Hiragana chart
Hiragana is the first Japanese script every learner meets. It writes native Japanese words, verb and adjective endings, and particles like は and を. Learn these 46 characters and you can read anything written for young children, and sound out every word in a textbook.
Need the other script? Katakana chart →
Basic characters
The 46 basic characters in the traditional gojūon (“fifty sounds”) order. Read across for the vowels a-i-u-e-o and down for the consonants.
| a | i | u | e | o |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| あ a | い i | う u | え e | お o |
| か ka | き ki | く ku | け ke | こ ko |
| さ sa | し shi | す su | せ se | そ so |
| た ta | ち chi | つ tsu | て te | と to |
| な na | に ni | ぬ nu | ね ne | の no |
| は ha | ひ hi | ふ fu | へ he | ほ ho |
| ま ma | み mi | む mu | め me | も mo |
| や ya | ゆ yu | よ yo | ||
| ら ra | り ri | る ru | れ re | ろ ro |
| わ wa | を wo | |||
| ん n |
Dakuten and handakuten
Two small strokes (dakuten) voice the consonant: k becomes g, s becomes z, t becomes d and h becomes b. A small circle (handakuten) turns h into p.
| a | i | u | e | o |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| が ga | ぎ gi | ぐ gu | げ ge | ご go |
| ざ za | じ ji | ず zu | ぜ ze | ぞ zo |
| だ da | ぢ ji | づ zu | で de | ど do |
| ば ba | び bi | ぶ bu | べ be | ぼ bo |
| ぱ pa | ぴ pi | ぷ pu | ぺ pe | ぽ po |
Combination sounds (yōon)
An i-column character followed by a small ya, yu or yo blends into a single syllable: ki + small ya = kya.
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