ひらがな (hiragana) is the fundamental component of the Japanese writing system. カタカナ (katakana) and 漢字 (kanji) are the other two writing systems in Japanese. If you want to learn all of the hiragana for free with step-by-step videos and descriptions, this guide is for you.
In Japan, people start learning ひらがな (hiragana) at a very young age, usually in preschool or early elementary. Mastering hiragana might seem overwhelming; however, this article will teach you everything you need to know about writing, pronunciation, and any valuable tips regarding hiragana.
Modern Hiragana Characters
Modern hiragana has 46 base characters: five singular vowels, 40 consonant-vowel unions, and one singular consonant. Some of you may have seen it before, but the 46 characters are organized in a chart format, which is called あいうえお表 (aiueo hyō).
The chart has ten rows of up to five hiragana characters. The upcoming sections are organized according to the chart. In this guide, all hiragana characters will be explained. You’ll learn how to pronounce and write each correctly.
*Note: While there are many methods to memorize the hiragana characters, it’s just as easy (if not easier) to just remember the characters as you practice writing them. The characters are simple and are pretty simple to remember with a little work. If you follow this up by reviewing the characters (flashcards work great for this), you’ll remember all of the characters in no time.
Part I: How to Read and Write Hiragana: 直音 (Chokuon) – Basic Characters
These are all of the basic characters of hiragana. Be sure to practice reading and writing each character to ensure that you master all of them. We’ll be using these basic characters to create more complex hiragana later on.
If you want to use the blank hiragana practice sheets as seen in the video, you can get that here: Blank Hiragana Writing Practice Sheet
あ行 (A Gyō) – A Row: Pronunciation
あ (A)
あ (a) is often the first character people learn. As with all characters, try to match of balance and stroke lengths of the examples shown in the video.
This character looks very similar to お (o), so pay close attention to the stroke order. It is different than writing お (o). Also notice that お (o) has a small slash on the right side while あ (a) does not.
Words Starting With あ (A)
• あひる (ahiru): Duck (animal)
• あるく (aruku): To walk
い (I)
い (i) looks relatively similar to り (ri). い (i) has two vertical lines that are similar in length, whereas り (ri) has a longer line on the right side.
Words Starting With い (I)
• いす (isu): Chair
• いか (ika): Squid
う (U)
う (u) looks a little bit like the katakana character ラ (ra). Be sure to practice writing う (u) with a flowing curve instead of the rigid, straight lines that ラ (ra) has.
Words Starting With う (U)
• うめ (ume): Japanese plum
• うに (uni): Sea urchin
え (E)
Some people think that え (e) looks like う (u) character described above. Just be sure to pay attention to the second stroke and feel how the last stroke (“the tail”) flows off of your pen.
Words Starting With え (E)
• えんぴつ (enpitsu): Pencil
• えいご (eigo): English
お (O)
お (o) does look very similar to the first character we learned, あ (a). Many people get these two characters mixed up in the beginning, so be sure to follow the correct stroke order of both characters. お (o) has a small slash on the right side for its final stroke. This is also why you need to practice writing the characters; not only will it help you to remember the characters faster, but you’ll notice more details that you may miss if you just practice reading them.
Words Starting With お (O)
• おに (oni): Demon
• おなか (onaka): Stomach
か行 (Ka Gyō) – Ka Row: Pronunciation
か (Ka)
When you start to learn katakana, you’ll notice that the カ (ka) looks almost identical to this hiragana か (ka). The biggest difference is the third stroke in this hiragana character. However, the hiragana か is also more rounded at the upper right-hand corner. Be sure to follow the video to see exactly how it’s written.
Words Starting With か (Ka)
• かさ (kasa): Umbrella
• からあげ (karaage): Deep-fried food, usually chicken
き (Ki)
This character also looks similar to its katakana equivalent (キ). So be sure to focus on how this hiragana き (ki) is written. The great thing about hiragana and katakana characters looking similar to each other is that it makes it easier to remember both.
However, き (ki) also looks similar to the hiragana さ (sa). Be aware that き (ki) has an extra horizontal line running through it.
Words Starting With き (Ki)
• きつね (kitsune): Fox
• きけん (kiken): Danger
く (Ku)
This character is a breath of fresh air since it’s one of the few (if not only) characters that looks familiar. It is similar in shape to the “less than” symbol, just spread out a little wider.
