Alphabets

The Japanese alphabet 五十音

Meet every letter of the Japanese alphabet, hear how it sounds and see it in simple words.

About Japanese

Japanese is written from left to right (or top to bottom) with hiragana, katakana and kanji. The kana are syllables: か is ka, き is ki. They are ordered in the gojūon table by the vowels a, i, u, e, o. Two small marks change a sound: dakuten ゛ makes it voiced (か ka → が ga) and handakuten ゜ turns h into p (は ha → ぱ pa).

46
basic hiragana
46
basic katakana
2,136
everyday kanji (jōyō)
L → R
writing direction (also top to bottom)

Vowels 母音

The five vowels start the kana table. Each is shown in hiragana; the katakana form is in the example. Tap a letter to hear it.

Syllables 五十音

Each row is a consonant with the five vowels. Tap a kana to hear it.

K row か行

ka ki ku ke ko

S row さ行

sa shi su se so

T row た行

ta chi tsu te to

N row な行

na ni nu ne no

H row は行

ha hi fu he ho

M row ま行

ma mi mu me mo

Y row や行

ya yu yo

R row ら行

ra ri ru re ro

W row and n わ行

wa wo n

Voiced sounds 濁音

dakuten ゛ and handakuten ゜

Katakana カタカナ

the same sounds, for foreign words

Small ゃ ゅ ょ join the kana before them – きゃ (kya) – and a small っ doubles the next consonant – きって (kitte, stamp).

How letters join to make words

Japanese words are strings of kana and kanji. Three small changes cover most kana spelling.

  1. 1

    Dakuten makes a sound voiced

    Add ゛ to a kana: ka becomes ga.

    か +゛ =が
  2. 2

    Small ya, yu, yo make one syllable

    Write a small ゃ after a kana ending in i.

    き +ゃ =きゃ
  3. 3

    Small tsu doubles a consonant

    A small っ makes a short pause: kitte (stamp).

    き +っ +て =きって

Three scripts in one sentence

Kanji

日本 水 山

For the meaning of words.

Hiragana

は を です

For grammar and endings.

Katakana

テレビ パン

For foreign words and names.

Build real words

み + ず みず
ね + こ ねこ
す + し すし
が + っ + こ + う がっこう
あ + り + が + と + う ありがとう
と + も + だ + ち ともだち

Good to know

Romaji is easier

Most people in Japan type romaji (sushi) and convert to kana and kanji – switch to English mode to try it.

は is "wa" as a particle

The topic particle は is said wa: わたしは (watashi wa, "as for me").

Long vowels

Katakana uses ー to make a vowel long: コーヒー (kōhī, coffee).

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