Katakana Essentials: Fast-Track Learning with Mnemonics

Learning katakana, although less common than hiragana, is still essential for mastering Japanese. While katakana is not used as frequently as hiragana, it is still important enough that not being able to read it will significantly impact your understanding. Most quality textbooks and learning materials, including our Migaku Japanese Course, require knowledge of katakana.

If you haven't learned hiragana yet, we suggest you do so with our hiragana guide before moving on.

Just like with hiragana, if you follow our guide, you should be able to easily read katakana in a matter of days.

To achieve this, you should follow these steps:

The second Japanese script we will learn is called 'katakana' カタカナ or in kanji 片仮名(かたかな). If you literally translate the kanji for katakana you get "fragmented kana," which comes from the fact that katakana characters were derived from components or fragments of more complex kanji.

Just like hiragana, katakana is made up of 5 singular vowels, 42 consonant-vowel combinations, and one singular consonant (ン; n). There are also 2 obsolete katakana characters, ヰ i and ヱ e.

It is important to know that for every hiragana character, there is an equivalent katakana character with the same pronunciation.

One of the first questions that probably comes to mind is: "If the pronunciation is identical, why even have two sets of characters in the first place?"

Good question, young padawan. As we mentioned before, each has their own use cases.

Katakana is used to write foreign words, such as countries and place names, names of foreign people, and technical and scientific terms. It can also be used to emphasize certain words (similar to italics in European languages) and to write out onomatopoeia. There are a few more uses, but these are the main ones you will encounter.

アイウエオ

Now that we’ve gone over the basics of katakana, we can introduce you to the first five characters: ア・イ・ウ・エ・オ.

The first character is ア, which is represented as a, and its pronunciation is similar to the a in father.

Once again, we have a stylized version of an A.

The second character is イ, which is represented as i, and its pronunciation is similar to the ee in meet.

When you are in Japan it's worth trying to eat (i) with chopsticks at least once.

The third character is ウ, which is represented as u, and its pronunciation is similar to the oo in shoot.

This looks just like a "U".

The fourth character is エ, which is represented as e, and its pronunciation is close to the e in bet.

The elevator (e) doors should open soon.

The fifth character is オ, which is represented as o, and its pronunciation is similar to the o in story.

Here we have a singer with a wide open (o) mouth singing with all his might.

Now that you’ve carefully read this chapter, it's time to practice. Open the following link, select the first row of hiragana, and press the red study button. Practice until you feel comfortable with the first hiragana row before moving on.

カキクケコ

The next five are カ・キ・ク・ケ・コ.

The first character is カ, which is represented as ka, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the k in skate and the a in father.

Look! The butcher is cutting (ka) a big piece of meat.

The second character is キ, which is represented as ki, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the k in skate and the ee in meet.

This character looks a bit like a key (ki).

The third character is ク, which is represented as ku, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the k in skate and the oo in shoot.

It’s a baby in a cradle (ku).

The fourth character is ケ, which is represented as ke, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the k in skate and the e in bet.

If you look closely, this looks like a "K" (ke) that has been tilted.

The fifth character is コ, which is represented as ko, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the k in skate and the o in story.

コ has two 90 degree corners (ko).

Now that you’ve carefully read this chapter, it's time to practice. Open the following link, select the first and second row of hiragana, and press the red study button. Practice until you feel comfortable with these two hiragana rows before moving on.

サシスセソ

The next five are サ・シ・ス・セ・ソ.

The first character is サ, which is represented as sa, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the s in soup and the a in father.

It’s a saddle (sa) on a horse.

The second character is シ, which is represented as shi, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the sh in sheep and the ee in meet.

She (shi) is looking upwards. Not sure what she sees there though.

The third character is ス, which is represented as su, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the s in soup and the oo in shoot.

This looks like the perfect suit (su) hanger.

The fourth character is セ, which is represented as se, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the s in soup and the e in bet.

Where we have a nice sénior (se) with his hat.

The fifth character is ソ, which is represented as so, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the s in soup and the o in story.

I tried to sew (so) another stitch.

Now that you’ve carefully read this chapter, it's time to practice. Open the following link, select the first, second and third row of hiragana, and press the red study button. Practice until you feel comfortable with these three hiragana rows before moving on.

タチツテト

The next five are タ・チ・ツ・テ・ト.

The first character is タ, which is represented as ta, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the t in stop and the a in father.

It’s a tie (ta) flapping in the wind.

The second character is チ, which is represented as chi, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the tch in itchy and the ee in meet.

What do we have here again? Our jumping cheerleader (chi) spreading her cheer (chi).

The third character is ツ, which is represented as tsu, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the ts in cats and the oo in shoot.

Oh no! Be careful, it’s a tsunami (tsu).

The fourth character is テ, which is represented as te, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the t in stop and the e in bet.

This just looks like a telephone (te) pole.

The fifth character is ト, which is represented as to, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the t in stop and the o in story.

This is the small "t" in the word 'toe' (to).

Now that you’ve carefully read this chapter, it's time to practice. Open the following link, select all hiragana rows, from the first to the fourth, and press the red study button. Practice until you feel comfortable with these four hiragana rows before moving on.

ナニヌネノ

The next five are ナ・ニ・ヌ・ネ・ノ.

The first character is ナ, which is represented as na, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the n in not and the a in father.

This knife (na) seems pretty sharp. But it is a little bit bent.

The second character is ニ, which is represented as ni, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the n in not and the ee in meet.

