さしすせそ — The S Row
Why the S row?
The S row is where things get interesting. さ, す, せ, そ follow the regular pattern — consonant 's' plus a vowel — but し is the first irregular romanisation you'll meet: it's read shi, not si. This row also opens up huge chunks of beginner vocabulary: しごと (work), すし (sushi), せかい (world), そら (sky), and the verb stem 〜ます that every textbook starts with.
Pronunciation at a glance
Words you can read with the S row
With the vowels, K row, and S row in your toolkit, you can read a substantial slice of everyday Japanese — including some of the foundational vocabulary (sushi, world, alcohol, polite verb stems). These words use only characters from the first three rows of the chart. Print these as flashcards →
What's next
After the S row, the next step is the た-row (た ち つ て と) — note that ち is read chi (not ti) and つ is read tsu, two more irregular romanisations to add to し. After that, the chart fills in row by row.