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I'm trying to use some flash cards to learn the kana (hirigana first, but both
in time), and there's simply too much for me to learn at once. Is there a
recommended or practiced learning "order" or series? How are children
introduced to them?

I already have basic pronunciation down - if I can see it spelled out in
Romaji script I can say it with acceptable/reasonable accuracy. I am not
concerned about learning actual words or kanji right now, I only wish to
master this "basic alphabet" first, to the point that I can sound out words
written in kana.

I've thought of simply adding a flashcard from the deck at random each day and
drilling through the resulting stack a couple times per day, but I wanted to
seek out greater wisdom before doing something so random or rash!

I've got the flashcards produced by White Rabbit Press.
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learning kana katakana hiragana
learning order for kana?
The equivalent of "alphabetical order" for kana that hangs on the wall of
classrooms is as follows:

```

      あかさたなはまやらわん  
      いきしちにひみ　り  
      うくすつぬふむゆる  
      えけせてねへめ　れ  
      おこそとのほもよろを
    
```

I believe children are introduced to them based on this, probably vertically
(i.e. あいうえお、かきくけこ and so on). [ _Thanks to Jamie Taylor in the comments._ ]

I can't really give specific advice on order to learn since that's not the
focus of JLU, and different ways work for different people. You can check our
[resources
thread](https://japanese.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/756/resources-for-
learning-japanese) for some resources that may help you learn, or ask in chat.

Once you've learnt the above, make sure you know combinations like しゅ(shu),
know about [dakuten](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dakuten) (eg し(shi) ->
じ(ji)), and the purpose of the small っ.
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I think if you watch this video for 24 hours straight, you will have learned
basic hiragana and katakana without much effort. My apologies for any ill
effects on your mental health.

[Complete Japanese Alphabet Song - Katakana - Hiragana -
日本語](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyaRJJqaYT8)
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To learn the kana: write, write, write!

Fill a page with あああああ。。。 ｔhen いいい。。。

Write the kana tables over and over again many times.

Try to look at examples less and less as you do, until you can reproduce the
tables from memory.

If you're going to Japan soon, you will get more "mileage" out of katakana in
some sense, if you can decode the English out of it, so I would make that a
priority.
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2012-04-28T06:47:55.233
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As far as I know, most people learn (and most likely master) hiragana first.
Then katakana. Then finally kanji. I'm sure there is some overlap but this
seems to be the order of learning the different scripts (is that right word
for them?).
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I had a similar problem when first learning how to write kana. It was
frustrating to start with the gozyuuon order when you realise how few words
you can write after having learned the first ten or fifteen hiragana in that
order: あいうえおか…

So what did I do? I (unscientifically) analysed some bodies of text for
frequency. The text wasn't properly normalised (it contained kanji), but I did
group the small and large kana together. Then I divided it into groups of ten,
and randomised each group. This is what I came up with:

```

    1. しかいたんつてな <-- most frequent
    
    2. よのやうあはとら
    
    3. ちさもこるまくに
    
    4. わそきれねすけお
    
    5. せみをほりふえめ
    
    6. むぬろゆへひ     <-- least frequent
    
```

This method gave my brain enough immediate rewards to get through the task.

(A frequency analysis of katakana would likely end up quite different)
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2012-05-02T10:29:07.973
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This is how I learned it. The method takes three days to learn the whole
thing.

First, divide Kana into three parts - each for one day: - First part starts at
あ and ends at た - Second part starts at な and ends at や - Third day covers the
rest and repeats first two parts.

Learn them in three consecutive days without gaps by writing characters on a
piece of paper in a random order to remember them perfectly. Do not learn
characters of, say, the second part while learning the first to avoid
distraction.

It works!
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Try a spaced repetition flashcard/multichoice App like "Memrise", it will
gradually introduce groups of Kana and remove the ones you keep getting right.
In theory you're likely to go through them in the あいうえお、かきくけこ、... order but an
App like this will keep the harder Kana in the rotation longer until you're
getting the right.

Remember to practice writing them by hand too!
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