What is katakana?
Katakana (カタカナ) is the second Japanese alphabet. Like hiragana it has 46 basic characters, and each one stands for one sound such as ka, shi or n. The sounds are exactly the same as hiragana; only the shapes are different. Katakana shapes are straighter and more angular.
Japanese uses katakana mainly for words from other languages and foreign names: コーヒー kōhī (coffee), テレビ terebi (TV), アメリカ Amerika (America). Your own name is written in katakana too. It is also used for sound effects and to make a word stand out, a bit like italics in English.
Katakana 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 | アa | イi | ウu | エe | オo |
| k | カka | キki | クku | ケke | コko |
| s | サsa | シshi | スsu | セse | ソso |
| t | タta | チchi | ツtsu | テte | トto |
| n | ナna | ニni | ヌnu | ネne | ノno |
| h | ハha | ヒhi | フfu | ヘhe | ホho |
| m | マma | ミmi | ムmu | メme | モmo |
| y | ヤya | ユyu | ヨyo | ||
| r | ラra | リri | ルru | レre | ロro |
| w | ワwa | ヲwo | |||
| n | ンn |
Sounds that break the pattern
- シ is shi, チ is chi and ツ is tsu.
- フ is between fu and hu, made by blowing softly with both lips.
- ヲ (wo) is almost never used in katakana words. You will meet it mostly in charts.
- ン (n) is the only character that is a consonant on its own.
Dakuten and handakuten (゛ and ゜)
The same two marks as in hiragana change the sound. Two short lines ゛ make a sound voiced: カ ka → ガ ga. The small circle ゜ turns the h-row into p: ハ ha → パ pa.
| a | i | u | e | o | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| g | ガga | ギgi | グgu | ゲge | ゴgo |
| z | ザza | ジji | ズzu | ゼze | ゾzo |
| d | ダda | ヂji | ヅzu | デde | ドdo |
| b | バba | ビbi | ブbu | ベbe | ボbo |
| p | パpa | ピpi | プpu | ペpe | ポpo |
Combination katakana (yōon)
A small ャ, ュ or ョ after a character from the i-column makes one blended sound: キ ki + ャ = キャ kya.
| ya | yu | yo | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ky | キャkya | キュkyu | キョkyo |
| sh | シャsha | シュshu | ショsho |
| ch | チャcha | チュchu | チョcho |
| ny | ニャnya | ニュnyu | ニョnyo |
| hy | ヒャhya | ヒュhyu | ヒョhyo |
| my | ミャmya | ミュmyu | ミョmyo |
| ry | リャrya | リュryu | リョryo |
| gy | ギャgya | ギュgyu | ギョgyo |
| j | ジャja | ジュju | ジョjo |
| by | ビャbya | ビュbyu | ビョbyo |
| py | ピャpya | ピュpyu | ピョpyo |
Extended katakana for foreign sounds
Japanese has no native fa, ti or va sounds, so katakana adds a small vowel to an existing character to write them. These are the combinations you need for many English names and loanwords: ファ in ファン fan, ティ in パーティー pātī (party), ウィ in ウィリアム William.
| a | i | u | e | o | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| f | ファfa | フィfi | フェfe | フォfo | |
| v | ヴァva | ヴィvi | ヴvu | ヴェve | ヴォvo |
| w | ウィwi | ウェwe | ウォwo | ||
| t | ティti | トゥtu | |||
| d | ディdi | ドゥdu | |||
| sh | シェshe | ||||
| j | ジェje | ||||
| ch | チェche | ||||
| ts | ツァtsa |
ヴ (vu) is a ウ with dakuten. Many words that have a v in English are also written with the b-row instead, so you will see both ヴァイオリン and バイオリン for "violin".
The long vowel mark ー and small ッ
Katakana shows a long vowel with a dash: ー. コーヒー is kō-hī (coffee), and ケーキ is kē-ki (cake). In vertical writing the dash is vertical. A small ッ doubles the next consonant with a short pause, as in ベッド beddo (bed) and ネット netto (internet).
How to memorize katakana fast
- Learn hiragana first. Katakana uses the same sounds, so you only learn new shapes. Several pairs even look alike: か/カ, き/キ, へ/ヘ, り/リ.
- One row a day. Play the quiz with only the rows you know, and add the next row when you answer without thinking.
- Read words you already know. Katakana words are mostly English. Reading ハンバーガー and you hear "hamburger" is a fun reward, and it trains your eyes fast.
- Write your own name. Your name in katakana is a great first word. Try the name converter.
- Drill the look-alikes. The quiz mixes the pairs below in as wrong answers so you learn to tell them apart.
Katakana that look alike
- シ shi / ツ tsu: the dots of シ sit on the left and the long stroke goes up from the bottom left. The dots of ツ are on top and the stroke comes down from the top right.
- ソ so / ン n: the same idea. ソ is written from the top down; the last stroke of ン goes up from the bottom.
- ク ku / ケ ke / タ ta: タ is ク with an extra line inside; ケ has a straight line across.
- ワ wa / ウ u / フ fu: ウ has a dot on top, ワ has a short line on the left, フ has neither.
- コ ko / ユ yu / ロ ro: コ is open on the left, ユ has a long line at the bottom, ロ is a closed box.
- ス su / ヌ nu: ヌ has an extra short stroke crossing the long one.
Katakana words to practice reading
| Katakana | Romaji | English |
|---|---|---|
| ピザ | piza | pizza |
| カメラ | kamera | camera |
| ホテル | hoteru | hotel |
| タクシー | takushī | taxi |
| コンビニ | konbini | convenience store |
| アイスクリーム | aisukurīmu | ice cream |
| スマホ | sumaho | smartphone |
| パソコン | pasokon | personal computer |
FAQ
- How many katakana characters are there?
- There are 46 basic katakana. With the dakuten and handakuten marks there are 25 more sounds and 33 combination sounds such as キャ (kya), for 104, the same as hiragana. On top of that, about 20 extended combinations such as ファ (fa) and ティ (ti) are used for foreign words.
- Should I learn hiragana or katakana first?
- Hiragana first. It is used in almost every Japanese sentence. Katakana is easier afterwards because the sounds are exactly the same, so you only need to learn the new shapes.
- How long does it take to learn katakana?
- If you already know hiragana, most learners can read the 46 basic katakana in about one week with 10 to 15 minutes of practice a day.
- What is katakana used for?
- Mainly for words borrowed from other languages (コーヒー coffee, テレビ TV), foreign names and places (アメリカ America), sound effects, and to make a word stand out, like italics in English.
- Can I print this katakana chart?
- Yes. Use the Print button above the chart. It prints the basic, dakuten, combination and extended charts on one sheet without the game or ads.