Hiragana represent the absolute foundation of the Japanese language. Without knowledge of these 46 characters, reading or writing Japanese remains impossible, as they form the grammatical and phonetic structure upon which everything else is built.
The central role of hiragana in the language
Japanese uses three writing systems simultaneously. To properly understand their interaction, you need to visualise hiragana as the mortar that binds the bricks (the kanji) together. If you’d like an overview of how the whole system works, look at how
Japanese writing is structured before diving into the details.
Hiragana are immediately recognisable by their curved and flowing forms. Unlike katakana which are angular, hiragana (平仮名) literally means “smooth kana”. They serve three main purposes:
- Writing grammatical particles (the small words that indicate the function of words in a sentence).
- Writing verb and adjective endings (okurigana).
- Writing words of Japanese origin for which there is no common kanji.
Complete chart of the 46 basic hiragana (Gojūon)
Here is the “fifty sounds” chart (Gojūon), although only 46 remain in modern Japanese. Reading goes from left to right for each vowel column.
| Vowel |
A |
I |
U |
E |
O |
| Pure vowels |
あ (a) |
い (i) |
う (u) |
え (e) |
お (o) |
| K |
か (ka) |
き (ki) |
く (ku) |
け (ke) |
こ (ko) |
| S |
さ (sa) |
し (shi) |
す (su) |
せ (se) |
そ (so) |
| T |
た (ta) |
ち (chi) |
つ (tsu) |
て (te) |
と (to) |
| N |
な (na) |
に (ni) |
ぬ (nu) |
ね (ne) |
の (no) |
| H |
は (ha) |
ひ (hi) |
ふ (fu) |
へ (he) |
ほ (ho) |
| M |
ま (ma) |
み (mi) |
む (mu) |
め (me) |
も (mo) |
| Y |
や (ya) |
– |
ゆ (yu) |
– |
よ (yo) |
| R |
ら (ra) |
り (ri) |
る (ru) |
れ (re) |
ろ (ro) |
| W |
わ (wa) |
– |
– |
– |
を (wo/o) |
| N (unique) |
ん (n) |
Pronunciation details by column
The chart above seems simple, but several phonetic subtleties require particular attention to achieve natural pronunciation.
The vowels (A, I, U, E, O)
Japanese vowels are pure and short.
あ (a): as in “father”.
い (i): as in “machine”.
う (u): this is a sound between the French “ou” and “u”. The lips don’t round.
え (e): as in “bed”, never like a silent “e”.
お (o): as in “more”.
The S line (Sa, Shi, Su, Se, So)
Notice the irregularity here. The sound “Si” doesn’t exist in standard Japanese. It’s replaced by
し (shi), pronounced like “she”.
Example:
すし (sushi) is pronounced “soo-she”.
The T line (Ta, Chi, Tsu, Te, To)
This column has two major exceptions:
1. “Ti” becomes
ち (chi), pronounced “chee” as in “cheese”.
2. “Tu” becomes
つ (tsu), pronounced “tsoo” as in “tsunami”. It’s a percussive sound.
The H line (Ha, Hi, Fu, He, Ho)
The “H” sound is aspirated. Imagine you’re breathing out air to fog up a window. The exception is
ふ (fu). This isn’t a strong “F” like in English (where the teeth touch the lip). It’s a breathy sound, halfway between “H” and “F”.
The R line (Ra, Ri, Ru, Re, Ro)
Forget the English “R” sound. The Japanese “R” is formed by flicking the tongue against the roof of the mouth, just behind the upper teeth. It sounds acoustically like a mix between an “L” and a quick “D”.
Modified sounds: Dakuten and Handakuten
Once you’ve mastered the 46 basic characters, you simply add small diacritical marks to double the number of available sounds without learning new characters.
Dakuten (Ten-ten)
It looks like two small strokes (゛) placed at the top right of the character. It softens or voices the voiceless consonant.
| Base |
With Dakuten (゛) |
Example |
| K (Ka, Ki…) |
G (Ga, Gi, Gu, Ge, Go) |
か (ka) → が (ga) |
| S (Sa, Shi…) |
Z (Za, Ji, Zu, Ze, Zo) |
し (shi) → じ (ji) |
| T (Ta, Chi…) |
D (Da, Ji, Zu, De, Do) |
て (te) → で (de) |
| H (Ha, Hi…) |
B (Ba, Bi, Bu, Be, Bo) |
ほ (ho) → ぼ (bo) |
Note well:
じ (ji) and
ず (zu) are the modified forms of Shi and Su. The versions derived from Chi (ぢ) and Tsu (づ) exist but are very rare.
Handakuten (Maru)
This is a small circle (゜) that only applies to the H column. It transforms the H sound into P.
Example:
は (ha) becomes
ぱ (pa).
The complete series is: Pa, Pi, Pu, Pe, Po.
