Hiragana Na Ni Nu Ne No (なにぬねの): How to Read and Write the N Row

Imagine you're reading a beginner Japanese vocabulary list and see these two words:

You might already recognize こ (ko) and い (i) from earlier hiragana lessons.

But what about ね (ne) and ぬ (nu)?

Both belong to the Japanese N row:

These five characters appear in useful everyday words, including なまえ (namae), meaning "name," and おかね (okane), meaning "money."

Today, you'll learn to recognize all five characters, write them from memory, and read simple Japanese words without relying on romaji.

You'll also learn how to avoid confusing ぬ (nu) with め (me), two characters that look surprisingly similar.

Meet the five hiragana in the N row

The Japanese N row contains five characters:

Unlike some other hiragana rows, the N row follows a regular pattern. On the kana chart, it comes right after the T row.

Each character begins with an n sound followed by one of the five Japanese vowels: な (na) combines n + a, に (ni) combines n + i, ぬ (nu) combines n + u, ね (ne) combines n + e, and の (no) combines n + o.

One small difference: に (ni) sounds a little softer than the others, a bit like the "ny" in "canyon" followed by i.

If you've already learned the five hiragana vowels, the sound pattern should feel familiar.

But knowing the sounds is only half the challenge. You also need to recognize and write each character.

Let's start with な (na).

な (na): Read it in なまえ

Imagine you're filling out a form in Japanese. You see the word:

The first character is な (na). Break the word down:

Together:

You'll encounter this word in introductions and on forms.

Another useful word is:

Notice that both characters belong to today's row:

That's a complete Japanese word using only two N-row characters!

How to write な

The standard handwritten form of な (na) has four strokes.

Look carefully at its shape.

The upper-left section contains a horizontal stroke crossed by a downward stroke.

The right side contains a short separate mark and a larger curved stroke that forms a loop.

When writing な, don't forget that small mark near the upper right.

Practise writing:

Now cover the example. Can you write な (na) without looking? Try it once before moving on.

に (ni): Read it in にく

The second character is に (ni). You'll find it in:

Break it down:

If you've learned the K row, you should already recognize く (ku). That means you've just learned another complete Japanese word: にく (niku).

You can also combine today's first two characters. Read them separately, な (na) and に (ni), then together:

How to write に

The standard handwritten form of に (ni) has three strokes.

It consists of a vertical stroke on the left and two shorter horizontal strokes on the right.

The right-hand strokes are separate.

Try writing:

Now compare:

Both belong to the N row, but their shapes are quite different.

Don't try to identify them simply by remembering that they both begin with n. Learn each character as its own sound and shape.

ぬ (nu): Read it in いぬ

Now let's return to the word from the beginning of the lesson.

Break it down:

The first character, い (i), belongs to the vowel row. The second character is today's new hiragana, ぬ (nu). You can now read the complete word: いぬ (inu).

Another example is:

This word uses two N-row characters:

How to write ぬ

The standard handwritten form of ぬ (nu) has two strokes.

The first is a diagonal stroke moving downward toward the right.

The second begins near the upper left, curves through the character, and finishes with a small loop on the lower right.

That loop is important. Why? Because ぬ (nu) looks similar to another hiragana, め (me). Compare:

The difference is easiest to notice near the end of each character. ぬ (nu) has a small loop. め (me) doesn't have that loop.

We'll practise this distinction shortly. For now, write:

Pay particular attention to the loop.

ね (ne): Read it in ねこ

The fourth character is ね (ne). You can find it in:

Break it down:

Now you can read both animal words from the beginning:

Another useful word containing ね is:

Break it down:

You already know お (o) from the vowel row and か (ka) from the K row. The final character is ね (ne). Together: おかね (okane).

This is a useful word to recognize when learning Japanese vocabulary about shopping and everyday life.

How to write ね

The standard handwritten form of ね (ne) has two strokes.

The first is a vertical stroke on the left.

The second starts with a short line across, angles down to the left, then turns and sweeps back up to the right, curving down into a small loop at the lower right.

Notice that ね (ne) also has a loop. But its overall shape is different from ぬ (nu). Compare:

In ぬ, the main shape contains crossing diagonal curves. In ね, there's a separate vertical stroke on the left.

Try writing:

Now alternate:

Can you keep their shapes distinct?

の (no): Read it in きのこ

The fifth character is の (no). This is one of the simplest hiragana to write, and it appears in many Japanese words. For example:

Break it down:

Another example is ぬの (nuno), "cloth / fabric." You've already met this word, and now you know both characters.

How to write の

The standard handwritten form of の (no) has just one stroke.

Start just above the middle and draw down toward the lower left. Without lifting your pen, curve up and over the top, then down around the right side, and finish with a short sweep toward the lower left. Leave a small gap at the bottom.

The result is a rounded, open shape.

Try writing:

Don't close the shape into a complete circle. The ending remains open.

Now read:

You've learned the entire N row.

Read the N row in any order

Reading the row in order is useful, but it isn't enough. You might memorize なにぬねの as one sequence without recognizing the individual characters.

Let's test that. First, read the row backward:

の　ね　ぬ　に　な

Now try a mixed order:

ぬ　な　の　ね　に

Finally:

に　の　な　ぬ　ね

Check your answers

Did you recognize each character immediately? Or did you have to mentally recite the entire row?

If you needed to recite the row, keep practising the characters in different orders. The goal is to recognize each hiragana independently.

Read six useful Japanese words

Now let's combine the N row with characters from earlier lessons.

