Hiragana & Katakana Study
What Are Hiragana and Katakana?
Hiragana (ひらがな) and Katakana (カタカナ) are two of the three main writing systems in Japanese, the third being Kanji. Both Hiragana and Katakana are phonetic syllabaries, meaning each character represents a specific sound or syllable (e.g., a, ka, shi), unlike Kanji where each symbol carries its own meaning. While they map to the same set of sounds, each script looks and functions differently in actual usage.
Quick Fact: There are 46 basic Hiragana characters and 46 corresponding Katakana characters. When combined with diacritics (like ゛ and ゜), the number of possible sounds expands further (e.g., か → が, は → ぱ, etc.).
Origins & Modern Usage
Both Hiragana and Katakana evolved from Kanji centuries ago: Hiragana emerged from a cursive style of writing Chinese characters, whereas Katakana developed from abbreviated segments of Kanji. Today, Hiragana is used primarily for native Japanese words, grammatical particles, and verb/adjective endings. Katakana is commonly used for loanwords, foreign names, and for emphasis—similar to italics in English.
Learning these two scripts is crucial for reading and writing in Japanese. Even if you rely on Kanji for certain words, you’ll always encounter Hiragana endings and Katakana terms (for instance, borrowed words like コーヒー “coffee”).
Basic Sound Examples
Below is a quick sample showing how Hiragana and Katakana share the same sounds, but use different symbols:
| Hiragana | Katakana | Romaji | Example Word |
|---|---|---|---|
| あ | ア | a | あさ (asa, “morning”) |
| か | カ | ka | かさ (kasa, “umbrella”) |
Note: This table is just an example. You’ll see the complete sets below in the study sections!
Stroke Order & Handwriting
Each character in Hiragana and Katakana has a specific stroke order, which often starts from top-left to bottom-right. Proper stroke order and direction are important for legibility and speed of writing, especially once you move on to more complex Kanji characters. Try writing a row (like あいうえお) each day, focusing on consistent stroke counts and proportions.
TIP: Practice writing while reading aloud. This reinforces the connection between shape and sound, making it easier to memorize each character.
Learning to write properly also helps with recognition. Characters that look similar (e.g., ぬ vs. ね in Hiragana) become easier to distinguish when you understand the strokes involved. You don’t have to master perfect calligraphy at first focus on consistency and accuracy.
Key Differences in Usage
- Hiragana: Words of Japanese origin, grammatical particles, verb endings, conjunctions, etc.
- Katakana: Foreign (loan) words, foreign names, emphasis, technical/scientific terms, certain stylized brand names.
- Kanji: Chinese-derived characters that carry meaning. Often used for nouns, verb stems, and more formal or traditional vocabulary.
A typical Japanese sentence can feature all three scripts at once. Mastering Hiragana and Katakana first ensures you can read anywritten text phonetically, even if you don’t recognize all the Kanji.
Next Steps & How to Practice
Below, you can thoroughly study each character set by looking at both Hiragana and Katakana characters alongside their Romaji (Latin) equivalents. After that, test yourself using the interactive mini-games. Type your answers in real-time and see immediate feedback on correctness, which accelerates the learning process. Enjoy the journey mastering these scripts is your gateway to Japanese reading fluency!
Hiragana Study
Study each Hiragana symbol with its Romaji reading below.
Katakana Study
Study each Katakana symbol with its Romaji reading below.
Hiragana Mini-Game
Type the correct Romaji in each input. If it’s correct, the border turns green automatically and you will jump to the next card. If it’s wrong, it turns red (and you won’t move on).
Katakana Mini-Game
Same as above, type the correct Romaji for each Katakana symbol. Correct answers will turn the border green and move you forward, incorrect answers will turn the border red.