Katakana Practice: Examples, Audio, Mnemonics, and More

Katakana aren't quite as common as hiragana, but if you want to learn Japanese, you'll need to know both. Not being able to read katakana will regularly impede your ability to understand Japanese sentences in the wild. In fact, you probably wouldn't be able to get through a beginner's Japanese textbook without knowing katakana.

If you're here, though, you get that.

Let's learn katakana:

Hiragana vs Katakana

Before we get too far along, if you haven't learned hiragana yet, go do that first. Whereas katakana appear in many sentences, hiragana appear multiple times in every sentence.

➡️ Read our hiragana guide

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.

At this point, you may be wondering: "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.

That's a bit complex.

[Table] Katakana at a glance

Here's a table with audio recordings of each katakana:

And here's a fancy table showing how katakana were formed from kanji, way back when:

アイウエオ → standalone katakana vowels

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 katakana, and press the red study button. Practice until you feel comfortable with the first katakana row before moving on.

カキクケコ → "K" series katakana

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 katakana, and press the red study button. Practice until you feel comfortable with these two katakana rows before moving on.

サシスセソ → "S" series katakana

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 katakana, and press the red study button. Practice until you feel comfortable with these three katakana rows before moving on.

タチツテト → "T" series katakana

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 katakana rows, from the first to the fourth, and press the red study button. Practice until you feel comfortable with these four katakana rows before moving on.

ナニヌネノ → "N" series katakana

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 katakana rows, from the first to the fifth, and press the red study button. Practice until you feel comfortable with these five katakana rows before moving on.

ハヒフヘホ → "H" series katakana

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 katakana rows, from the first to the sixth, and press the red study button. Practice until you feel comfortable with these six katakana rows before moving on.

マミムメモ → "M" series katakana

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 katakana rows, from the first to the seventh, and press the red study button. Practice until you feel comfortable with these seven katakana rows before moving on.

ラリルレロ → "R" series katakana

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 katakana rows, from the first to the eighth, and press the red study button. Practice until you feel comfortable with these eight katakana rows before moving on.

ヤユヨ → "Y" series katakana

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 katakana rows, from the first to the ninth, and press the red study button. Practice until you feel comfortable with these nine katakana rows before moving on.

ワヲン → "W" series katakana

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.

[Test] Katakana reading practice

We've now walked through every single katakana character.

That means it's time to practice.

Practice until you feel comfortable with all katakana.

How to learn katakana in a few days →

Kanji are there own separate beast, and will take time.

Katakana, though? You can get through them in a week—or even faster, if you buckle down.

If you're not quite sure where to get started, Migaku's Japanese Fundamentals course will spoonfeed everything you need to know to you.

You'll start out by reading about a small batch of katakana as you did above: there will be mnemonics, pictures, example words, and recordings from native speakers.

To ensure you remember each character, rather than just running your eyes over them and moving on, we quiz you with flashcards: you'll see a katakana on the front and be tasked with remembering how to read it. Upon flipping it over, you'll see the pronunciation, a video of a native speaker saying it, the mnemonic, and a few example words.

Migaku is totally free for ten days, and if you do 23 flashcards of our Japanese Fundamentals course per day—about one hour of time investment—you'll be able to comfortably read both katakana and hiragana before those ten days are up.

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The most important thing you need to remember if you want to learn Japanese

We won't lie—a lot of people have taken a lot of different approaches to learning Japanese, and people have succeeded and failed with pretty much every approach imaginable. What all successful learners have in common is that, at some point, they inevitably spent a lot of time in Japanese.

This is to say:

Initially, it'll be difficult to remember katakana. As you spend more time reading Japanese—whether text or subtitles—it'll get easier. Eventually, they'll just make sense to you, as the alphabet does, without any conscious effort at all.

Your Japanese journey starts here.

Good luck, friend 💪