Hiragana chart: all 46 characters with stroke order
Hiragana is the basic Japanese script. Every sound in Japanese can be written with it, and it is the first script children learn at school. This page shows the full chart with romaji, the stroke order of all 46 characters, and the extra sounds made with ゛, ゜ and small ゃ ゅ ょ.
Hiragana chart
Read the chart row by row: a vowel row, then each consonant with a, i, u, e, o. Tap a character to see how to write it.
| 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o (wo) | |||
| んn |
Press ▶ to hear each sound. Audio plays with a free account.
Stroke order for all 46 characters
Open a character to see each stroke in order. The red stroke is the one to write next, and the dot shows where it starts.
あ a 3 strokes
あ is written in 3 strokes. The red stroke is the one to write next, and the dot shows where it starts.
い i 2 strokes
い is written in 2 strokes. The red stroke is the one to write next, and the dot shows where it starts.
う u 2 strokes
う is written in 2 strokes. The red stroke is the one to write next, and the dot shows where it starts.
え e 2 strokes
え is written in 2 strokes. The red stroke is the one to write next, and the dot shows where it starts.
お o 3 strokes
お is written in 3 strokes. The red stroke is the one to write next, and the dot shows where it starts.
か ka 3 strokes
か is written in 3 strokes. The red stroke is the one to write next, and the dot shows where it starts.
き ki 4 strokes
き is written in 4 strokes. The red stroke is the one to write next, and the dot shows where it starts.
く ku 1 strokes
く is written in 1 strokes. The red stroke is the one to write next, and the dot shows where it starts.
け ke 3 strokes
け is written in 3 strokes. The red stroke is the one to write next, and the dot shows where it starts.
こ ko 2 strokes
こ is written in 2 strokes. The red stroke is the one to write next, and the dot shows where it starts.
さ sa 3 strokes
さ is written in 3 strokes. The red stroke is the one to write next, and the dot shows where it starts.
し shi 1 strokes
し is written in 1 strokes. The red stroke is the one to write next, and the dot shows where it starts.
す su 2 strokes
す is written in 2 strokes. The red stroke is the one to write next, and the dot shows where it starts.
せ se 3 strokes
せ is written in 3 strokes. The red stroke is the one to write next, and the dot shows where it starts.
そ so 1 strokes
そ is written in 1 strokes. The red stroke is the one to write next, and the dot shows where it starts.
た ta 4 strokes
た is written in 4 strokes. The red stroke is the one to write next, and the dot shows where it starts.
ち chi 2 strokes
ち is written in 2 strokes. The red stroke is the one to write next, and the dot shows where it starts.
つ tsu 1 strokes
つ is written in 1 strokes. The red stroke is the one to write next, and the dot shows where it starts.
て te 1 strokes
て is written in 1 strokes. The red stroke is the one to write next, and the dot shows where it starts.
と to 2 strokes
と is written in 2 strokes. The red stroke is the one to write next, and the dot shows where it starts.
な na 4 strokes
な is written in 4 strokes. The red stroke is the one to write next, and the dot shows where it starts.
に ni 3 strokes
に is written in 3 strokes. The red stroke is the one to write next, and the dot shows where it starts.
ぬ nu 2 strokes
ぬ is written in 2 strokes. The red stroke is the one to write next, and the dot shows where it starts.
ね ne 2 strokes
ね is written in 2 strokes. The red stroke is the one to write next, and the dot shows where it starts.
の no 1 strokes
の is written in 1 strokes. The red stroke is the one to write next, and the dot shows where it starts.
は ha 3 strokes
は is written in 3 strokes. The red stroke is the one to write next, and the dot shows where it starts.
ひ hi 1 strokes
ひ is written in 1 strokes. The red stroke is the one to write next, and the dot shows where it starts.
ふ fu 4 strokes
ふ is written in 4 strokes. The red stroke is the one to write next, and the dot shows where it starts.
へ he 1 strokes
へ is written in 1 strokes. The red stroke is the one to write next, and the dot shows where it starts.
ほ ho 4 strokes
ほ is written in 4 strokes. The red stroke is the one to write next, and the dot shows where it starts.
ま ma 3 strokes
ま is written in 3 strokes. The red stroke is the one to write next, and the dot shows where it starts.
み mi 2 strokes
み is written in 2 strokes. The red stroke is the one to write next, and the dot shows where it starts.
む mu 3 strokes
む is written in 3 strokes. The red stroke is the one to write next, and the dot shows where it starts.
め me 2 strokes
め is written in 2 strokes. The red stroke is the one to write next, and the dot shows where it starts.
も mo 3 strokes
も is written in 3 strokes. The red stroke is the one to write next, and the dot shows where it starts.
や ya 3 strokes
や is written in 3 strokes. The red stroke is the one to write next, and the dot shows where it starts.
ゆ yu 2 strokes
ゆ is written in 2 strokes. The red stroke is the one to write next, and the dot shows where it starts.
よ yo 2 strokes
よ is written in 2 strokes. The red stroke is the one to write next, and the dot shows where it starts.
ら ra 2 strokes
ら is written in 2 strokes. The red stroke is the one to write next, and the dot shows where it starts.
