Hiragana chart and guide.

Small っ and long vowels

A small っ doubles the next consonant (きって kitte). A repeated vowel is held twice as long (おかあさん okaasan).

What is hiragana used for?

• Japanese words that have no kanji, or whose kanji you have not learned yet.
• Grammar endings and particles, such as the ます in 食べます and the は, を and に in a sentence.
• Furigana: small hiragana printed over kanji to show how they are read, in children’s books and beginner material.

How to learn hiragana, step by step

1. Learn the five vowels あ い う え お first: every other sound is built on them.
2. Take one row a day. The basic chart has ten rows, so it takes about ten days, then two or three more for the marks and combinations.
3. Say each sound out loud as you write it, and read the practice words below, not only single letters.
4. Revise the earlier rows every day before you start a new one.
5. Start katakana once you can read hiragana words without the chart.

Tips for each row

• Vowels: The five vowels. Every other sound is built on them.
• K row: K plus each vowel.
• S row: し is read "shi", not "si".
• T row: ち is "chi" and つ is "tsu".
• N row: N plus each vowel.
• H row: ふ is between "fu" and "hu".
• M row: M plus each vowel.
• Y row: Only three: ya, yu, yo.
• R row: The Japanese r is a light tap, between r and l.
• W row: を is only used as a particle. ん is the only sound that is just a consonant.
• Dakuten: Two small marks (゛) make a sound voiced: か ka → が ga. ぢ and づ are rare; you will mostly see じ and ず.
• Dakuten and handakuten: ゛ turns は ha into ば ba; the small circle ゜ turns it into ぱ pa.
• Combos: A small ゃ ゅ ょ after an i-sound kana joins them into one beat: き + ゃ = きゃ kya.
• Combos: The same small ゃ ゅ ょ, after m, r and the voiced sounds.
• Small: A small っ doubles the next consonant (きって kitte). A repeated vowel is held twice as long (おかあさん okaasan).