Words Starting With く (Ku)
• くじら (kujira): Whale
• くらげ (kurage): Jellyfish
け (Ke)
け (ke) is similar to the hiragana character は (ha). The difference is at the end of the third and last stroke. The third stroke of け (ke) trails off to the left side while は (ha) goes back and loops over itself.
Words Starting With け (Ke)
• けしごむ (keshigomu): Eraser
• けっこん (kekkon): Marriage
こ (Ko)
The computerized version of Japanese writing differs from how it’s written by hand. This character is a good example. The image shown to the left doesn’t have a small “hook” at the end of the first stroke. However, if you were to write こ (ko) by hand, you would need to put this small hook at the end in order for it to look nice.
Words Starting With こ (Ko)
• こども (kodomo): Child
• これ (kore): This
さ行 (Sa Gyō) – Sa Row: Pronunciation
さ (Sa)
As mentioned above in the ka-row section, さ (sa) looks a little like き (ki). However, さ (sa) also looks like the hiragana character ち (chi), especially when it’s in computer font form. When writing it out by hand, it’s easy to see that the two characters are quite different. In addition to the third and last stroke of さ (sa) going in the opposite direction of ち (chi), it is also not touching the first two strokes.
Words Starting With さ (Sa)
• さかな (sakana): Fish
• さしみ (sashimi): Raw, sliced seafood (usually fish)
し (Shi)
し (shi) looks like a backwards “J” or a fishhook. It is also similar to the first stroke of the character も (mo), which we’ll learn a little bit later. While this character is only one stroke, it takes a bit of practice to make it look nice. As with all characters, aim to have a nice balance (of the strokes and spaces in-between and around the strokes) when writing them.
Words Starting With し (Shi)
• しまうま (shimauma): Zebra
• しお (shio): Salt
す (Su)
If you combine す (su) with し (shi) above, you’ll get the popular Japanese food すし (sushi). Have fun with “loop” in the second stroke. This type of loop is unique to certain characters in hiragana. It does not appear in katakana or commonly used kanji.
Words Starting With す (Su)
• すいか (suika): Watermelon
• すず (suzu): Bell
せ (Se)
This another character that looks similar to its katakana counterpart. The hiragana せ (se) has three strokes while the katakana セ (se) only has two. However, it can be easy to get these two characters mixed up in the beginning.
Words Starting With す (Se)
• せみ (semi): Cicada
• せっけん (sekken): Soap
そ (So)
The bottom half of そ (so) is slightly similar to て (te), but the single stroke and look of そ (so) is so unique that most people remember it quickly.
Words Starting With そ (So)
• そら (sora): Sky
• それ (sore): That
た行 (Ta Gyō) – Ta Row: Pronunciation
た (Ta)
た (ta) and に (ni) look a little similar. た has an extra horizontal line on the left side (the first stroke). た (ta) also has four strokes while に (ni) has three.
Words Starting With た (Ta)
• たぬき (tanuki): Raccoon dog
• たこ (tako): Octopus
ち (Chi)
As previously mentioned, ち (chi) can be mistaken for さ (sa) since they look similar. It’s almost like a lower case “b” and “d” where the bottom part of the character determines which letter it is. Another thing to note is that “chi” is the Hepburn romanization style. There is another romanization style called 訓令式 (kunrei shiki), where ち would be written as “ti.” Proper English translations use the Hepburn style, but be aware that there are other ways to write romaji.
Words Starting With ち (Chi)
• ちず (chizu): Map
• ちじ (chiji): Governor
つ (Tsu)
つ (tsu) looks like し (shi) flipped over and turned on its side. Even though they share the same shape, the difference in their position makes them easy to recognize and remember. Practice them both and you’ll see for yourself 🙂
Words Starting With つ (Tsu)
• つくえ (tsukue): Desk
• つる (tsuru): Crane (bird)
て (Te)
て (te) almost looks like curvy “T.” As you learn more Japanese, you’ll find yourself using the て (te) character a lot. Not only is it common in words, but there is something called the て-Form. It is a way to conjugate verbs, adjectives, and nouns to create all kind of wonderful grammatical patterns. You’ll use this character so much there’s no way you’ll forget it!
Words Starting With て (Te)
• て (te): Hand
• てがみ (tegami): Letter (as in “I wrote a letter to her…”)
と (To)
と (to) is also another character you’ll be using a lot in your Japanese studies. It is a useful Japanese particle that means “and” or “with.” It is also one of the easier particles in Japanese to understand and use. So practice this one because you’ll be using it often in the future!