Here are two needles (ni) ready to sew.

The third character is ヌ, which is represented as nu, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the n in not and the oo in shoot.

You are eating a delicious bowl of noodles (nu) with chopsticks.

The fourth character is ネ, which is represented as ne, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the n in not and the e in bet.

It’s a necktie (ne)!

The fifth character is ノ, which is represented as no, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the n in not and the o in story.

It’s Pinocchio with his long nose (no).

Now that you’ve carefully read this chapter, it's time to practice. Open the following link, select all hiragana rows, from the first to the fifth, and press the red study button. Practice until you feel comfortable with these five hiragana rows before moving on.

ハヒフヘホ

The next five are ハ・ヒ・フ・ヘ・ホ.

The first character is ハ, which is represented as ha, and its pronunciation is close to a combination of the h in hat and the a in father.

That’s a pretty cool hat (ha) you got there.

The second character is ヒ, which is represented as hi, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the h in hue and the ee in meet.

It’s the heel (hi) of your foot.

The third character is フ, which is represented as fu, and its pronunciation is close to a combination of the ph in phew and the oo* in shoot.

This is just a flag (fu) in the wind.

The fourth character is ヘ, which is represented as he, and its pronunciation is close to a combination of the h in hat and the e in bet.

This looks exactly like the hiragana version. Easy!

The fifth character is ホ, which is represented as ho, and its pronunciation is close to a combination of the *h in hat and the *o* in story.

It’s the holy (ho) cross with holy (ho) light around it.

Now that you’ve carefully read this chapter, it's time to practice. Open the following link, select all hiragana rows, from the first to the sixth, and press the red study button. Practice until you feel comfortable with these six hiragana rows before moving on.

マミムメモ

The next five are マ・ミ・ム・メ・モ.

The first character is マ, which is represented as ma, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the m in much and the a in father.

All those angles and numbers … I hate math (ma).

The second character is ミ, which is represented as mi, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the m in much and the ee in meet.

Oh no! Three missiles (mi) are about to hit.

The third character is ム, which is represented as mu, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the m in much and the oo in shoot.

When you draw a moon (mu) like this, it has a big nose.

The fourth character is メ, which is represented as me, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the m in much and the e in bet.

It’s so hot, even the power pole is melting (me).

The fifth character is モ, which is represented as mo, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the m in much and the o in story.

This looks just like the hiragana version!

Now that you’ve carefully read this chapter, it's time to practice. Open the following link, select all hiragana rows, from the first to the seventh, and press the red study button. Practice until you feel comfortable with these seven hiragana rows before moving on.

ラリルレロ

The next five are ラ・リ・ル・レ・ロ.

The first character is ラ, which is represented as ra, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the rah rah as if you were cheering and the la la like singing.

It’s a cute rabbit (ra) with some floppy ears.

The second character is リ, which is represented as ri, and the pronunciation is between the ree in reed and the lee in leek.

This also looks pretty similar to the hiragana version.

The third character is ル, which is represented as ru, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the ru in rule and the loo in look.

A big tree, with even bigger roots (ru).

The fourth character is レ, which is represented as re, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the re in retch and the le in led.

A beautiful girl with red (re) hair.

The fifth character is ロ, which is represented as ro, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the ro in road and the lo in load.

Here is Rob the helpful robot (ro).

Now that you’ve carefully read this chapter, it's time to practice. Open the following link, select all hiragana rows, from the first to the eighth, and press the red study button. Practice until you feel comfortable with these eight hiragana rows before moving on.

ヤユヨ

The next three are ヤ・ユ・ヨ.

The first character is ヤ, which is represented as ya, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the y in yacht and the a in father.

This is just a yak (ya)!

The second character is ユ, which is represented as yu, and the pronunciation is between the y in yacht and the oo in shoot.

The top of the u-boat (yu) is looking out from the water.

The third character is ヨ, which is represented as yo, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the y in yacht and the o in story.

She is doing yoga (yo). But that does not look healthy.

Now that you’ve carefully read this chapter, it's time to practice. Open the following link, select all hiragana rows, from the first to the ninth, and press the red study button. Practice until you feel comfortable with these nine hiragana rows before moving on.

ワヲン

And lastly, the final three: ワ・ヲ・ン.

Down below you will find these characters with images that you can use as mnemonic aids to help you remember them. Audio for each character and some example words are also provided.

The first character is ワ, which is represented as wa, and its pronunciation is similar to the wa in walk.

It’s the top of a wine (wa) glass. It looks delicious!

The second character is ヲ, which is represented as wo, and its pronunciation is similar to the o in story. While the hiragana character only functions as a particle, its counterpart (ヲ) is used to form words. Fun fact: in the example word below, the character オ could be used in place of ヲ.

It’s the nose (o) of (o) a ship in the ocean.

The last katakana character is ン, which is represented as n, and its pronunciation is close to the ng in long. However, its pronunciation changes a bit depending on the sound that follows. But for now, just remember it as the ng in long.

I mean he has a lot of gold, but that big nose on the king (ng) is a bit much.

Now that you’ve carefully read this chapter, it's time to practice. Open the following link, select all hiragana rows and press the red study button. Practice until you feel comfortable with all hiragana.

As you can see, Japanese is a quite complex, but interesting language. If you want to learn all of this through a comprehensive course, we recommend you to try out our Migaku Japanese Academy course, which will allow you to quickly learn Japanese from anime.