ひらがな ＆ かたかな (Hiragana & Katakana)
Welcome!
There are three kinds of characters in Japanese: Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji (Chinese characters).
Hiragana and katakana are phonetic representations of sounds, and each letter
basically corresponds to one mora (a unit of sound). “Kanji” conveys meanings as well as sounds.
You will learn Hiragana and Katakana
so that you can read restaurants menus and station names or
get the information from the signs frequently seen in daily life situations, etc.
Table of Hiragana
Hiragana: basic Japanese phonetic script
Vowels: あ い う え お
| あ | い | う | え | お |
Click the image on the left to show a table of Hiragana.
* Table for Hiragana(PDF)
Worksheets for Hiragana & Katakana
* Hiragana worksheets (PDF/159KB)
* Katakana worksheets (PDF/156KB)
Contents 1 - Learning ひらがな (Hiragana)
| Click items below to start learning. | |
|---|---|
| あいうえお & かきくけこ | Learn hiragana of a-group and k-group. あいうえお かきくけこ |
| さしすせそ & たちつてと | Learn hiragana of s-group and t-group. さしすせそ たちつてと |
| なにぬねの & はひふへほ | Learn hiragana of n-group and h-group. なにぬねの はひふへほ |
| まみむめも & やゆよ | Learn hiragana of m-group and y-group. まみむめも やゆよ |
| らりるれろ & わっ | Learn hiragana of r-group and wa. らりるれろ わ っ (small "tsu") |
| ん | Learn hiragana "ん”. The reading is "n" . * Tips to remember 「ん」: Looks like alphabet "n". |
Contents 2 - Learning hiragana of voiced sounds and contracted sounds
| Click items below to start learning. | |
|---|---|
| がぎぐげご & ざじずぜぞ | Learn hiragana of g-group and z-group. がぎぐげご ざじずぜぞ |
| だぢづでど | Learn hiragana of d-group. だぢづでど |
| ばびぶべぼ & ぱぴぷぺぽ | Learn hiragana of b-group and p-group. ばびぶべぼ ぱぴぷぺぽ |
| Contracted sounds 1 | Learn hiragana of ky-, sh-, ch-, ny-, hy- and my-groups, such as Tokyo, kyûkyûsha, kôcha (black tea), etc. |
| Contracted sounds 2 | Learn hiragana of ry-, gy-, j-, by- and py-groups such as jûsho, daijôbu, gyûnyû (milk), etc. |
Contents 3 - Learning カタカナ (Katakana)
| Click items below to start learning. | |
|---|---|
| Basic 46 Katakana | Learn basic 46 katakana |
| Katakana of Voiced sounds | Learn katakana of g-, z-, d- b- and p- groups, such as ビール (beer)、パン (bread), etc. |
| Katakana of Contracted sounds | Learn katakana of ky-, sh-, ch-, ny-, hy-, my-, ry-, gy-, j-, by- and py-group, such as ジュース (juice)、ニュース (news), etc. |
| Words - at a station | Learn basic words seen at a station |
| Words - at a restaurant | Learn basic katakana words used at a restaurant |
| Words - in the office | Learn basic katakana words used in business situations |
Contents 4 - Signs in Daily Life
| Click items below to start learning. | |
|---|---|
| Signs in Daily Life 1 | Learn signs in daily life such as "入口 (entrance)", "出口 (exit)", etc. |
| Signs in Daily Life 2 | Learn signs in daily life such as "タクシーのりば (taxi stand)", "開 (open)", "閉 (close)"etc. |
Instruction of each button
List of learning items
Learning with flash cards
Checking with flash cards in random order
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