Learn Hiragana and Katakana

What hiragana and katakana are for

Hiragana is used for native Japanese words and grammar, such as particles like は and の. Katakana is used for foreign loanwords (テレビ, "television"), foreign names, and some sound effects.

How the quiz works

Choose a set, such as the a-row, the ka-row, or the dakuten sets. The quiz shows a character, and you type its romaji (the sound written in Latin letters). Answers are checked as you type, so you don't need to press Enter.

The quiz tracks which characters you miss. Use My 10 weakest to practise just those.

Sets you can practise

• Basic: the 46 core hiragana and katakana, in rows (a, ka, sa, and so on).
• Dakuten and handakuten: characters with marks, such as が (ga) and ぱ (pa).
• Combinations (yōon): small ゃ, ゅ, ょ added to a syllable, such as きゃ (kya) and しゅ (shu).

Common mix-ups

• Look-alikes. Pairs such as ぬ and め, or ね and れ, are easy to mix up. Practise them side by side.
• Sounds. Many learners mix up the sounds of し (shi) and つ (tsu). Say each one aloud.
• Shapes in katakana. Some katakana look similar to hiragana characters. Check each one against the chart when in doubt.

Tips

• Practise 10–15 minutes a day. Short sessions beat one long one.
• Say each sound out loud as you type it.
• Once the basics feel easy, add dakuten and combinations, then move on to words.