Hiragana

Hiragana is one of the essential Japanese writing
systems, consisting of 46 characters that represent syllables.

Hiragana provides the foundation for reading and writing, so japanese kids start learning it by the age of 5.

Basic Hiragana Chart:

These basic characters are called "Seion" (清音) or
"unvoiced syllables". It is recommended to learn
them first because the "Dakuon" (濁音) and
the "Handakuon" (半濁音), which are voiced and
semi-voiced syllables, originate from them.

Dakuon and Handakuon:

For the "Dakuon" (like ざ, for example) we basically put a
quotation mark on the syllable, making it voiced ("sa" becomes "za").
For the Handakuon (which only works in the "h-line")
we add a small circle, they will then make a p-sound.

There are also the "Youon" (拗音), which combine some syllables with
"ya", "yo" or "yu", making different sounds.