・ス
せ・セ
そ・ソ
た・タ
ち・チ
つ・ツ
て・テ
と・ト
Kana Reading Practice 2
な・ナ
に・ニ
ぬ・ヌ
ね・ネ
の・ノ
は・ハ
ひ・ヒ
ふ・フ
へ・ヘ
ほ・ホ
Kana Reading Practice 3
ま・マ
み・ミ
む・ム
め・メ
も・モ
や・ヤ
ゆ・ユ
よ・ヨ
Kana Reading Practice 4
ら・ラ
り・リ
る・ル
れ・レ
ろ・ロ
わ・ワ
を・ヲ
ん・ン
Kana Reading Practice 5
Dakuten, Han-Dakuten, and Sokuon
Kana Reading Practice 6
Kana Combinations
Kana Reading Practice 7
Special Katakana Combinations
The End
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