Hiragana chart with audio: all 46 characters

What is hiragana?

Hiragana (ひらがな) is one of the three Japanese writing systems, and the most fundamental one. It is a syllabary: instead of letters for individual sounds, each character stands for a whole syllable. か is ka, さ is sa, な is na.

In everyday Japanese, hiragana is used for grammatical endings, particles (the small words that mark the role of each word in a sentence) and for many native words. It is also how children learn to read, and how the pronunciation of difficult kanji is shown in small print above them.

Because hiragana can write every sound in Japanese, it is the foundation for everything that follows. If you are completely new, read our overview of how to start learning Japanese first.

The complete hiragana chart

The chart is organised in rows by consonant and in columns by vowel: a, i, u, e, o. Read it left to right, top to bottom, and you get the traditional order: あいうえお, かきくけこ, and so on. Tap any character to hear it.

Notice that a few characters don’t follow the pattern exactly: し is shi (not si), ち is chi, つ is tsu and ふ is fu. These are simply how Japanese pronounces those sounds. The y-row and w-row have gaps, and ん (n) is the only character that is a single consonant.

Practise with the interactive chart

Reading a chart is not the same as knowing it. Use this grid to test yourself: look at each character, say its sound out loud, then tap to check.

Dakuten and handakuten: 25 more sounds

Two small marks at the top right of a character change its sound. The dakuten (゛), two short strokes, makes a consonant voiced: k becomes g, s becomes z, t becomes d, h becomes b. The handakuten (゜), a small circle, turns h into p.

ぢ and づ sound the same as じ and ず and are rare. You’ll mostly see them in a few specific words, like はなぢ (hanaji, nosebleed).

Combination sounds (yōon)

When a character from the i-column is followed by a small ゃ, ゅ or ょ, the two merge into one syllable. き + small ゃ becomes きゃ (kya). Size matters here: きや with a full-size や is two syllables, ki-ya.

You already know one of these words: とうきょう (Tōkyō) uses きょ.

Small っ and long vowels

Two more rules complete the picture:

• A small っ doubles the following consonant and creates a tiny pause: きって (kitte, stamp) vs. きて (kite, come).
• Long vowels are written by adding a vowel: おかあさん (okāsan, mother), おにいさん (onīsan, older brother). A long o is usually written with う: ありがとう (arigatō).

Both change the meaning of words, so it pays to hear the difference early. Our pronunciation guide has audio examples.

How to learn hiragana in two weeks

Here’s a plan that works for most beginners, at around 15 to 20 minutes a day:

Try day one right here:

Memory tricks that actually help

Mnemonics, little pictures that link the shape to the sound, make the first few days much easier. A few examples:

• い (i) looks like two eels swimming side by side.
• く (ku) looks like the open beak of a cuckoo.
• し (shi) looks like a fishing hook: she went fishing.
• ね (ne) is a cat curled up with its tail. And ねこ is cat.
• へ (he) is a little mountain you climb to catch your breath: “heh”.

Does stroke order matter?

If you want to write by hand, yes. Stroke order makes your handwriting look natural and makes kanji much easier later. The general rules are simple: top to bottom, left to right, horizontal strokes before vertical ones that cross them.

If you mainly want to read and type, you can focus on recognition first. Writing each character a few times still helps your memory, even if you never write Japanese by hand again.

What comes after hiragana?

Once you can read the chart without hesitating, move on to katakana, which uses the same sounds with different shapes, and start learning everyday phrases written in hiragana. You’ll be surprised how quickly you can read real Japanese.

Frequently asked questions