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Your complete reference chart for all 46 basic hiragana characters, plus dakuten, handakuten, and combination characters.
Basic Hiragana
Hiragana is the foundation of Japanese writing. These 46 basic characters represent every sound in the Japanese language and are used for native Japanese words, grammatical particles, and verb endings.
| A | I | U | E | O | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
|||
| N | んn |
Dakuten & Handakuten
Dakuten marks turn voiceless consonants into voiced ones: K→G, S→Z, T→D, H→B. Handakuten marks (small circle) turn H-sounds into P-sounds. These modify existing hiragana you already know!
| A | I | U | E | O | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G (K+゛) | がga |
ぎgi |
ぐgu |
げge |
ごgo |
| Z (S+゛) | ざza |
じji |
ずzu |
ぜze |
ぞzo |
| D (T+゛) | だda |
ぢji |
づzu |
でde |
どdo |
| B (H+゛) | ばba |
びbi |
ぶbu |
べbe |
ぼbo |
| P (H+゜) | ぱpa |
ぴpi |
ぷpu |
ぺpe |
ぽpo |
|---|
K → G: The car (か) runs into the guard (が) rail.
S → Z: My saw (さ) just zapped (ざ) me!
T → D: "TADA!" (た & だ)
H → B: Saying "hahaha" (は) at the bar (ば).
H → P: Laugh so much someone punches (ぱ) you!
Combination Hiragana
Combine an I-row kana (き, し, ち, etc.) with a small ゃ, ゅ, or ょ. The I-sound is dropped: き (ki) + ょ = きょ (kyo). The small character is written half-size next to the first kana.
| + ゃ (ya) | + ゅ (yu) | + ょ (yo) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| KY (き+) | きゃkya |
きゅkyu |
きょkyo |
| SH (し+) | しゃsha |
しゅshu |
しょsho |
| CH (ち+) | ちゃcha |
ちゅchu |
ちょcho |
| NY (に+) | にゃnya |
にゅnyu |
にょnyo |
| HY (ひ+) | ひゃhya |
ひゅhyu |
ひょhyo |
| MY (み+) | みゃmya |
みゅmyu |
みょmyo |
| RY (り+) | りゃrya |
りゅryu |
りょryo |
| + ゃ (ya) | + ゅ (yu) | + ょ (yo) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| GY (ぎ+) | ぎゃgya |
ぎゅgyu |
ぎょgyo |
| J (じ+) | じゃja |
じゅju |
じょjo |
| BY (び+) | びゃbya |
びゅbyu |
びょbyo |
| PY (ぴ+) | ぴゃpya |
ぴゅpyu |
ぴょpyo |
A small っ adds a brief pause before the next consonant and doubles it in romaji. Example: いっか = ikka, かっこ = kakko, いった = itta. Listen for the slight "catch" in pronunciation!