Every word in this table uses characters from the vowel, K, or N rows. You don't need to learn any additional hiragana to read them.

Let's try two examples.

Example 1: ねこ (neko)

Look at ねこ. Identify the characters. The first is ね (ne). The second is こ (ko). Together: ねこ (neko), cat.

Now compare いぬ (inu), dog. Can you read both without checking the romaji?

Example 2: おかね (okane)

Look at おかね. Break it into three sounds:

Now combine them: おかね (okane), money.

This is why learning hiragana in small groups works. Each new row increases the number of complete words you can read.

You aren't simply memorizing symbols. You're building the ability to recognize Japanese vocabulary directly.

Common mistake: Confusing ぬ and め

One of the trickiest visual distinctions for beginners is ぬ (nu) and め (me).

They have similar overall shapes. Both contain curved strokes that cross. But there's a useful difference: ぬ has a small loop near the lower right. め doesn't.

Compare them carefully:

Now reverse the order:

Imagine you want to write:

But accidentally write いめ. That's wrong: you've changed the second character.

The correct spelling is いぬ. Make sure the final character contains the loop.

Recognition challenge: which character is nu?

A. め

B. ぬ

C. の

Answer: B. ぬ. The loop helps distinguish it from め.

Common mistake: Confusing ね and れ

Another pair worth noticing is ね (ne) and れ (re).

Both have a vertical stroke on the left and a larger curved stroke on the right. But their endings are different.

ね (ne) has a loop near the lower right. れ (re) finishes without that loop.

Now imagine you're writing:

If you accidentally write れこ, that's wrong: you've changed the first character. The correct spelling is ねこ. Look for the loop in ね.

You don't need to master the entire R row today. Just remember this distinction when you encounter れ later.

Common mistake: Confusing の with a circle

The character の (no) can look like a simple circular shape. But it isn't written as a closed circle.

The character has a curved stroke that remains open. When writing it, don't join the beginning and end into a complete circle.

This matters because clear character shapes make your handwriting easier to recognize.

Practise writing の as one continuous stroke. Then compare it with a printed example.

Practice 1: Recognize the hiragana

Choose the correct answer.

Question 1: which character represents na?

A. に

B. な

C. ね

Answer: B. な

Question 2: which character represents nu?

A. ぬ

B. め

C. の

Answer: A. ぬ

Question 3: which character represents ne?

A. れ

B. の

C. ね

Answer: C. ね

Question 4: which character represents no?

A. な

B. の

C. に

Answer: B. の

Practice 2: Read without romaji

Cover the answers and read these words aloud.

1. いぬ　2. ねこ　3. なに　4. おかね　5. ぬの　6. きのこ

Try identifying each character before checking.

Answers for reading without romaji

1. 1. いぬ1. inu1. dog
2. 2. ねこ2. neko2. cat
3. 3. なに3. nani3. what
4. 4. おかね4. okane4. money
5. 5. ぬの5. nuno5. cloth / fabric
6. 6. きのこ6. kinoko6. mushroom

If you struggled with a word, separate it into individual hiragana. For example, きのこ becomes:

Finally, combine the sounds: きのこ (kinoko).

Practice 3: Write the N row from memory

Look at these characters one last time:

Now cover them. Write the hiragana for these sounds:

1. ne　2. na　3. no　4. nu　5. ni

Don't check until you've attempted all five.

Answers for writing the N row

1. 1. ね1. neSound ne: ね
2. 2. な2. naSound na: な
3. 3. の3. noSound no: の
4. 4. ぬ4. nuSound nu: ぬ
5. 5. に5. niSound ni: に

Pay particular attention to ぬ and ね. Both contain loops, but their overall shapes are different.

If you made a mistake, study the correct character briefly, cover it, and write it again.

Practice 4: Write complete Japanese words

Now let's practise producing words instead of isolated characters. Write these in hiragana without looking at the earlier examples.

1. Dog (romaji: inu)

2. Cat (romaji: neko)

3. What (romaji: nani)

4. Money (romaji: okane)

5. Mushroom (romaji: kinoko)

Answers for writing words

1. 1. いぬ1. inu1. dog
2. 2. ねこ2. neko2. cat
3. 3. なに3. nani3. what
4. 4. おかね4. okane4. money
5. 5. きのこ5. kinoko5. mushroom

Now try writing the words again using only their English meanings. Don't look at the romaji.

This is a useful way to check whether you can recall the Japanese sounds and their written characters.

Your final challenge: Read a Japanese vocabulary list

Imagine you're reviewing vocabulary before your next Japanese class. You encounter these words:

ねこ　いぬ　おかね　きのこ　なに

The gaps are only there to separate the words; ordinary Japanese is written without spaces.

Your challenge is to read all five without looking at romaji. Take your time. Then check:

Now write the entire N row from memory: na　ni　nu　ne　no. Can you produce all five hiragana?

Answer for the final challenge

If you can read the words and write the row without checking, you've achieved today's goal.

The five characters to remember

The Japanese N row is:

All five characters follow the expected n + vowel sound pattern. Remember these useful words:

And remember the two visual distinctions:

• ぬ (nu) has a loop that distinguishes it from め (me).
• ね (ne) has a loop that distinguishes it from れ (re).

Don't worry if these characters still take a moment to recognize. Practise them in mixed orders, read them inside real words, and write them without looking at examples.

Your goal isn't simply to recite なにぬねの. It's to see ねこ and immediately read neko, without needing to translate each character into romaji first.

That's how hiragana begins to become a practical reading skill.