り ri 2 strokes
り is written in 2 strokes. The red stroke is the one to write next, and the dot shows where it starts.
る ru 1 strokes
る is written in 1 strokes. The red stroke is the one to write next, and the dot shows where it starts.
れ re 2 strokes
れ is written in 2 strokes. The red stroke is the one to write next, and the dot shows where it starts.
ろ ro 1 strokes
ろ is written in 1 strokes. The red stroke is the one to write next, and the dot shows where it starts.
わ wa 2 strokes
わ is written in 2 strokes. The red stroke is the one to write next, and the dot shows where it starts.
を o (wo) 3 strokes
を is written in 3 strokes. The red stroke is the one to write next, and the dot shows where it starts.
ん n 1 strokes
ん is written in 1 strokes. The red stroke is the one to write next, and the dot shows where it starts.
Voiced sounds: ゛ and ゜
Two small marks change the sound. ゛ (dakuten) makes k into g, s into z, t into d and h into b. ゜ (handakuten) makes h into p.
| a | i | u | e | o | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| g- | がga | ぎgi | ぐgu | げge | ごgo |
| z- | ざza | じji | ずzu | ぜze | ぞzo |
| d- | だda | ぢji | づzu | でde | どdo |
| b- | ばba | びbi | ぶbu | べbe | ぼbo |
| p- | ぱpa | ぴpi | ぷpu | ぺpe | ぽpo |
ぢ and づ sound the same as じ and ず. They appear in only a few words.
Combined sounds (yōon)
A character from the i column followed by a small ゃ, ゅ or ょ makes one combined sound, such as きゃ (kya).
| +ya | +yu | +yo | |
|---|---|---|---|
| き | きゃkya | きゅkyu | きょkyo |
| し | しゃsha | しゅshu | しょsho |
| ち | ちゃcha | ちゅchu | ちょcho |
| に | にゃnya | にゅnyu | にょnyo |
| ひ | ひゃhya | ひゅhyu | ひょhyo |
| み | みゃmya | みゅmyu | みょmyo |
| り | りゃrya | りゅryu | りょryo |
| ぎ | ぎゃgya | ぎゅgyu | ぎょgyo |
| じ | じゃja | じゅju | じょjo |
| び | びゃbya | びゅbyu | びょbyo |
| ぴ | ぴゃpya | ぴゅpyu | ぴょpyo |
Small っ, long vowels and three particles
Small っ: a short pause
A small っ doubles the next consonant. You hold the sound for a moment before it.
Long vowels
Hiragana writes a long vowel with an extra vowel. The sounds ou and ei are usually pronounced as a long ō and ē.
Characters that look alike
- さ / ちさ ends with a curve that opens to the right. ち ends with a curve that opens to the left, like the bottom of a 5.
- き / さき has two horizontal strokes at the top. さ has one.
- ぬ / めぬ ends with a small loop at the bottom right. め has no loop.
- ね / れBoth start with the same vertical stroke. ね ends in a loop, and れ ends with a tail that kicks out to the right.
- れ / わわ ends with a round curve that turns down. れ ends with a tail that kicks out to the right.
- は / ほほ has two horizontal strokes on the right side. は has one.
- る / ろる has a loop at the bottom. ろ does not.
- い / りIn い the two strokes are about the same length. In り the right stroke is much longer and curves down.
First words to read
These everyday words are often written in hiragana while you learn. Where a kanji page exists, you can open it.
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| あめame | rain in kanji: 雨 |
| いぬinu | dog in kanji: 犬 |
| うみumi | sea in kanji: 海 |
| かわkawa | river in kanji: 川 |
| さかなsakana | fish in kanji: 魚 |
| そらsora | sky in kanji: 空 |
| てte | hand in kanji: 手 |
| なまえnamae | name in kanji: 名前 |
| はなhana | flower in kanji: 花 |
| ひとhito | person in kanji: 人 |
| みずmizu | water in kanji: 水 |
| やまyama | mountain in kanji: 山 |
| よるyoru | night in kanji: 夜 |
| くるまkuruma | car in kanji: 車 |
| でんわdenwa | telephone in kanji: 電話 |
Questions about hiragana
How many hiragana are there?
There are 46 basic hiragana. Adding ゛ and ゜ makes 25 more sounds, such as が and ぱ, and adding a small ゃ, ゅ or ょ makes 33 combined sounds, such as きゃ. Two old characters, ゐ and ゑ, are no longer used in everyday writing.
Should I learn hiragana or katakana first?
Most learners start with hiragana, because it is used for grammar endings, particles and words written without kanji. Katakana uses the same sounds, so it is quicker to learn after hiragana.
Why is は sometimes read "wa"?
When は is the topic particle, as in わたしは (watashi wa), it is read wa. In the same way, the particle へ is read e and the particle を is read o. In other words, such as はな (hana), they keep their normal sounds.
What is the difference between hiragana, katakana and kanji?
Hiragana and katakana each write one sound per character. Hiragana is used for Japanese words and grammar, katakana mainly for words from other languages and foreign names, and kanji carry meaning as well as sound.
Keep going
Sources
- Stroke order diagrams are based on KanjiVG by Ulrich Apel, used under CC BY-SA 3.0. The diagrams on this page are shared under the same license.