Words Starting With と (To)
• とけい (tokei): Clock
• とかげ (tokage): Lizard
な行 (Na Gyō) – Na Row: Pronunciation
な (Na)
な (na) can feel a little tricky to write at first. Put the effort into writing this character neatly and smoothly, because you’ll be using it relatively often in your Japanese studies. There are two types of adjectives in Japanese; い-adjectives and な-adjectives. な-adjectives all end in な, so you’ll be using this character a lot when you learn about adjectives.
Words Starting With な (Na)
• なす (nasu): Eggplant
• なぞ (nazo): Riddle, puzzle
に (Ni)
As mentioned previously, に (ni) looks a little bit like た (ta). You just need to be aware of the first horizontal stroke in た (ta) (or the lack thereof in に (ni)).
Words Starting With に (Ni)
• にわとり (niwatori): Chicken
• にわ (niwa): Garden, yard
ぬ (Nu)
ぬ (nu) and め (me) look almost the same. Many people get these characters mixed up, so be sure to learn this correctly from the beginning. The difference is that ぬ (nu) has a small loop at the bottom (that looks like a “2”) while め (me) does not.
Words Starting With ぬ (Nu)
• ぬりえ (nurie): Picture for coloring (like a coloring book)
• ぬの (nuno): Cloth
ね (Ne)
This is another character that looks very similar to another. ね (ne) and れ (re) are very similar. Just like with ぬ (nu) and め (me), the difference is whether or not there is a small loop on its final stroke. ね (ne) has a small loop at the bottom (that looks like a “2”) while れ (re) does not.
Words Starting With ね (Ne)
• ねこ (neko): Cat
• ねずみ (nezumi): Mouse, rat
の (No)
の (no) looks like the letter “e” that has been flipped over and rotated. It is pronounced almost the same way as “no” in English. It is also another useful particle, which is used for the possessive form (my book, his computer, my company’s car, etc.)
Words Starting With の (No)
• のり (nori): Seaweed (for eating), glue
• のみもの (nomimono): Drink(s), beverage
は行 (Ha Gyō) – Ha Row: Pronunciation
は (Ha)
は (ha) and ほ (ho) look very similar. The biggest difference is that ほ (ho) has two horizontal lines running through the last vertical stroke on the right side. は (ha) only has one horizontal line going through it.
Also, は is actually pronounced “wa” when it’s used as a particle. You’ll learn more about this when you start to study basic Japanese sentences.
Words Starting With は (Ha)
• はさみ (hasami): Scissors
• はな (hana): Flower(s), nose
ひ (Hi)
ひ (hi) is only one stroke, so just be sure to start from the left side ending the stroke on the right side.
Words Starting With ひ (Hi)
• ひつじ (hitsuji): Sheep
• ひみつ (himitsu): Secret
ふ (Fu)
ふ (fu) looks a little complicated to write. It is probably the most difficult hiragana character to write, but you can still learn to write it quickly with a little practice. There are also two ways to write ふ (fu). Check out the video to see both ways you can write this character. Also, you would think this character would be read as “hu,” not “fu.” Actually, both are correct, but as explained in the ち (chi) description, fu is the Hepburn romanization style and is used much more commonly in proper English translations.
Words Starting With ふ (Fu)
• ふぶき (fubuki): Snowstorm
• ふきん (fukin): Dishcloth
へ (He)
へ (he) is another single stroke character. It is pretty easy to write, but just make sure to start on the left side, stroking down towards the right.
Words Starting With へ (He)
• へび (hebi): Snake
• へや (heya): Room
ほ (Ho)
As mentioned in the description for は (ha) above, ほ (ho) looks almost the same but has an extra horizontal line at the top. Be sure to be aware of this extra line to differentiate between は (ha) and ほ (ho).
Words Starting With ほ (Ho)
• ほたて (hotate): Scallop
• ほほえみ (hohoemi): Smile
ま行 (Ma Gyō) – Ma Row: Pronunciation
ま (Ma)
ま (ma) looks like the right side of ほ (ho), but there is a very important detail you should be aware of. The vertical line going through the two horizontal lines in ま (ma) extends above the top horizontal line. You’ll start writing the vertical line (the third stroke) above the top horizontal line (the first stroke). However, in ほ (ho), the vertical line does not extend past the top horizontal stroke. For ほ (ho), you’ll start the vertical line (fourth stroke) at or just below (but still touching) the top horizontal stroke.
