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Mnemonics for the る (ru) and ろ (ro) Characters

In this section we will analyse the る (ru) and ろ (ro) characters.

As you can see, these two characters are identical except for the る (ru) containing a circular curve at the bottom and the ろ (ro) missing this curve.

 

る (ru) and ろ (ro)

 
 
In terms of a mnemonic, imagine both characters represent the number 3. The る (ru) character has a ruby attached to the bottom of it as you can see by the circle. Think of this ‘ruby’ as ‘ru’, being short for ‘ruby’.

Unfortunately, sometime during the night, a thief has come along and robbed the ruby from the 3. All you can see is the number 3 by itself, represented as ろ (ro), with no ruby attached to it. It has been ‘robbed’. Think of ‘ro’ short for ‘robbed’ when thinking of ろ (ro).

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