ONE CLEAR STEP AT A TIME
Hiragana chart and beginner practice
Read the 46 basic hiragana, start with the five vowels, and practise one row at a time.
The basic hiragana chart
| a column | i column | u column | e column | o column |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| あa | いi | うu | えe | おo |
| かka | きki | くku | けke | こko |
| さsa | しshi | すsu | せse | そso |
| たta | ちchi | つtsu | てte | とto |
| なna | にni | ぬnu | ねne | のno |
| はha | ひhi | ふfu | へhe | ほho |
| まma | みmi | むmu | めme | もmo |
| やya | ゆyu | よyo | ||
| らra | りri | るru | れre | ろro |
| わwa | をwo | |||
| んn |
A row you can remember
- Start with a, i, u, e, o. Read each character and say its sound.
- Cover the pronunciation guide and recall the sound. Check immediately.
- Add one consonant row, then mix it with characters you already know.
- Try a short quiz. Return to the chart for every character you missed.
The roman letters are a pronunciation guide, not a replacement for reading kana. The Japanese r is usually a light tongue tap. を is normally pronounced o as a particle. ん changes with the sounds around it.
Try a few words
- あさ · asa · morning
- すし · sushi
- ねこ · neko · cat
Hiragana is used for many native words, particles and verb endings. Japanese writing also uses kanji and katakana.
What comes after this chart?
Learn voiced sounds such as が or ガ, the small っ or ッ, and combinations such as きゃ or キャ. This basic chart does not cover all of those patterns yet. Keep checking long vowels and small characters as you learn words.
Practise with the kana lab →