Hiragana

Japanese is written with three scripts that work together. Kanji are Chinese characters that carry meaning, katakana is used for words from other languages, and hiragana does the grammar: particles, verb and adjective endings, and many everyday words that have no common kanji.

Each hiragana sign stands for a whole syllable, not a single letter: か (ka), さ (sa), と (to). There are 46 basic signs. Japanese children learn hiragana first, and anything can be written in it, so it is the best place to start. Words are not separated by spaces.

You can follow this whole course in romaji (Latin letters), so there's no rush. Learn a row or two at a time, and click any sign or word on this page to hear it.

Read the chart row by row: a vowel on its own, then k + vowel, s + vowel and so on. The five vowels are short and pure, as in Spanish or Italian: a as in “father”, i as in “see”, u as in “put” but with flat lips, e as in “bed”, o as in “hot”.

A few signs don't follow the pattern: し (shi), ち (chi), つ (tsu) and ふ (fu, a soft f made with the lips only). The r sounds are a light tap of the tongue, between an English r, l and d. ん (n) is the only sign that is a consonant on its own; before a vowel or y, romaji writes it n' so that きんえん (kin'en, no smoking) isn't read ki-nen.

Three signs are read differently when they are particles (small grammar words): は is said wa, へ is said e, and を (o) is only ever used as a particle. That's why こんにちは (konnichiwa, hello) ends in は.

Two small strokes at the top right, called てんてん (tenten), make a sound voiced (your throat buzzes): k becomes g, s becomes z, t becomes d, and h becomes b. A small circle, まる (maru), turns h into p.

じ (ji) and ず (zu) are the normal ways to write these sounds. ぢ (ji) and づ (zu) sound the same but are used only in a few words, such as つづく (tsuzuku, to continue).

A sign from the i column followed by a small や (ya), ゆ (yu) or よ (yo) makes one syllable: き (ki) + small ゃ = きゃ (kya). The size matters: きゃく (kyaku, guest) has two syllables, but きやく (kiyaku, rules) has three.

With し (shi), ち (chi) and じ (ji), the y disappears in romaji: しゃ (sha), ちょ (cho), じゅ (ju).

A small つ (tsu), written っ, isn't said at all. It makes you hold the next consonant for one beat, like the pause in English “book case”. Romaji doubles the consonant: きって (kitte, stamp), いっしょに (issho ni, together), and before ch it is written t: まっちゃ (matcha, powdered green tea).

A long vowel lasts twice as long as a short one, and the length changes the meaning: おばさん (obasan) is an aunt, おばあさん (obāsan) a grandmother. Long a, i and e are spelled by adding あ (a), い (i) or え (e). Long u is spelled with う (u), and long o usually with う (u), sometimes with お (o).

Romaji marks long a, u, e and o with a line on top: ā, ū, ē, ō. Long i stays ii: おじいさん (ojiisan, grandfather). えい (ei) is usually said as a long e, but romaji keeps the spelling: せんせい (sensei, teacher).