TooterHiragana and katakana charts with romaji
Hiragana is the basic Japanese syllabary: 46 characters, each a sound like あ (a) or か (ka). Katakana writes the same sounds, mostly for loanwords, and kanji add meaning. Together they make up the "Japanese alphabet."
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The 46 basic hiragana
Read each row left to right in the order a, i, u, e, o. This order (gojūon, "fifty sounds") is how Japanese dictionaries are sorted.
| Row | Hiragana | Romaji |
|---|---|---|
| Vowels | あ い う え お | a i u e o |
| K | か き く け こ | ka ki ku ke ko |
| S | さ し す せ そ | sa shi su se so |
| T | た ち つ て と | ta chi tsu te to |
| N | な に ぬ ね の | na ni nu ne no |
| H | は ひ ふ へ ほ | ha hi fu he ho |
| M | ま み む め も | ma mi mu me mo |
| Y | や ゆ よ | ya yu yo |
| R | ら り る れ ろ | ra ri ru re ro |
| W | わ を | wa o (wo) |
| Final n | ん | n |
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Dakuten and handakuten
Two small strokes (゛ dakuten) voice a consonant: k becomes g, s becomes z, t becomes d, h becomes b. A small circle (゜ handakuten) turns h into p. That adds 25 characters.
| Row | Hiragana | Romaji |
|---|---|---|
| G | が ぎ ぐ げ ご | ga gi gu ge go |
| Z | ざ じ ず ぜ ぞ | za ji zu ze zo |
| D | だ ぢ づ で ど | da ji zu de do |
| B | ば び ぶ べ ぼ | ba bi bu be bo |
| P | ぱ ぴ ぷ ぺ ぽ | pa pi pu pe po |
Combined sounds (yōon)
An i-row character plus a small ゃ, ゅ or ょ makes one blended syllable: き + ゃ = きゃ (kya). Write the small kana at about half size, or it reads as two syllables (きや is ki-ya).
| Row | Hiragana | Romaji |
|---|---|---|
| K | きゃ きゅ きょ | kya kyu kyo |
| S | しゃ しゅ しょ | sha shu sho |
| CH | ちゃ ちゅ ちょ | cha chu cho |
| N | にゃ にゅ にょ | nya nyu nyo |
| H | ひゃ ひゅ ひょ | hya hyu hyo |
| M | みゃ みゅ みょ | mya myu myo |
| R | りゃ りゅ りょ | rya ryu ryo |
| G | ぎゃ ぎゅ ぎょ | gya gyu gyo |
| J | じゃ じゅ じょ | ja ju jo |
| B | びゃ びゅ びょ | bya byu byo |
| P | ぴゃ ぴゅ ぴょ | pya pyu pyo |
The 46 basic katakana
Same sounds, same order, sharper shapes. Dakuten, handakuten and small ャ ュ ョ work just as in hiragana: カ (ka) becomes ガ (ga), and キ + ャ is キャ (kya). A long vowel is written with a dash, ー, as in コーヒー (kōhī, coffee).
| Row | Katakana | Romaji |
|---|---|---|
| Vowels | ア イ ウ エ オ | a i u e o |
| K | カ キ ク ケ コ | ka ki ku ke ko |
| S | サ シ ス セ ソ | sa shi su se so |
| T | タ チ ツ テ ト | ta chi tsu te to |
| N | ナ ニ ヌ ネ ノ | na ni nu ne no |
| H | ハ ヒ フ ヘ ホ | ha hi fu he ho |
| M | マ ミ ム メ モ | ma mi mu me mo |
| Y | ヤ ユ ヨ | ya yu yo |
| R | ラ リ ル レ ロ | ra ri ru re ro |
| W | ワ ヲ | wa o (wo) |
| Final n | ン | n |
Extra katakana for foreign sounds
Katakana pairs a character with a small vowel to write sounds Japanese doesn't have on its own. You'll see these mostly in loanwords and names.
| Sound | Katakana | Romaji | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| F | ファ フィ フェ フォ | fa fi fe fo | フォーク (fōku, fork) |
| Ti, di | ティ ディ | ti di | パーティー (pātī, party) |
| Tu, du | トゥ ドゥ | tu du | タトゥー (tatū, tattoo) |
| W | ウィ ウェ ウォ | wi we wo | ウェブ (webu, web) |
| She, che, je | シェ チェ ジェ | she che je | シェフ (shefu, chef) |
The Japanese writing system: hiragana, katakana and kanji
Japanese has no alphabet in the English sense. It mixes three scripts, often in one sentence: 私はコーヒーを飲みます (watashi wa kōhī o nomimasu, I drink coffee) uses all three.
