Japanese uses three writing systems: hiragana, katakana, and kanji. The first two — together called the kana — are phonetic syllabaries, meaning each character represents one syllable (a consonant + vowel, or a vowel on its own). There are just 46 basic characters in each, and learning to read them is the single fastest early win in Japanese.
This guide covers everything: what hiragana and katakana are, the 46-character gojūon chart, voiced sounds (dakuten and handakuten), combined sounds (yoon), the special readings beginners miss, a three-day study plan, common mistakes, and a free quiz. By the end you will be able to read every kana you see.
What are hiragana and katakana?
Hiragana (ひらがな) is the curvy, native script used for Japanese words that have no kanji, for grammar particles, verb endings, and anything written phonetically. It is the first script children learn and the one you see most in beginner textbooks.
Katakana (カタカナ) is the angular counterpart, used mainly for loanwords (words borrowed from other languages), foreign names, onomatopoeia, and for emphasis — the way English uses italics. So coffee becomes コーヒー (kōhī), internet becomes インターネット (intānetto), and a person named Smith is written スミス (sumisu).
Do you need both? Yes. They represent exactly the same set of sounds, but they are used in different situations. A sentence will often contain all three scripts at once: kanji for word roots, hiragana for grammar, katakana for loanwords. The good news: once you know one kana's sound, the matching character in the other script makes the same sound — so you are learning two shapes for one sound.
The 46 basic characters — the gojūon chart
The 46 basic kana are arranged in a grid called the gojūon (五十音, literally "fifty sounds", though only 46 remain in modern Japanese). The rows are organised by consonant and the columns by the five vowels a, i, u, e, o. Each character is simply that consonant plus that vowel — so the k-row is ka, ki, ku, ke, ko. Below, each cell shows the hiragana, the katakana, and the romanisation (rōmaji).
| a | i | u | e | o | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| – | あアa | いイi | うウu | えエe | おオo |
| k | かカka | きキki | くクku | けケke | こコko |
| s | さサsa | しシshi | すスsu | せセse | そソso |
| t | たタta | ちチchi | つツtsu | てテte | とトto |
| n | なナna | にニni | ぬヌnu | ねネne | のノno |
| h | はハha | ひヒhi | ふフfu | へヘhe | ほホho |
| m | まマma | みミmi | むムmu | めメme | もモmo |
| y | やヤya | ゆユyu | よヨyo | ||
| r | らラra | りリri | るルru | れレre | ろロro |
| w | わワwa | をヲo | |||
| n (final) | んンn |
A few characters have irregular readings worth memorising early: し is shi (not si), ち is chi (not ti), つ is tsu (not tu), and ふ is fu (not hu).
Hiragana vs katakana: when to use each
Hiragana (ひらがな)
- Grammar particles (は, が, を, に…)
- Verb and adjective endings (食べる, 食べた)
- Native Japanese words without kanji
- Children's books and furigana readings
Katakana (カタカナ)
- Loanwords: コーヒー (coffee), テレビ (TV)
- Foreign names: スミス (Smith), アンナ (Anna)
- Onomatopoeia: ワンワン (wan-wan, dog bark)
- Emphasis, like English italics
Dakuten & handakuten: the voiced sounds
Twenty-five of the basic kana can be "voiced" by adding a small mark. The dakuten (゛), two dots like a quotation mark, turns voiceless consonants into voiced ones: k → g, s → z, t → d, and h → b. The handakuten (゜), a small circle, applies only to the h-row and turns it into p. You do not learn new characters — you learn the base character, then these marks change its sound.
| Group | a | i | u | e | o |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| k → g (dakuten) | がガga | ぎギgi | ぐグgu | げゲge | ごゴgo |
| s → z (dakuten) | ざザza | じジji | ずズzu | ぜゼze | ぞゾzo |
| t → d (dakuten) | だダda | ぢヂji | づヅzu | でデde | どドdo |
| h → b (dakuten) | ばバba | びビbi | ぶブbu | べベbe | ぼボbo |
| h → p (handakuten) | ぱパpa | ぴピpi | ぷプpu | ぺペpe | ぽポpo |
Note the two irregular ones in the t → d row: ぢ (ji) and づ (zu) are pronounced identically to じ and ず, and in modern Japanese they are rarely written — they survive mainly in a few native words like ちぢむ (chijimu, to shrink).
