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Japanese writing · Hiragana
Hiragana chart
All 46 basic hiragana with romaji, stroke order, an example and a pronunciation tip for each — plus voiced sounds, P sounds and combinations.
The 46 basic hiragana
Read across for the five vowels, a, i, u, e, o, and down for each consonant. Hiragana is used for grammar, word endings and words without kanji.
Hiragana stroke order
Every basic hiragana, drawn from the same stroke data as the app and numbered in writing order. Each one writes itself as it comes into view; tap it to watch again.
Kanji stroke order: The 10 rules, with animated examples
Stroke order data: KanjiVG by Ulrich Apel and contributors (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Dakuten and handakuten
Two small marks change the sound. Dakuten (゛) makes voiced sounds: か ka → が ga. Handakuten (゜) turns the H row into P: は ha → ぱ pa.
Combinations (yōon)
A small ゃ, ゅ or ょ after an i-sound character makes one blended syllable: き ki + ゃ → きゃ kya. It’s still a single beat.
Small っ and double consonants
A small っ adds a short pause and doubles the next consonant: きって kitte (stamp), がっこう gakkou (school). Compare the full-size つ tsu.
Long vowels
Some vowels are held for two beats: おかあさん okaasan (mother), おにいさん oniisan (older brother). A final い after e and う after o usually lengthen the vowel: せんせい sensei (teacher), こうこう koukou (high school).
Every basic hiragana with an example
The same examples and tips you’ll find in Sumi’s free hiragana basics.
| Kana | Romaji | Example | Meaning | How to say it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| あ | a | あめ ame | rain | An open ‘ah’ sound. Keep it to one short beat. |
| い | i | いぬ inu | dog | An ‘ee’ sound with the tongue high at the front of your mouth. Keep it short. |
| う | u | うみ umi | sea | Bring your lips close together without pushing them forward. Say u in one short beat. |
| え | e | えき eki | station | An ‘eh’ sound. Keep your mouth shape steady and the sound short. |
| お | o | おに oni | ogre | Round your lips slightly. Say a steady ‘oh’ without adding a ‘w’ sound at the end. |
| か | ka | かさ kasa | umbrella | Move straight from k into a. Say ka as one short beat. |
| き | ki | きく kiku | to listen | Move straight from k into i. Say ki as one short beat. |
| く | ku | くつ kutsu | shoes | Move straight from k into u. Say ku as one short beat. |
| け | ke | けむり kemuri | smoke | Move straight from k into e. Say ke as one short beat. |
| こ | ko | こえ koe | voice | Move straight from k into o. Say ko as one short beat. |
| さ | sa | さかな sakana | fish | Let air flow through a soft s, then move straight into a. Keep sa to one beat. |
| し | shi | しお shio | salt | Raise the front of your tongue near the roof of your mouth. Let air through, then say i: shi, one beat. |
| す | su | すし sushi | sushi | Let air flow through a soft s, then move straight into u. Keep su to one beat. |
| せ | se | せみ semi | cicada | Let air flow through a soft s, then move straight into e. Keep se to one beat. |
| そ | so | そら sora | sky | Let air flow through a soft s, then move straight into o. Keep so to one beat. |
| た | ta | たこ tako | octopus | Release the tip of your tongue from behind your upper teeth into a. Say ta in one beat. |
| ち | chi | ちかてつ chikatetsu | subway | Begin with a short ch sound and move straight into i. Say chi in one beat. |
| つ | tsu | つき tsuki | moon | Join t and s without a vowel between them, then add u. Say tsu in one beat. |
| て | te | て te | hand | Release the tip of your tongue from behind your upper teeth into e. Say te in one beat. |
| と | to | とり tori | bird | Release the tip of your tongue from behind your upper teeth into o. Say to in one beat. |
| な | na | なつ natsu | summer | Start with n, letting the sound pass through your nose, then move into a. Say na in one beat. |
| に | ni | にく niku | meat | Start with n, letting the sound pass through your nose, then move into i. Say ni in one beat. |
| ぬ | nu | ぬの nuno | cloth | Start with n, letting the sound pass through your nose, then move into u. Say nu in one beat. |