Words Starting With ま (Ma)
• まくら (makura): Pillow
• まぐろ (maguro): Tuna
み (Mi)
み (mi) is another character with that unique loop shape on its left side. Have fun writing this character as you go down, loop around, and finish the first stroke on the right-hand side.
Words Starting With み (Mi)
• みず (mizu): Water
• みち (michi): Street, road, path
む (Mu)
む (mu) has a similar shape as す (su), except the line keeps going after the loop and extends to the right, and finishes by curving back up slightly.
Words Starting With む (Mu)
• むし (mushi): Insect
• むすこ (musuko): Son
め (Me)
As mentioned earlier, め (me) looks almost exactly like ぬ (nu). The differnce is that ぬ (nu) has a loop at the end while め (me) does not.
Words Starting With め (Me)
• め (me): Eye
• めがね (megane): Eyeglasses
も (Mo)
も (mo) is similar to し (shi), but has two horizontal lines cutting through its vertical stroke.
Words Starting With も (Mo)
• もり (mori): Forest
• もも (momo): Peach
ら行 (Ra Gyō) – Ra Row: Pronunciation
ら (Ra)
ら (ra) has a unique shape and sometimes people confuse it for さ (sa) or や (ya). It takes a little bit of getting used to, but if you practice writing all the characters (as much as you can!) and review with flashcards/notes, you’ll remember all of them in no time.
Words Starting With ら (Ra)
• らくだ (rakuda): Camel
• らくがき (rakugaki): Graffiti, scribble
り (Ri)
This hiragana り (ri) looks almost identical to the katakana リ (ri). This makes it easy to remember both, but when writing, the hiragana り (ri) usually has a small hook at the end of the first stroke.
Words Starting With り (Ri)
• りんご (ringo): Apple
• りかい (rikai): Understanding
る (Ru)
る (ru) and ろ (ro) look very similar, so just remember that る (ru) has a loop at the bottom while ろ (ro) does not.
Words Starting With る (Ru)
• るす (rusu): Absence
• るいじ (ruiji): Resemblance, similarity
れ (Re)
れ (re) looks like ね (ne). Just remember that れ (re) does not loop around at the end of the second stroke. These differences seem very small at first, but after a while you’ll notice them easily.
Words Starting With れ (Re)
• れきし (rekishi): History
• れんこん (renkon): Lotus root
ろ (Ro)
As previously mentioned, ろ (ro) looks like る(ru). Just remember that ろ (ro) does not have a loop at the end of its stroke.
Words Starting With ろ (Ro)
• ろうそく (rōsoku): Candle
• ろんり (ronri): Logic
や行 (Ya Gyō) – Ya Row: Pronunciation
や (Ya)
Traditionally, the ya-row comes before the ra-row on hiragana charts. However, there are only three characters in the ya-row, so we decided to teach it after the ra-row to make it easier to follow and hopefully easier to understand.
Words Starting With や (Ya)
• やかん (yakan): Kettle
• やきにく (yakiniku): Yakiniku, Japanese grilled meat done in a Korean barbeque style
ゆ (Yu)
ゆ (yu) is a fun character to write. It almost looks like a picture of a fish. You’ll also see this character if you go to an onsen (hot spring) in Japan. At an onsen in Japan, ゆ (yu) means “hot water” or “hot spring water” that you bathe in. The kanji for hot water is 湯 (yu), but you will often see the hiragana “ゆ” written on signs or noren (short curtains hung at the top of a door/entrance) at onsens.
Words Starting With ゆ (Yu)
• ゆき (yuki): Snow
• ゆず (yuzu): Yuzu (type of citrus fruit)
よ (Yo)
よ (yo) looks a little bit like ま (ma). However, よ (yo) only has one horizontal line (the first stroke) while ま (ma) has two. Also, if you look closely, the horizontal line in よ (yo) does not go through the vertical stroke. Be sure to practicing writing よ (yo) so that the first stroke doesn’t cut across the second, vertical stroke.
Words Starting With よ (Yo)
• よる (yoru): Night
• よやく (yoyaku): Appointment, reservation, advance order
わ行 (Wa Gyō) – Wa Row: Pronunciation
わ (Wa)
わ (wa) looks similar to ね (ne). The difference is ね (ne) has a loop and わ (wa) doesn’t.