Contracted sounds (Yōon)
To form sounds like “Kya”, “Sho” or “Myu”, Japanese combines a consonant in “i” (Ki, Shi, Chi, Ni, Hi, Mi, Ri) with a small hiragana
ya, yu or
yo written at half size.
Look at the size difference:
- きや (kiya): two distinct syllables (Ki – Ya).
- きゃ (kya): one fused syllable (Kya).
Here are some frequent examples:
- しゃ (sha): as in shakai (society).
- ちょ (cho): as in chotto (a little).
- りゅ (ryu): as in ryuugaku (studying abroad).
The small “Tsu” (Sokuon) and rhythm
Japanese is a rhythmic language. The small “tsu” (っ) isn’t pronounced. It indicates a pause of a fraction of a second, creating a doubling of the following consonant. This pause changes the meaning of the word.
Let’s compare:
- さて (sate) = “well then…” (rhythm: sa-te)
- さって (satte) = “to leave” (rhythm: sa-t-te)
You make a sudden stop before pronouncing the following consonant. In rōmaji, this is written by doubling the letter:
gakkou (school),
kippu (ticket).
Long vowels: lengthening the sound
Vowel lengthening is another fundamental aspect. A short vowel and a long vowel can designate two completely different words. The classic example is:
- おばさん (obasan): aunt.
- おばあさん (obaasan): grandmother.
Here are the lengthening rules:
- The A sound is lengthened with あ: おかあさん (okaasan – mother).
- The I sound is lengthened with い: おにいさん (oniisan – big brother).
- The U sound is lengthened with う: くうき (kuuki – air).
- The E sound is generally lengthened with い: せんせい (sensei – teacher). You pronounce “sensay”, not “sensey”.
- The O sound is generally lengthened with う: ありがとう (arigatou – thank you). You pronounce “arigatoo”.
Grammatical exceptions and particles
Three hiragana change pronunciation when used as grammatical particles in a sentence. This is a golden rule to memorise right now.
1.
は (ha) is pronounced “wa”
When it marks the topic of the sentence.
Example:
Watashi wa is written わたし
は.
2.
へ (he) is pronounced “e”
When it indicates direction.
Example:
Nihon e ikimasu (I’m going to Japan) is written にほん
へいきます.
3.
を (wo) is pronounced “o”
This is the direct object marker. Although computer keyboards require typing “wo”, the “w” sound has disappeared from modern Japanese.
Example:
Sushi o taberu (to eat sushi) is written すし
をたべる.
Common visual confusions
Some characters look remarkably similar. Take time to carefully observe the final loop or absence of a stroke to avoid confusing them.
- れ (re) and ね (ne) and わ (wa): The difference lies in the final loop. “Ne” has a closed loop, “Re” has a curve outwards, “Wa” has a curve inwards (like a round belly).
- は (ha) and ほ (ho): “Ho” has an additional horizontal stroke at the top and the vertical stroke doesn’t extend beyond.
- ぬ (nu) and め (me): “Nu” has a loop at the end, “Me” doesn’t.
- さ (sa) and き (ki): “Ki” has two horizontal strokes, “Sa” only has one.
Simple vocabulary for practice
The best way to memorise hiragana isn’t to recite them in isolation, but to read real words. Here’s a progressive list using the rules seen above. Try to read them before looking at the romanisation.
| Japanese |
Reading (Rōmaji) |
English |
| あか |
aka |
Red |
| あお |
ao |
Blue |
| ねこ |
neko |
Cat |
| いぬ |
inu |
Dog |
| さくら |
sakura |
Cherry blossom |
| やま |
yama |
Mountain |
| かわ |
kawa |
River |
| がっこう |
gakkou |
School (with small tsu) |
| きょう |
kyou |
Today (contracted sound) |
| せんせい |
sensei |
Teacher (long vowel) |
To enrich your practice, quickly integrate
basic expressions into your writing routine. Writing “hello” or “thank you” in hiragana anchors memorisation far more effectively than lines of “a, i, u, e, o”.
Writing strategy and stroke order
In Japanese calligraphy, stroke order (kakijun) isn’t a suggestion, it’s a physical rule. Each character has a precise writing direction, generally from top to bottom and left to right.
Following this order guarantees three things:
- Balance: The character will have the correct shape and won’t look “wonky”.
- Fluidity: In rapid writing, the pen naturally positions itself at the beginning of the next stroke.
- Recognition: Handwriting recognition software and native speakers recognise a character by its ductus (movement), even if it’s poorly written.
Take the example of
も (mo). You must first draw the vertical hook, and
then the two horizontal strokes. If you do it the other way round, the character will look strange to Japanese eyes.
Learning hiragana requires regularity. Rather than trying to learn everything in one hour, dedicate 15 minutes a day to one line of the chart (A, then Ka, then Sa…). Write the character whilst pronouncing it aloud. This connection between the hand gesture and the sound of the voice is the secret to permanently engraving these symbols in your memory.
