New here? What hiragana is.

Step 2

Learn the characters

Character and romaji are on the card. The あ, か, さ, た, な, は, ま, や, ら, わ, and ん rows have a mnemonic and stroke order.

Take the quiz Next: katakana

As particles, three of these change sound: は is wa, を is o, and へ is e. On this chart, read them as ha, wo, and he. The grammar page uses the particle sounds.

Basic characters

46 sounds. Read across a row, then down. The あ, か, さ, た, な, は, ま, や, ら, わ, and ん rows are filled in.

あ行

あ

a

Ah — I see the letter A.

Stroke order for あ

い

i

ee — Hawaii

Stroke order for い

う

u

oo — Uhh!

Stroke order for う

え

e

eh — Exotic bird.

Stroke order for え

お

o

oh — Olive

Stroke order for お

Watch あいうえお.

か行

か

ka

ka — Cut the sausage.

Stroke order for か

き

ki

kee — Key.

Stroke order for き

く

ku

koo — Koo-koo bird.

Stroke order for く

け

ke

keh — Keg.

Stroke order for け

こ

ko

ko — Coin

Stroke order for こ

Watch かきくけこ.

さ行

さ

sa

sa — Sob.

Stroke order for さ

し

shi

she — She has flowing hair.

Stroke order for し

す

su

soo — Soon the sprout will bloom.

Stroke order for す

せ

se

se — Say.

Stroke order for せ

そ

so

so — Sew a zigzag stitch.

Stroke order for そ

Watch さしすせそ.

た行

た

ta

ta — ta.

Stroke order for た

ち

chi

chee — AAAAACHIOOOO!

Stroke order for ち

つ

tsu

tsoo — It's a snake.

Stroke order for つ

て

te

teh — Ten.

Stroke order for て

と

to

toe — A thorn in my toe.

Stroke order for と

Watch た, ち, つ, て, と.

な行

な

na

na — Knot.

Stroke order for な

に

ni

nee — Knee.

Stroke order for に

ぬ

nu

noo — Noodle held by chopsticks.

Stroke order for ぬ

ね

ne

neh — Net a big fish

Stroke order for ね

の

no

no — NO Smoking.

Stroke order for の

Watch な,に,ぬ,ね,の.

は行

は

ha

ha — Ha, ha, ha.

Stroke order for は

ひ

hi

hee — Hee, hee, hee.

Stroke order for ひ

ふ

fu

fu — Who?

Stroke order for ふ

へ

he

heh — This way to heaven.

Stroke order for へ

ほ

ho

hoh — Half a whole note.

Stroke order for ほ

Watch は, ひ, ふ, へ, ほ.

ま行

ま

ma

mah — A baby cries, “Mama.”

Stroke order for ま

み

mi

mee — Me, I’m 21.

Stroke order for み

む

mu

moo — A cow says, “Moo.”

Stroke order for む

め

me

meh — Me is Japanese for “eye.”

Stroke order for め

も

mo

mo — Catch mo’ fish with this.

Stroke order for も

Watch ま, み, む, め, も

や行

や

ya

yah — Yak.

Stroke order for や

ゆ

yu

yoo — Trying to make a U-turn.

Stroke order for ゆ

よ

yo

yo — Yo-yo

Stroke order for よ

Watch や, ゆ, よ

ら行

ら

ra

rah — Roger the rabbit.

Stroke order for ら

り

ri

ree — Reeds.

Stroke order for り

る

ru

roo — Three rubies.

Stroke order for る

れ

re

reh — Rain and lightning.

Stroke order for れ

ろ

ro

ro — Three rubies rolled away.

Stroke order for ろ

Watch ら, り, る, れ, ろ.

わ行

わ

wa

wah — Wasp.

Stroke order for わ

を

wo

woh — The cowboy said, “Whoa.”

Stroke order for を

Watch わ, を,

ん

ん

n

n — The sound of “n”.

Stroke order for ん

Watch ん.

Dakuten

The two marks ゛ turn a sound voiced: k becomes g, s becomes z, t becomes d, h becomes b.

Watch がぎぐげご.

Watch ざじずぜぞ.

Watch だぢづでど.

Watch ばびぶべぼ.

Handakuten

The little circle ゜ turns h into p. It is only used on the は row.

Watch ぱぴぷぺぽ.

Yōon

A small や, ゆ, or よ after an i-column character makes a combined sound, such as きゃ kya, しゅ shu, ちょ cho.

Watch yōon.

Small tsu

A small っ doubles the next consonant and adds a short pause: かた kata, かった katta.