Yoon: the combined sounds
Yoon (拗音) are contracted sounds made by combining an i-column character with a small version of や, ゆ, or よ (ゃ, ゅ, ょ). The small size matters — a full-size や is two syllables (ki-ya), but a small ゃ is one blended syllable (kya). This is the rule that lets Japanese write sounds like kya, shu, cho, ryo.
| Base | ya | yu | yo |
|---|---|---|---|
| k | きゃキャkya | きゅキュkyu | きょキョkyo |
| s (sh) | しゃシャsha | しゅシュshu | しょショsho |
| t (ch) | ちゃチャcha | ちゅチュchu | ちょチョcho |
| n | にゃニャnya | にゅニュnyu | にょニョnyo |
| h | ひゃヒャhya | ひゅヒュhyu | ひょヒョhyo |
| m | みゃミャmya | みゅミュmyu | みょミョmyo |
| r | りゃリャrya | りゅリュryu | りょリョryo |
| g | ぎゃギャgya | ぎゅギュgyu | ぎょギョgyo |
| b | びゃビャbya | びゅビュbyu | びょビョbyo |
| p | ぴゃピャpya | ぴゅピュpyu | ぴょピョpyo |
The size rule, in one sentence: a small kana glues itself to the character before it; a full-size kana stands alone. This same size rule also produces the sokuon (っ/ッ, the small tsu that doubles the following consonant, as in きって kitte "stamp") and the long-vowel mark ー in katakana.
Special readings & small kana beginners miss
A handful of kana behave differently from their textbook sound in specific roles. These trip up every beginner because the spelling does not change — only the pronunciation:
| Character | Reads as | Why |
|---|---|---|
| は ハ | wa | Pronounced "wa" as the topic particle (e.g. 私は = watashi wa) |
| へ ヘ | e | Pronounced "e" as the direction particle (e.g. 学校へ = gakkō e) |
| を ヲ | o | Pronounced "o" as the direct-object particle (written only as を in hiragana) |
| っ ッ | (double) | Sokuon — small tsu that doubles the following consonant (e.g. きって = kitte) |
| ー ー | (long) | Chōonpu — katakana long-vowel mark (e.g. コーヒー = kōhī, coffee) |
The particle rule is the one you will meet first: 私は学生です (watashi wa gakusei desu) — the は is written ha but read wa. You do not memorise a new character; you just learn that in this one grammatical job, the sound shifts.
A three-day plan to learn both kana
You can absolutely learn hiragana and katakana in a weekend. The trick is not to drill all 92 at once, but to go row by row, learn each character with a mnemonic, and quiz yourself before moving on. Here is a proven schedule.
Day 1 — Hiragana
Learn the five vowels, then the k, s, t, n rows (25 characters). Use the chart above and write each one as you say its sound. Quiz yourself on those five rows before bed.
Day 2 — Finish hiragana
Learn the h, m, y, r, w rows and ん (21 characters). Add the dakuten and handakuten (25 more). Run the quiz at the bottom of this page until you score 10/12.
Day 3 — Katakana
Learn all 46 katakana. Because each makes the same sound as its hiragana partner, you are really learning new shapes, not new sounds. Pay extra attention to the look-alikes ( シ vs ツ, ソ vs ン). Finish with the quiz again.
After day 3: you can read every kana, but speed and confidence only come from real exposure. Spend the next two weeks reading anything in Japanese you can find — song lyrics, menus, signs — and the characters will move from "I recognise that" to "I read that instantly."
Common beginner mistakes (and how to avoid them)
- Mixing up katakana look-alikes. シ (shi) vs ツ (tsu), and ソ (so) vs ン (n) are nearly identical at a glance. The fix: note the stroke direction — シ and ソ slant down-right (like a smile), ツ and ン slant down-left.
- Reading the particles wrong. は as wa, へ as e, を as o. The spelling is fixed; only the sound changes in these three grammar roles.
- Full-size vs small やゆよ. きや is ki-ya (two beats); きゃ is kya (one beat). If you ignore the size, you misread the word.
- Forgetting the sokuon. The small っ/ッ doubles the next consonant and carries no sound itself — がっこう (gakkō, school) is not gakō.
- Long vowels in katakana. The ー mark lengthens the vowel before it. コーヒー (kōhī) has two long vowels; dropping them changes the word entirely.
Practice quiz: test your kana
Twelve characters drawn from both scripts. Take the quiz, then come back tomorrow to check the knowledge has stuck.
What sound does this Hiragana character make?
あ
Frequently asked questions
Should I learn hiragana or katakana first?
Hiragana first. It appears far more often in beginner material and in grammar, so it pays off immediately. Aim to learn katakana within a week of finishing hiragana so the two scripts stay linked in your memory.
How long does it take to learn the kana?
Most learners can read all 46 hiragana in 1–3 days of focused study, and katakana in a similar time. Reading them at speed — without hesitation — takes another two weeks of regular exposure to real Japanese.
Do I need to learn to write the kana by hand?
It helps your recognition, but it is no longer essential — most learners type in rōmaji and let an input method convert to kana and kanji. Writing each character a few times while you learn it is enough.
Are there really 46 characters?
There are 46 basic (gojūon) characters in each script. Add the 25 voiced forms (dakuten/handakuten) and the 33 contracted forms (yoon) and you cover every sound the kana can represent — but those are variations of the base 46, not new characters to memorise.
What comes after the kana?
Basic vocabulary, then kanji. Most learners start the first 100 kanji alongside N5-level grammar. Our JLPT N5 study plan picks up exactly where this guide leaves off.