Three sets of characters are used in Japanese: hiragana, katakana, and kanji (Chinese characters).
Hiragana
This chart should be read from right to left, top to bottom. The stroke order is under the large character and the romanization/pronunciation at the bottom.
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*を is pronounced like お ("o"). This character is used only as a particle.
Note: "ki" may also be written き and "sa" may be written さ
ぱ pa |
ば ba |
だ da |
ざ za |
が ga |
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ぴ pi |
び bi |
ぢ ji* |
じ ji |
ぎ gi |
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ぷ pu |
ぶ bu |
づ zu* |
ず zu |
ぐ gu |
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ぺ pe |
べ be |
で de |
ぜ ze |
げ ge |
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ぽ po |
ぼ bo |
ど do |
ぞ zo |
ご go |
*ぢ and づ are pronounced "ji" and "zu", respectively. They have limited use.
Contracted Sounds
A small や, ゆ, and よ are used for contracted sounds. They are a single syllable.
りゃ rya |
みゃ mya |
ぴゃ pya |
びゃ bya |
ひゃ hya |
にゃ nya |
ちゃ cha |
じゃ ja |
しゃ sha |
ぎゃ gya |
きゃ kya |
りゅ ryu |
みゅ myu |
ぴゅ pyu |
びゅ byu |
ひゅ hyu |
にゅ nyu |
ちゅ chu |
じゅ ju |
しゅ shu |
ぎゅ gyu |
きゅ kyu |
りょ ryo |
みょ myo |
ぴょ pyo |
びょ byo |
ひょ hyo |
にょ nyo |
ちょ cho |
じょ jo |
しょ sho |
ぎょ gyo |
きょ kyo |
Double Consonants
A small つ indicates a repetition of the consonant directly following it. Therefore ざっし (magazine) is transcribed zasshi.
Hiragana Katakana Greetings Numbers Verbs Particles Location Adjectives Kanji Dialogue Links Home