First we have to memorize the hiragana alphabet. Once you understand the writing system of Japanese you will be able to pronounce the words the way Japanese people do. Not making the effort to learn hiragana and the Japanese pronunciation will result in Japanese people not understanding what you are trying to say. You will need to learn katakana in order to learn how to read Japanese loan words from other languages. For now though, as a beginner, it is most important to master hiragana.
167