Words Starting With わ (Wa)
• わに (wani): Alligator
• わくせい (wakusei): Planet
を (Wo)
This is actually another character for “o,” but it is sometimes written as “wo” as shown here. Usually, we write this を as “o” in our other Japanese lessons, as it is more standardized for learners of Japanese. The biggest difference between を (o) and お (o), is that this を (o) is a particle, and is not used in any words.
Words Starting With を (Wo)
There is no Japanese word that starts with を (o). を is a particle and indicates what the direct object of a sentence is.
ん (N)
The last character! After you complete this, you’ll have learned all of the hiragana characters! However, your work is not done yet. There’s a few more things to learn about hiragana before you have completely mastered everything.
Words Starting With ん (N)
There is no Japanese word that starts with ん (n). Do you know a Japanese word game called しりとり (shiritori)? The players need to say a word that begins with the last character of the previous word that was said by the other player. If a player says a word ending in ん (n), they lose the game, as no Japanese word begins with that character.
Congratulations!!! You’ve learned all of the basic hiragana characters. Give yourself a big pat on the back! However, there are still things you need to learn. There are a few things that you can add to some of these hiragana characters to change their pronunciation. Also, you can combine certain characters together to make a “hybrid” character!
Part II: Advanced Hiragana: Characters With Different Sounds
If you mastered all of the hiragana characters on this page, the hard work is over. Now we just need to learn a few more things to truly master all of commonly used hiragana characters in Japanese.
濁音 (Dakuon) – Hiragana with 濁点(Dakuten)
濁点 (Dakuten) is the two small dashes that you write on the upper right-hand side of certain characters. This mark looks similar to double quotation marks in English (“). This will change the pronunciation of the character from an unvoiced consonant, to a voiced consonant, 濁音 (dakuon).
Sounds confusing? Don’t worry! It’s actually really easy. You just need to remember which characters can take this mark, and the rest is really easy.
The only characters that can take the 濁点 (dakuten) are the か (ka), さ (sa), た (ta), and は (ha) rows. Let’s see what happens when you add 濁点 (dakuten) to the characters in these rows.
濁音 (Dakuon): か (Ka) Row Becomes the が (Ga) Row
Any character in the か (ka) row that has a dakuten attached to it will go from a “k” sound to a “g” sound.
- か (ka) —> が (ga)
- き (ki) —> ぎ (gi)
- く (ku) —> ぐ (gu)
- け (ke) —> げ (ge)
- こ (ko) —> ご (go)
Example Words: が (Ga) Row
- が (ga) —> がっこう (gakkо̄): School
- ぎ (gi) —> ぎん (gin): Silver
- ぐ (gu) —> ぐち (guchi): Complaint(s)
- げ (ge) —> げいしゃ (geisha): Geisha (Female entertainers trained in traditional Japanese arts like dance and music)
- ご (go) —> ごま (goma): Sesame seed(s)
濁音 (Dakuon): さ (Sa) Row Becomes the ざ (Za) Row
Any character in the さ (sa) row that has a 濁点 (dakuten) attached to it will go from a “s” sound to a “z” sound, EXCEPT for し (shi). し (shi) will turn into じ (ji).*
- さ (sa) —> ざ (za)
- し (shi) —> じ (ji)
- す (su) —> ず (zu)
- せ (se) —> ぜ (ze)
- そ (so) —> ぞ (zo)
*Note: じ (zi) is the 訓令式 (kunrei shiki) reading, which is the system ordered by the Cabinet of Japan. However, ji is the Hepburn style of romaji, which is what is used in most English translations. It is also much closer to the pronunciation of that actually Japanese. For example, the word “じかん” means “time.” It is pronounced “jikan.” If you were to pronounce it using the kunrei shiki romanization, it would be “zikan,” which would not be the correct pronunciation.
Example Words: ざ (Za) Row
- ざ (za) —> ざぶとん (zabuton): Floor cushion
- じ (ji) —> じかん (jikan): Time
- ず (zu) —> ずかん (zukan): Picture book
- ぜ (ze) —> ぜんそく (zensoku): Asthma
- ぞ (zo) —> ぞう (zō): Elephant
濁音 (Dakuon): た (Ta) Row Becomes the だ (Da) Row
The た (ta) row is a little tricky. It has two exceptions, but it’s not too difficult. Characters in the た (ta) row that has a 濁点 (dakuten) attached to it will go from a “t” sound to a “d” sound, EXCEPT for ち (chi) and つ (tsu).
