Hiragana & Katakana Chart
All 46 hiragana and 46 katakana with romaji. Tap any character to watch its stroke order.
Tap a character to watch the stroke order
Hiragana ひらがな
Katakana カタカナ
How to read the kana chart
The chart is laid out in gojūon order, the "fifty sounds" grid that every dictionary, textbook, and Japanese keyboard uses. Five vowels (a, i, u, e, o) run across each row, and the rows step through the consonants: k, s, t, n, h, m, y, r, w. Learn the grid once and you can find any character, in any dictionary, for the rest of your life.
Hiragana and katakana are two shapes for the same 46 sounds. Hiragana carries native words and grammar; katakana carries loanwords and foreign names. Tap any character above to watch how it is written, then print the practice sheets to write it yourself.
Dakuten and combination kana
Beyond the 46 basic characters, two small marks and the small y-kana extend the chart to every sound in Japanese. The dakuten mark ゛ voices a consonant (k becomes g, s becomes z, t becomes d, h becomes b), the handakuten mark ゜ turns h into p, and a small ゃ, ゅ, or ょ glides two sounds into one beat.
| ga gi gu ge go | が ぎ ぐ げ ご | ガ ギ グ ゲ ゴ |
| za ji zu ze zo | ざ じ ず ぜ ぞ | ザ ジ ズ ゼ ゾ |
| da ji zu de do | だ ぢ づ で ど | ダ ヂ ヅ デ ド |
| ba bi bu be bo | ば び ぶ べ ぼ | バ ビ ブ ベ ボ |
| pa pi pu pe po | ぱ ぴ ぷ ぺ ぽ | パ ピ プ ペ ポ |
| kya kyu kyo | きゃ きゅ きょ | キャ キュ キョ |
| sha shu sho | しゃ しゅ しょ | シャ シュ ショ |
| cha chu cho | ちゃ ちゅ ちょ | チャ チュ チョ |
| nya nyu nyo | にゃ にゅ にょ | ニャ ニュ ニョ |
| hya hyu hyo | ひゃ ひゅ ひょ | ヒャ ヒュ ヒョ |
| mya myu myo | みゃ みゅ みょ | ミャ ミュ ミョ |
| rya ryu ryo | りゃ りゅ りょ | リャ リュ リョ |
| gya gyu gyo | ぎゃ ぎゅ ぎょ | ギャ ギュ ギョ |
| ja ju jo | じゃ じゅ じょ | ジャ ジュ ジョ |
| bya byu byo | びゃ びゅ びょ | ビャ ビュ ビョ |
| pya pyu pyo | ぴゃ ぴゅ ぴょ | ピャ ピュ ピョ |
Keep going
Stroke order diagrams from KanjiVG by Ulrich Apel, CC BY-SA 3.0. kanjivg.tagaini.net
Frequently asked questions
What order is the kana chart in?
Gojūon order, meaning "fifty sounds": the vowels a, i, u, e, o crossed with the consonant rows k, s, t, n, h, m, y, r, w. It is the standard order used by dictionaries, textbooks, and phone keyboards in Japan.
How many hiragana and katakana are there?
46 basic characters in each script, representing the same sounds with different shapes. Dakuten marks and small-kana combinations extend them to cover every sound in Japanese, but they reuse the shapes you already know.
Should I learn hiragana or katakana first?
Most learners start with hiragana because it carries grammar and native words, then add katakana, which reuses the same sounds with new shapes. There is no single right order, so start with whichever you will use first.
What are dakuten and handakuten?
Dakuten is the small double mark ゛ that voices a consonant: か (ka) becomes が (ga), さ (sa) becomes ざ (za). Handakuten is the small circle ゜ that turns the h row into p: は (ha) becomes ぱ (pa). The tables on this page show every combination.
How long does it take to learn the kana chart?
Most learners can recognize all 46 characters of one script within one to two weeks of short daily practice. Writing them smoothly takes a little longer. Tapping through this chart plus a few minutes of tracing a day is a solid routine.