Katakana
Katakana is one of the two Japanese 'syllabaries', the writing systems used to
represent the sounds of Japanese syllables. (The other is hiragana.)
Katakana symbols are used to spell out words phonetically, especially
non-Japanese terms.
The term katakana is usually written in katakana - as カタカナ, but it originally comes from
片仮名, which means 'fragmentary kana' - most of the characters are fragments of more complex kanji
with the same reading.
If you are just starting out with your Japanese studies, learning katakana is one of the most
useful first steps you can take. For more information on how to go about learning written Japanese, see our
detailed guide, How to master the kanji.
×
Create katakana flashcards
Kanshudo flashcards are free to use, but you need to be logged in to the system.
Please LOG IN now.
If you have not yet registered, please
REGISTER.
It's free, fast and easy, and
brings many benefits in addition to the flashcards, including lessons,
favorites, and the Daily Kanji email.
The basic katakana chart is as follows.
| ア | カ | サ | タ | ナ | ハ | マ | ヤ | ラ | ワ | ン |
| a | ka | sa | ta | na | ha | ma | ya | ra | wa | n |
| イ | キ | シ | チ | ニ | ヒ | ミ | リ | |||
| i | ki | shi | chi | ni | hi | mi | ri | |||
| ウ | ク | ス | ツ | ヌ | フ | ム | ユ | ル | ||
| u | ku | su | tsu | nu | fu | mu | yu | ru | ||
| エ | ケ | セ | テ | ネ | ヘ | メ | レ | ゛ | ||
| e | ke | se | te | ne | he | me | re | dakuten | ||
| オ | コ | ソ | ト | ノ | ホ | モ | ヨ | ロ | ヲ | ゜ |
| o | ko | so | to | no | ho | mo | yo | ro | (w)o | handakuten |
Dakuten and handakuten
The 'dakuten' symbol ( ゛) and the 'handakuten' symbol ( ゜) are not used on their own -
they are used to modify the katakana symbols they appear after.
When ゛is displayed after
another katakana symbol, it indicates that the symbol should be 'voiced'. 'Voicing' is a linguistic term
for a sound that makes the vocal cords vibrate - as opposed to just emanating from the mouth. In
Japanese, this means that the sound of a consonant moves further down your throat. So, for example, the
unvoiced sound カ (ka) becomes the voiced sound ガ (ga).
When ゜is displayed after a katakana symbol, it changes the sound to a 'p' sound, so for example,
ハ (ha) becomes パ (pa).
| ガ | ザ | ダ | バ | パ |
| ga | za | da | ba | pa |
| ギ | ジ | ビ | ピ | |
| gi | ji | bi | pi | |
| グ | ズ | ブ | プ | |
| gu | zu | bu | pu | |
| ゲ | ゼ | デ | ベ | ペ |
| ge | ze | de | be | pe |
| ゴ | ゾ | ド | ボ | ポ |
| go | zo | do | bo | po |
Yōon and sokuon
The basic katakana can be modified in a couple more ways. Katakana ending in 'i' can
be followed by a small ya, yu or yo (ゃ, ゅ or ょ), which elides the sounds of the two characters. For example,
キ (ki) plus ヤ (ya) would become キャ (kya). This type of modification is known as 'yōon'.
| キャ | ギャ | シャ | ジャ | チャ | ニャ |
| kya | gya | sha | ja | cha | nya |
| キュ | ギュ | シュ | ジュ | チュ | ニュ |
| kyu | gyu | shu | ju | chu | nyu |
| キョ | ギョ | ショ | ジョ | チョ | ニョ |
| kyo | gyo | sho | jo | cho | nyo |
| ヒャ | ビャ | ピャ | ミャ | リャ |
| hya | bya | pya | mya | rya |
| ヒュ | ビュ | ピュ | ミュ | リュ |
| hyu | byu | pyu | myu | ryu |
| ヒョ | ビョ | ピョ | ミョ | リョ |
| hyo | byo | pyo | myo | ryo |
Finally, a small tsu (ッ) can be used between two katakana to double the second consonant. For example,
サッカ is read as 'sakka' (author). This is known as a 'sokuon'.
Drawing practice
To learn the katakana, there is no substitute for lots of practice! Practice your recognition with
flashcards (use the link at the top of this guide), and use this section to practice drawing. Most importantly of all,
practice using katakana in context by reading Japanese sentences whenever you can.
Kanshudo is your constant companion on the road to mastery of the Japanese language.
Check out our many features.