ち (chi) will turn into ぢ (ji). Wait a minute! We just learned that し (shi) also turns into じ (ji). Yes, both of these characters have the same romaji and same pronunciation. How can two different characters have the same reading?
The answer lies in something called 連濁 (rendaku) in Japanese. Basically, 連濁 (rendaku) is when you combine words together that result in the first consonant of the second word becoming voiced. This is the same thing we are doing here; ち (chi) becomes a voiced ぢ (ji) with the 濁点 (dakuten). Let’s check out an example.
Let’s look at two different words and combine them. はな (hana) can mean either flower or nose. For our example, it will mean “nose.” ち (chi) also has two meanings; it can either mean blood or ground/earth. In this example, it will mean “blood.”
If we put these words together, it will mean “nosebleed” and it should look like this: はなち (hanachi)…BUT
Because of the 連濁 (rendaku), the first constant of the second word ち (chi – blood) will become voiced —> ぢ (ji). Therefore, the correct word will be “はなぢ (hanaji).” Most of the time, ぢ (ji) is found in the middle or end of words. There are few (if any) words that start with ぢ (ji). It’s when the original word uses ち (chi) but becomes voiced when combined with other words.
The other exception is つ (tsu). With the 濁点 (dakuten), it will change to づ (zu). This also shares the same romaji as the character す (su) —> ず (zu). Just like with the ぢ (ji) character above, づ (zu) is most used as 連濁 (rendaku). In other words, づ (zu) is mainly used when it is combined with other words (in the middle or end of words, not at the beginning).
Let’s take a look at the whole だ (da) row:
- た (ta) —> だ (da)
- ち (chi) —> ぢ (ji)
- つ (tsu) —> づ (zu)
- て (te) —> で (de)
- と (to) —> ど (do)
Example Words: だ (Da) Row
- だ (da) —> だいず (daizu): Soy beans
- ぢ (ji) —> はなぢ (hanaji): Nosebleed
- づ (zu) —> つづき (tsuzuki): Continuation (of something; story, work, tv show, etc.)
- で (de) —> でぐち (deguchi): Exit
- ど (do) —> どろ (doro): Mud
濁音 (Dakuon): は (Ha) Row Becomes the ば (Ba) Row
Any character in the は (ha) row that has a 濁点 (dakuten) attached to it will go from a “h” sound to a “b” sound.
- は (ha) —> ば (ba)
- ひ (hi) —> び (bi)
- ふ (fu) —> ぶ (bu)
- へ (he) —> べ (be)
- ほ (ho) —> ぼ (bo)
Example Words: ば (Ba) Row
- ば (ba) —> ばけつ (baketsu): Bucket
- び (bi) —> びじん (bijin): Beautiful woman
- ぶ (bu) —> ぶり (buri): Japanese amberjack, yellowtail
- べ (be) —> べんごし (bengoshi): Lawyer
- ぼ (bo) —> ぼくし (bokushi): Pastor
半濁音 (Handakuon) – Hiragana With the Consonant “P”
半濁音 (handakuon) only applies to the は (ha) row. As seen above, the 濁音 (dakuon) reading for the は (ha) row changes to a “b” sound (ば (ba), び (bi), ぶ (bu), べ (be), ぼ (bo)).
However, the characters in the は (ha) row can also be changed to a 半濁音 (handakuon) reading. This changes the “h” sound to a “p” sound. This is done by writing a small circle at the top right-hand corner of the character. This small is written from the bottom to the top, clockwise:
- は (ha) —> ぱ (pa)
- ひ (hi) —> ぴ (pi)
- ふ (fu) —> ぷ (pu)
- へ (he) —> ぺ (pe)
- ほ (ho) —> ぽ (po)
Be sure to notice whether it’s a small circle 半濁音 (handakuon) or the two slashes which will create a 濁点 (dakuon) at the upper right-hand corner of the character. It can be easy to mix them up, especially when it’s written in a small font size.