| ね | ne | ねこ neko | cat | Start with n, letting the sound pass through your nose, then move into e. Say ne in one beat. |
| の | no | のり nori | nori seaweed | Start with n, letting the sound pass through your nose, then move into o. Say no in one beat. |
| は | ha | はな hana | flower | Let a little air out and move straight into a. Keep ha soft and short. |
| ひ | hi | ひと hito | person | Raise your tongue toward the roof of your mouth and let air pass over it. Move straight into i: hi. |
| ふ | fu | ふね fune | boat | Blow gently between your lips, keeping your teeth away from your lower lip. Say fu in one beat. |
| へ | he | へや heya | room | Let a little air out and move straight into e. Keep he soft and short. |
| ほ | ho | ほし hoshi | star | Let a little air out and move straight into o. Keep ho soft and short. |
| ま | ma | まめ mame | beans | Close your lips for m, then open them into a. Say ma in one beat. |
| み | mi | みみ mimi | ear | Close your lips for m, then open them into i. Say mi in one beat. |
| む | mu | むし mushi | insect | Close your lips for m, then open them into u. Say mu in one beat. |
| め | me | め me | eye | Close your lips for m, then open them into e. Say me in one beat. |
| も | mo | もも momo | peach | Close your lips for m, then open them into o. Say mo in one beat. |
| や | ya | やま yama | mountain | Glide straight from y into a. Keep ya to one beat, with no extra vowel at the start. |
| ゆ | yu | ゆき yuki | snow | Glide straight from y into u. Keep yu to one beat, with no extra vowel at the start. |
| よ | yo | よる yoru | night | Glide straight from y into o. Keep yo to one beat, with no extra vowel at the start. |
| ら | ra | さくら sakura | cherry blossom | Tap your tongue once just behind your upper teeth, then move into a. Keep ra short; do not roll the r. |
| り | ri | りす risu | squirrel | Tap your tongue once just behind your upper teeth, then move into i. Keep ri short; do not roll the r. |
| る | ru | くるま kuruma | car | Tap your tongue once just behind your upper teeth, then move into u. Keep ru short; do not roll the r. |
| れ | re | これ kore | this | Tap your tongue once just behind your upper teeth, then move into e. Keep re short; do not roll the r. |
| ろ | ro | しろ shiro | white | Tap your tongue once just behind your upper teeth, then move into o. Keep ro short; do not roll the r. |
| わ | wa | わに wani | crocodile | Bring your lips slightly together, then open straight into a. Say wa in one beat. |
| を | o (wo) | てをあらう te o arau | to wash your hands | Pronounced o in modern Japanese. Round your lips slightly and keep the sound steady. Romaji sometimes writes this as wo. |
| ん | n | ほん hon | book | A nasal sound with its own beat. Let the sound resonate through your nose without adding a vowel. |
Questions
How many hiragana are there?
There are 46 basic hiragana. With the two sound marks (゛ and ゜) they make 25 more sounds, and small ゃ, ゅ and ょ create 33 combinations such as きゃ and しゅ.
What’s the fastest way to learn hiragana?
Learn a few rows at a time, say each character aloud, and connect it to a word you can picture, like あめ (rain). Review what you’ve learned before adding a new row. Sumi’s free hiragana course is built the same way: row by row, with example words and audio.
Does hiragana stroke order matter?
Yes. Writing each character in its standard order, generally from top to bottom and left to right, keeps its shape balanced and makes it easier to remember. The chart above shows the order of all 46 basic hiragana, and the same principles apply to kanji: see kanji stroke order.
What’s the difference between hiragana and katakana?
They represent the same sounds. Hiragana is used for native words, grammar and word endings; katakana is used mainly for loanwords, names and emphasis, like コーヒー (coffee). See the katakana chart.
Why is を written wo but pronounced o?
を is only used as the object particle, and in modern Japanese it sounds the same as お. Many charts write it “wo” to tell the two apart; Sumi shows how it’s actually pronounced.