| Script | Example | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| Hiragana | ひらがな | Particles, verb and adjective endings, and many native words. The first script every learner, and every child in Japan, learns. |
| Katakana | カタカナ | Loanwords and foreign names, like コーヒー (kōhī, coffee) and アメリカ (amerika, America), plus sound effects and emphasis. |
| Kanji | 漢字 | Characters that carry meaning, used for most nouns and verb stems, like 山 (yama, mountain) and 食べる (taberu, to eat). |
How to learn hiragana fast
One row at a time
Learn the vowels, then the k-row, then the s-row, and review old rows before adding a new one. Short daily sessions beat one long cram. Learn katakana the same way afterward; it goes faster because the sounds are the same.
Use a picture for each shape
Make a small image for each character, like く (ku) as a bird's beak or ぬ (nu) as a noodle. Silly images are easier to remember.
Write by hand
Writing each character a few times, in the right stroke order, helps you tell look-alikes apart: さ (sa) and ち (chi), ね (ne), れ (re) and わ (wa), ぬ (nu) and め (me), る (ru) and ろ (ro).
Watch three particles
As particles, は is read wa, へ is read e and を is read o: わたしは (watashi wa). Elsewhere は and へ keep their normal sounds (ha, he), and を is used almost only as the particle.
Small っ and long vowels change words
A small っ doubles the next consonant: きって (kitte, stamp). An extra vowel is held longer: おばさん (obasan) is aunt, but おばあさん (obāsan) is grandmother. Saying words out loud, for example with a Tooter AI tutor, trains your ear to hear the difference.
Useful sentences about reading Japanese
Reading: これはなんとよみますか. Handy for kanji on signs and menus.
Reading: ひらがなでかいてください.
Reading: ひらがながよめます.
Reading: むずかしい.
Reading: ゆっくりいってください.
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@learningwith.emmaQuestions learners ask
Does Japanese have an alphabet?
Not in the English sense. Japanese uses two syllabaries, hiragana and katakana, where each character is a whole sound like ka or mi, plus kanji, which carry meaning. When people say "the Japanese alphabet" or "Japanese letters", they usually mean hiragana.
How many hiragana are there?
There are 46 basic hiragana. Dakuten and handakuten add 25 more characters, and small ゃ ゅ ょ make 33 combined sounds. Older charts show 48 because they include ゐ (wi) and ゑ (we), which left everyday writing after a 1946 spelling reform.
What is the difference between hiragana and katakana?
They write the same sounds: か and カ are both ka. Hiragana is rounded and handles grammar and native words. Katakana is angular and writes loanwords, foreign names and emphasis, a bit like italics in English.
Should I learn hiragana or katakana first?
Hiragana first, because it appears in every sentence and in all beginner materials. Katakana is quicker afterward since you already know the sounds, though look-alikes such as シ (shi) and ツ (tsu), or ソ (so) and ン (n), take extra practice.
How long does it take to learn hiragana?
With short daily practice, many learners can recognize the whole chart within a few weeks. Reading smoothly takes longer, and reading real words, not just single characters, is what locks it in.
What are dakuten and handakuten?
Dakuten (゛) are two small strokes that voice a consonant, so か (ka) becomes が (ga). Handakuten (゜) is a small circle that turns the h-row into p, so は (ha) becomes ぱ (pa). In everyday Japanese they are often called tenten and maru.
Why is は sometimes read wa?
When は is the topic particle, it is pronounced wa, as in わたしは (watashi wa, as for me). That is why hello is written こんにちは (konnichiwa). The particles へ (e) and を (o) work the same way.
Do I need to learn kanji to read Japanese?
Eventually, yes. Everyday texts mix kanji with kana, and Japan's official list of common-use kanji (jōyō kanji) has 2,136 characters. Start with kana, then learn kanji inside words you use; learner books print small hiragana (furigana) above kanji to help.
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Updated October 29, 2026. Tooter tutors are AI characters, not human teachers. Romanization follows Hepburn romanization.