Example Words: ぱ (Pa) Row
- ぱ (pa) —> ぱん (pan): Bread
- ぴ (pi) —> ぴったり (pittari): Exactly, precisely
- ぷ (pu) —> ぷにぷに (punipuni): Squishy, bouncy, cuddly
- ぺ (pe) —> ぺきん (pekin): Beijing
- ぽ (po) —> ぽちゃ (pocha): Chubby
促音 (Sokuon) – The Small “つ (Tsu)”
The small っ (tsu), otherwise known as 小さいつ (chiisai tsu), is used to represent a doubled or “geminate” consonant, referred to as a 促音 (sokuon) in Japanese. It’s called the small っ (tsu) because it is a mini version of the hiragana つ (tsu) character:
- Normal tsu: つ
- Small tsu: っ
The small っ (tsu) does not have any special pronunciation on its own. Instead, it will affect the pronunciation of the character that follows it. Any character that comes after the small っ (tsu) will have its consonant changed into a double consonant. What does this mean? Let’s look at an example:
かこ (kako) in Japanese means “the past.) If we put a small っ (tsu) in the middle of this word, we would get かっこ (kakko). The character that comes after the small っ (tsu) (こ in this case) will change into a double consonant. This just means that:
- No small っ (tsu): こ (ko)
- Small っ (tsu) in front of character: っこ (kko)
The small っ (tsu) acts as a small pause when pronouncing words. かっこ (kakko) would almost feel as if you were saying two separate words, kak and ko. You would say “kak” first, followed by a short pause, then say “ko“. Let’s look at some other examples of words with the small っ (tsu).
Example Words: Small っ (Tsu)
- にっぽん (nippon): Japan
- きって (kitte): Postage stamp
- てっぱん (teppan): Iron plate which is used to cook food
Part III: Combination Characters
This is the last part! We can combine some of the hiragana characters together to form new characters, but learning how to read them are very simple. You just need to remember which characters go together, and you’ll master this section easily…and you’ll be a hiragana professional!
拗音 (Yōon) – Combination Hiragana Characters
You can take the three characters from the や (ya) row; や (ya), ゆ (yu), よ (yo) and combine it with these characters:
- き (ki) and ぎ (gi)
- し (shi) and じ (ji)
- ち (chi) and ぢ (ji)
- に (ni)
- ひ (hi), び (bi), and ぴ (pi)
- み (mi)
- り (ri)
How to Combine Hiragana Characters Together
Combining hiragana characters are really easy. All you need to do is take one of the ya-row characters; や (ya), ゆ (yu), よ (yo), and write it smaller, and put it on the lower right-hand corner of one of the characters listed above (if writing it horizontally). If you are writing hiragana in the traditional vertical way, you would first write one of the characters listed above and then put the smaller ya-row character beneath it.
To read this new combined character, you would replace the “i” of any character listed above with the reading of the ya-row character. Sounds confusing? Take a look at this and it should clear things right up:
- き (k
i) + ゃ (ya) = きゃ (kya) - き (k
i) + ゅ (yu) = きゅ (kyu) - き (k
i) + ょ (yo) =きょ (kyo) - and so on…
However…
The readings for し (shi), じ (ji), ち (chi), and ぢ (ji) are the exceptions. Just like the characters above, you will replace the “i” with the reading of a ya-row character. However, you will get rid of the “y” and only use the vowel of the や (ya) row character (a, u, o).
- し (sh
i) + ゃ (ya) = しゃ (sha) - し (sh
i) + ゅ (yu) = しゅ (shu) - し (sh
i) + ょ (yo) = しょ (sho) - じ (j
i) + ゃ (ya) = じゃ (ja) - じ (j
i) + ゅ (yu) = じゅ (ju) - じ (j
i) + ょ (yo) = じょ (jo) - ち (ch
i) + ゃ (ya) = ちゃ (cha) - ち (ch
i) + ゅ (yu) = ちゅ (chu) - ち (ch
i) + ょ (yo) = ちょ (cho) - ぢ (j
i) + ゃ (ya) = ぢゃ (ja) - ぢ (j
i) + ゅ (yu) = ぢゅ (ju) - ぢ (j
i)+ ょ (yo) = ぢょ (jo)
Let’s take a look at each of these combination hiragana characters in more detail.
きゃ行 (Kya Gyō) – Kya Row: き (Ki) and ぎ (Gi) + ゃ (Ya), ゅ (Yu), and ょ (Yo)
Remember that you can also make these combination hiragana characters with the 濁音 (dakuon) reading of き: ぎゃ (gya), ぎゅ (gyu), ぎょ (gyo)
Example Words: きゃ (Kya) Row
- きゃく (kyaku): Customer
- きゅうり (kyūri): Cucumber
- きょうふ (kyōfu): Fear
- ぎゃく (gyaku): Opposite
- ぎゅうにく (gyūniku): Beef
- ぎょうざ (gyōza): Dumpling
しゃ行 (Sha Gyō) – Sha Row: し (Shi) and じ (Ji) + ゃ (Ya), ゅ (Yu), and ょ (Yo)
The 濁音 (dakuon) reading of し (shi) is じ (ji), and it can be combined with any character from the ya-row as well.
