Complete Japanese Hiragana and Katakana Chart (Stroke Order + Romaji)

Before you dive into anime without subtitles or start reading manga, you need to master the Japanese basics: hiragana (ひらがな) and katakana (カタカナ). These two writing systems are your gateway to reading anything in Japanese, and honestly, they're way easier to learn than you might think. I'm going to walk you through everything you need, from basic pronunciation to those tricky combined sounds that trip up beginners.

Understanding Japanese writing systems

Japanese uses three writing systems together: hiragana, katakana, and kanji (漢字). Yeah, three different scripts in one language. Sounds intense, but each one has a specific purpose.

Differences between hiragana and katakana and which to learn first

Both hiragana and katakana represent the same 46 basic sounds. The character あ (hiragana) and ア (katakana) both make the "a" sound. They're just written differently.

Most teachers recommend learning hiragana first because it's more common and you'll use it constantly. Once you've got hiragana down, katakana becomes way easier because you already know the sounds. You're just learning new shapes for familiar pronunciations.

That said, some people learn them simultaneously. I'd suggest focusing on hiragana for the first few days, then adding katakana once hiragana feels comfortable. You'll naturally encounter both when you start reading actual Japanese content.

The basic hiragana chart (Gojūon)

The gojūon (五十音) chart organizes Japanese kana into rows and columns. Despite the name meaning "fifty sounds," there are actually 46 basic characters in modern Japanese.

Here's the complete basic hiragana chart with romaji pronunciation:

Notice how the Y-row and W-row have fewer characters. That's normal. The character を is technically pronounced "wo" but sounds almost identical to お (o) in modern Japanese. You'll use を exclusively as a grammatical particle marking direct objects.

Pronunciation guide: Getting the sounds right

Japanese pronunciation is actually pretty straightforward compared to English. Each character represents one sound, and those sounds stay consistent. No weird spelling rules where "ough" can be pronounced seven different ways.

Vowels form the foundation:

A few pronunciation tips that'll save you headaches:

Dakuten and handakuten: Voiced sounds

Once you've got the basic chart down, you add dakuten (濁点) marks to create voiced consonants. These are the little quotation-mark-looking symbols (゛) that change the sound.

The handakuten (半濁点) is a little circle (゜) that only applies to the H-row, turning it into P-sounds:

P-row (from H): ぱ (pa), ぴ (pi), ぷ (pu), ぺ (pe), ぽ (po)

Note that ぢ (ji) and じ (ji) sound identical in modern Japanese, as do づ (zu) and ず (zu). You'll rarely see ぢ and づ except in specific words.

Yoon: Combined sounds

Yoon (拗音) are combinations where you take a character from the I-column (き, し, ち, etc.) and add a small や (ya), ゆ (yu), or よ (yo). This creates sounds like "kya," "shu," and "cho."

Some common combinations:

And so on. The pattern applies to all the I-column characters, including their dakuten and handakuten versions. Words like "Tokyo" (東京) are actually written Toukyou (とうきょう) in hiragana.

Stroke order rules and why they matter

Stroke order isn't just some arbitrary rule teachers made up to torture students. Writing characters in the correct order helps them look balanced and makes your handwriting flow naturally. Plus, when you're looking up kanji later by drawing them, stroke order matters for recognition software.

Basic stroke order principles:

Let's look at some specific examples:

You can find detailed stroke order diagrams online or in a good hiragana chart pdf. Watching someone write the characters really helps. There are tons of videos showing proper stroke order for every kana character.

The complete katakana chart

Katakana follows the exact same sound structure as hiragana. Same 46 basic characters, same dakuten additions, same yoon combinations. Just different shapes.

Basic katakana:

Katakana stroke order follows the same principles as hiragana. The characters are generally more angular and use straighter lines.

How to memorize Japanese hiragana and katakana chart fast

You can absolutely memorize all hiragana and katakana in one week if you study consistently. Here's what actually works:

Anyway, if you want to level up your Japanese learning with real content, Migaku's browser extension and app let you look up words instantly while watching shows or reading articles. Makes immersion way more practical since you're learning from actual Japanese instead of just textbook examples. There's a 10-day free trial if you want to check it out.

Your next steps after mastering the charts

Once you've got both hiragana and katakana down solid, you're ready to start learning Japanese properly. You can begin studying basic grammar, building vocabulary, and tackling kanji. You can also start consuming native content. Watching Japanese shows with Japanese subtitles becomes possible once you can read kana quickly. You won't understand everything, but you can start picking out words and getting used to natural Japanese.

Start well, stay driven!