What is hiragana?
Hiragana (ひらがな) is the basic Japanese alphabet. It has 46 characters, and each one stands for one sound (a syllable) such as ka, shi or n. Japanese children learn hiragana first, and every Japanese word can be written with it. Together with katakana (used mostly for foreign words) and kanji (Chinese characters), hiragana is one of the three scripts used in Japanese writing.
If you are starting to learn Japanese, hiragana is the first step. Most learners can read all 46 basic characters after one to two weeks of short daily practice.
Hiragana chart: the 46 basic characters
Read the chart from left to right: the columns are the vowels a, i, u, e, o, and each row adds a consonant in front.
| a | i | u | e | o | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| a | あa | いi | うu | えe | おo |
| k | かka | きki | くku | けke | こko |
| s | さsa | しshi | すsu | せse | そso |
| t | たta | ちchi | つtsu | てte | とto |
| n | なna | にni | ぬnu | ねne | のno |
| h | はha | ひhi | ふfu | へhe | ほho |
| m | まma | みmi | むmu | めme | もmo |
| y | やya | ゆyu | よyo | ||
| r | らra | りri | るru | れre | ろro |
| w | わwa | をwo | |||
| n | んn |
Three sounds that break the pattern
- し is shi (not "si"), ち is chi (not "ti"), and つ is tsu (not "tu").
- ふ is between fu and hu, made by blowing softly with both lips.
- を (wo) sounds just like o and is only used as a grammar particle.
- ん (n) is the only character that is a consonant on its own.
Dakuten and handakuten (゛ and ゜)
Two small marks change the sound of a character. The two short lines ゛ (dakuten) make a sound "voiced": か ka → が ga. The small circle ゜ (handakuten) is only used on the h-row and turns it into p: は ha → ぱ pa.
| a | i | u | e | o | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| g | がga | ぎgi | ぐgu | げge | ごgo |
| z | ざza | じji | ずzu | ぜze | ぞzo |
| d | だda | ぢji | づzu | でde | どdo |
| b | ばba | びbi | ぶbu | べbe | ぼbo |
| p | ぱpa | ぴpi | ぷpu | ぺpe | ぽpo |
Combination hiragana (yōon)
A small ゃ, ゅ or ょ after a character from the i-column makes one blended sound: き ki + ゃ = きゃ kya. Write the small one at about half size.
| ya | yu | yo | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ky | きゃkya | きゅkyu | きょkyo |
| sh | しゃsha | しゅshu | しょsho |
| ch | ちゃcha | ちゅchu | ちょcho |
| ny | にゃnya | にゅnyu | にょnyo |
| hy | ひゃhya | ひゅhyu | ひょhyo |
| my | みゃmya | みゅmyu | みょmyo |
| ry | りゃrya | りゅryu | りょryo |
| gy | ぎゃgya | ぎゅgyu | ぎょgyo |
| j | じゃja | じゅju | じょjo |
| by | びゃbya | びゅbyu | びょbyo |
| py | ぴゃpya | ぴゅpyu | ぴょpyo |
Small っ and long vowels
A small っ (small tsu) is not read on its own: it doubles the next consonant with a tiny pause, as in きって kitte (stamp). Long vowels are written with an extra vowel: おかあさん okaasan (mother), がっこう gakkou (school).
How to memorize hiragana fast
- Learn one row a day. Start with the a-row, then k, s, t… Play the quiz with only the rows you know, and add one new row when you get them right without thinking.
- Say it out loud. Tap a character in the chart to hear it, then repeat it. Reading, hearing and speaking together sticks much better.
- Practice the look-alikes on purpose. The pairs below cause most mistakes. The Sushi Quiz mixes them in as wrong answers so you learn to tell them apart.
- Review your mistakes. After each game, replay only the characters you missed. The chart also turns green for the characters you know well.
- Read real words early. Once you know about 20 characters, try reading simple words like ねこ neko (cat) and すし sushi.
Hiragana that look alike
- さ sa / ち chi: mirror images. さ opens to the left at the bottom, ち opens to the right.
- ぬ nu / め me: ぬ has a little loop at the end, め does not.
- わ wa / れ re / ね ne: the same left part, with a different right side (round, a kick out, or a loop).
- は ha / ほ ho: ほ has an extra line on top.
- る ru / ろ ro: る ends with a loop, ろ does not.
- い i / り ri: り is taller and its right stroke is longer.
FAQ
- How many hiragana characters are there?
- There are 46 basic hiragana. With the dakuten and handakuten marks there are 25 more sounds, and 33 combination sounds such as きゃ (kya), for 104 in total.
- How long does it take to learn hiragana?
- Most learners can read all 46 basic hiragana in one to two weeks with 10 to 15 minutes of practice a day. Writing them neatly takes a little longer.
- Should I learn hiragana or katakana first?
- Learn hiragana first. It is used for native Japanese words and grammar, so you will see it in almost every sentence. Katakana is easier once you know hiragana, because the sounds are the same.
- Can I print this hiragana chart?
- Yes. Use the Print button above the chart. The page prints the basic, dakuten and combination charts on one sheet without the game or ads.