Example Words: しゃ (Sha) Row
- しゃかい (shakai): Society
- しゅうまつ (shūmatsu): Weekend
- しょうじ (shōji): Paper sliding door
- じゃんけん (janken): Rock scissors paper game
- じゅぎょう (jugyō): Class
- じょうあい (jōai): Affection
ちゃ行 (Cha Gyō) – Cha Row: ち (Chi) and ぢ (Ji) + ゃ (Ya), ゅ (Yu), and ょ (Yo)
The 濁音 (dakuon) reading of ち (chi) is ぢ (ji), and it can be combined with any character from the ya-row as well.
Example Words: ちゃ (Cha) Row
- ちゃわん (chawan): Rice bowl
- ちゅうし (chūshi): Cancel
- ちょうれい (chōrei): Morning assembly
- ぢゃ (ja): Same as じゃ (ja), and is usually not used. じゃ (ja) is commonly used.
- ぢゅ (ju): Same as じゅ (ju), and it usually not used. じゅ (ju) is commonly used.
- ぢょ (jo): Same as じょ (jo), and it usually not used. じょ (jo) is commonly used.
にゃ行 (Nya Gyō) – Nya Row: に (Ni) + ゃ (Ya), ゅ (Yu), and ょ (Yo)
Example Words: にゃ (Nya) Row
- にゃん (nyan): Meow (the sound of a cat’s meow)
- にゅういん (nyūin): Hospitalization
- にょう (nyō): Urine
ひゃ行 (Hya Gyō) – Hya Row: ひ (Hi), び (Bi), and ぴ (Pi) + ゃ (Ya), ゅ (Yu), and ょ (Yo)
You can also make these combination hiragana characters with the 濁音 (dakuon) reading of ひ (hi):
- び (bi)
- びゃ (bya)
- びゅ (byu)
- びょ (byo)
and the 半濁音 (handakuon) reading:
- ぴ (pi)
- ぴゃ (pya)
- ぴゅ (pyu)
- ぴょ (pyo)
Example Words: ひゃ (Hya) Row
- ひゃく (hyaku): A hundred
- ひゅう (hyū): Sound of winds
- ひょうか (hyōka): Evaluation
- びゃくだん (byakudan): Indian sandalwood
- びゅうげん (byūgen): Fallacy
- びょういん (byōin): Hospital
- ろっぴゃく (roppyaku): Six hundred
- ぴゅう (pyū): Sound of something whizzing through the air
- ぴょん (pyon): Jumping lightly or nimbly
みゃ行 (Mya Gyō) – Mya Row: み (Mi) + ゃ (Ya), ゅ (Yu), and ょ (Yo)
Example Words: みゃ (Mya) Row
- みゃく (myaku): Pulse
- きゃりーぱみゅぱみゅ (Kyary Pamyu Pamyu): Name of famous Japanese singer
- みょうじ (myōji): Last name
りゃ行 (Rya Gyō) – Rya Row: り (Ri) + ゃ (Ya), ゅ (Yu), and ょ (Yo)
Example Words: りゃ (Rya) Row
- りゃく (ryaku): Abbreviation
- りゅうこう (ryūkō): Trend
- りょこう (ryokō): Trip
Part IV: The History of Hiragana
When you look at the history of the Japanese writing system, 漢字 (kanji) are known to be the first characters used. 漢字 (kanji) came to Japan from China more than 1,000 years ago. Japanese people back then only used 漢字 (kanji).
However, according to many sources, including this educational Japanese website (Japanese only), 漢字 (kanji) was only used by men, not women. (In today’s society, there is no such rule regarding kanji). Therefore, women needed to come up with a different way to communicate with others, and this was when ひらがな (hiragana) was created.
Hiragana characters were created by mimicking and breaking down kanji characters. Since the telephone didn’t exist at the time, they used letters to exchange ideas and feelings. For women and men to understand each other, men eventually needed to learn hiragana characters. And this is how hiragana was born and passed on.
I hope you could master all of the hiragana characters with this guide! Please let us know this guide help you to learn how to read and write hiragana, or if you have any suggestions. Be sure to check out more of our Japanese lessons to learn more!
