Katakana Chart
Katakana is the second syllabary. It is used mainly for loanwords, names, onomatopoeia and emphasis. The sounds are identical to hiragana, only the character shapes differ.
Tap a character for stroke order, audio and an example word.
Base characters (gojuon)
The 46 base characters, ordered by vowel and consonant.
Voiced sounds (dakuten and handakuten)
Two strokes (゛) or a small circle (゜) change the consonant.
Combined sounds (yoon)
A small や・ゆ・よ merges with the preceding character into a single sound.
How to learn Katakana fastest
- Learn in rows, not all at once. One consonant row per day is plenty.
- Write each character by hand a few times, it cements the shape.
- Use daily review so what you learn does not fade away again.
- Read simple words as soon as you know a row, not just isolated characters.
Up next
Learn hiragana
Sakuraflow
Practise katakana interactively