Hiragana and Katakana Chart
- 46 characters each
- Learn in ~2 weeks
- Step one of Japanese
The three scripts, quickly
- Hiragana (ひらがな) — native words, grammar particles, verb and adjective endings. Round, flowing shapes.
- Katakana (カタカナ) — loanwords, foreign names, onomatopoeia, emphasis. Sharp, angular shapes.
- Kanji (漢字) — characters borrowed from Chinese, carrying meaning. Learned gradually, ~100 by N5.
Both kana scripts represent the same 46 sounds. Learn hiragana, and katakana is mostly a matter of re-mapping shapes you already know.
Basic kana chart
| Sound | Hiragana | Katakana |
|---|---|---|
| a i u e o | あ い う え お | ア イ ウ エ オ |
| ka ki ku ke ko | か き く け こ | カ キ ク ケ コ |
| sa shi su se so | さ し す せ そ | サ シ ス セ ソ |
| ta chi tsu te to | た ち つ て と | タ チ ツ テ ト |
| na ni nu ne no | な に ぬ ね の | ナ ニ ヌ ネ ノ |
| ha hi fu he ho | は ひ ふ へ ほ | ハ ヒ フ ヘ ホ |
| ma mi mu me mo | ま み む め も | マ ミ ム メ モ |
| ya yu yo | や ゆ よ | ヤ ユ ヨ |
| ra ri ru re ro | ら り る れ ろ | ラ リ ル レ ロ |
| wa wo n | わ を ん | ワ ヲ ン |
Dakuten and handakuten
Two small marks change a consonant's sound: dakuten (゛) voices it, and handakuten (゜) turns h-sounds into p-sounds. No new shapes to memorise.
| Sound | Hiragana | Katakana |
|---|---|---|
| ga gi gu ge go | が ぎ ぐ げ ご | ガ ギ グ ゲ ゴ |
| za ji zu ze zo | ざ じ ず ぜ ぞ | ザ ジ ズ ゼ ゾ |
| da ji zu de do | だ ぢ づ で ど | ダ ヂ ヅ デ ド |
| ba bi bu be bo | ば び ぶ べ ぼ | バ ビ ブ ベ ボ |
| pa pi pu pe po | ぱ ぴ ぷ ぺ ぽ | パ ピ プ ペ ポ |
Combination sounds (yōon)
A small や, ゆ or よ after an i-row character makes a single blended syllable: きゃ (kya), きゅ (kyu), きょ (kyo), しゃ (sha), しゅ (shu), しょ (sho), ちゃ (cha), にゃ (nya), ひゃ (hya), みゃ (mya), りゃ (rya), ぎゃ (gya), じゃ (ja), びゃ (bya), ぴゃ (pya). Katakana works identically: キャ, シュ, チョ.
Two things beginners get wrong
- Small っ (sokuon) doubles the next consonant and adds a pause: きって (kitte, stamp) is not きて (kite, come).
- Long vowels. In hiragana they are written with an extra vowel (おかあさん); in katakana with a dash (コーヒー). Length changes meaning — おばさん is "aunt", おばあさん is "grandmother".
A two-week plan that works
| Days | Task |
|---|---|
| 1–2 | あ and か rows — write each character 20 times, say it aloud |
| 3–4 | さ, た, な rows — add yesterday's characters to a mixed recall test |
| 5–6 | は, ま, や, ら, わ rows — read simple words like さくら, ねこ, やま |
| 7 | Dakuten, handakuten, small っ and long vowels — full hiragana review |
| 8–11 | Katakana, same row order — practise on names: インド, プネ, コーヒー |
| 12–14 | Mixed drills, write your own name and city, read short sentences |
Write by hand every day. Typing and flashcard apps help with recall, but the motor memory from handwriting is what makes kana automatic — and it is exactly the habit that makes kanji manageable later.
Questions people ask
Should I learn hiragana or katakana first?
Hiragana first. It is used for native Japanese words, grammar particles and verb endings, so it appears in almost every sentence. Katakana follows immediately after and is easier because you already know the sounds.
How long does it take to learn hiragana and katakana?
About two weeks with 20–30 minutes of daily practice — roughly one week per script. Writing by hand is what makes them stick; recognition-only practice fades fast.
Should I use romaji while learning?
Only for the first few days as a pronunciation crutch. Learners who stay on romaji read slowly for years afterwards, and the JLPT contains no romaji at all.
Do I need to learn stroke order?
Yes. Correct stroke order makes handwriting legible, makes kanji far easier later, and is how dictionaries and handwriting input recognise characters.
Once you can read kana, the next step is grammar and kanji — see the full N5 syllabus.