Meet the kana.
Two scripts. The same core sounds. Start with a few symbols, say them aloud, and come back tomorrow.
Practice from memory
Choose a script and a row. Say the sound before revealing it.
a
Watch the small differences
Length changes words. おばさん (aunt) and おばあさん (grandmother) differ by a long vowel. Katakana often uses ー: コーヒー, coffee.
Small っ holds a beat. In きって (stamp), briefly hold before the t. Small ゃ・ゅ・ょ combine with another kana: きゃ is one mora, while きや is two.
Particles have special readings. は is pronounced wa as a topic particle; へ is e as a direction particle. を is usually pronounced o. Roman letters are a guide; listen to words in the course.
Hiragana & katakana chart
Each cell shows hiragana, katakana, and a romanized reading. The ん is a mora of its own; じ and ぢ (and ず and づ) share a sound in standard Japanese.