Katakana character chart
Learn katakana characters, small kana, long-vowel and consonant marks, and the extra combinations used for foreign loanwords.
Practice Katakana flashcardsThe collection includes all 46 modern basic kana, 25 voiced or semi-voiced forms, and 36 combination spellings. The three d-series combinations are rare and labeled. Extra collections explain small forms and reading marks, including 33 loanword forms.
Small っ / ッ holds the next consonant for one beat. The katakana mark ー extends the previous vowel. Neither has a fixed standalone vowel sound. Historical kana and Ainu-specific forms are outside this Japanese collection.
Vowels
| Character | Reading | Memory note |
|---|---|---|
| ア | a | The “a” sound |
| イ | i | The “i” sound |
| ウ | u | The “u” sound |
| エ | e | The “e” sound |
| オ | o | The “o” sound |
K row
| Character | Reading | Memory note |
|---|---|---|
| カ | ka | The “ka” sound |
| キ | ki | The “ki” sound |
| ク | ku | The “ku” sound |
| ケ | ke | The “ke” sound |
| コ | ko | The “ko” sound |
S row
| Character | Reading | Memory note |
|---|---|---|
| サ | sa | The “sa” sound |
| シ | shi | The “shi” sound |
| ス | su | The “su” sound |
| セ | se | The “se” sound |
| ソ | so | The “so” sound |
T row
| Character | Reading | Memory note |
|---|---|---|
| タ | ta | The “ta” sound |
| チ | chi | The “chi” sound |
| ツ | tsu | The “tsu” sound |
| テ | te | The “te” sound |
| ト | to | The “to” sound |
N row
| Character | Reading | Memory note |
|---|---|---|
| ナ | na | The “na” sound |
| ニ | ni | The “ni” sound |
| ヌ | nu | The “nu” sound |
| ネ | ne | The “ne” sound |
| ノ | no | The “no” sound |
H row
| Character | Reading | Memory note |
|---|---|---|
| ハ | ha | The “ha” sound |
| ヒ | hi | The “hi” sound |
| フ | fu | The “fu” sound |
| ヘ | he | The “he” sound |
| ホ | ho | The “ho” sound |
M row
| Character | Reading | Memory note |
|---|---|---|
| マ | ma | The “ma” sound |
| ミ | mi | The “mi” sound |
| ム | mu | The “mu” sound |
| メ | me | The “me” sound |
| モ | mo | The “mo” sound |
Y row
| Character | Reading | Memory note |
|---|---|---|
| ヤ | ya | The “ya” sound |
| ユ | yu | The “yu” sound |
| ヨ | yo | The “yo” sound |
R row
| Character | Reading | Memory note |
|---|---|---|
| ラ | ra | The “ra” sound |
| リ | ri | The “ri” sound |
| ル | ru | The “ru” sound |
| レ | re | The “re” sound |
| ロ | ro | The “ro” sound |
W row & n
| Character | Reading | Memory note |
|---|---|---|
| ワ | wa | The “wa” sound |
| ヲ | o | Pronounced o in modern Japanese; wo is a traditional chart/input spelling. |
| ン | n | The syllabic nasal sound |
Voiced · G
| Character | Reading | Memory note |
|---|---|---|
| ガ | ga | The “ga” sound |
| ギ | gi | The “gi” sound |
| グ | gu | The “gu” sound |
| ゲ | ge | The “ge” sound |
| ゴ | go | The “go” sound |
Voiced · Z
| Character | Reading | Memory note |
|---|---|---|
| ザ | za | The “za” sound |
| ジ | ji | The “ji” sound |
| ズ | zu | The “zu” sound |
| ゼ | ze | The “ze” sound |
| ゾ | zo | The “zo” sound |
Voiced · D
| Character | Reading | Memory note |
|---|---|---|
| ダ | da | The “da” sound |
| ヂ | ji | Pronounced ji; じ / ジ is the usual spelling. |
| ヅ | zu | Pronounced zu; ず / ズ is the usual spelling. |
| デ | de | The “de” sound |
| ド | do | The “do” sound |
Voiced · B
| Character | Reading | Memory note |
|---|---|---|
| バ | ba | The “ba” sound |
| ビ | bi | The “bi” sound |
| ブ | bu | The “bu” sound |
| ベ | be | The “be” sound |
| ボ | bo | The “bo” sound |
Semi-voiced · P
| Character | Reading | Memory note |
|---|---|---|
| パ | pa | The “pa” sound |
| ピ | pi | The “pi” sound |
| プ | pu | The “pu” sound |
| ペ | pe | The “pe” sound |
| ポ | po | The “po” sound |
Combination sounds
| Character | Reading | Memory note |
|---|---|---|
| キャ | kya | A combined “kya” sound |
| キュ | kyu | A combined “kyu” sound |
| キョ | kyo | A combined “kyo” sound |
| シャ | sha | A combined “sha” sound |
| シュ | shu | A combined “shu” sound |
| ショ | sho | A combined “sho” sound |
| チャ | cha | A combined “cha” sound |
| チュ | chu | A combined “chu” sound |
| チョ | cho | A combined “cho” sound |
| ニャ | nya | A combined “nya” sound |
| ニュ | nyu | A combined “nyu” sound |
| ニョ | nyo | A combined “nyo” sound |
| ヒャ | hya | A combined “hya” sound |
| ヒュ | hyu | A combined “hyu” sound |
| ヒョ | hyo | A combined “hyo” sound |
| ミャ | mya | A combined “mya” sound |
| ミュ | myu | A combined “myu” sound |
| ミョ | myo | A combined “myo” sound |
| リャ | rya | A combined “rya” sound |
| リュ | ryu | A combined “ryu” sound |
| リョ | ryo | A combined “ryo” sound |
| ギャ | gya | A combined “gya” sound |
| ギュ | gyu | A combined “gyu” sound |
| ギョ | gyo | A combined “gyo” sound |
| ジャ | ja | A combined “ja” sound |
| ジュ | ju | A combined “ju” sound |
| ジョ | jo | A combined “jo” sound |
| ヂャ | ja | A rare spelling of the “ja” sound; じゃ / ジャ, じゅ / ジュ, じょ / ジョ are usual. |
| ヂュ | ju | A rare spelling of the “ju” sound; じゃ / ジャ, じゅ / ジュ, じょ / ジョ are usual. |
| ヂョ | jo | A rare spelling of the “jo” sound; じゃ / ジャ, じゅ / ジュ, じょ / ジョ are usual. |
| ビャ | bya | A combined “bya” sound |
| ビュ | byu | A combined “byu” sound |
| ビョ | byo | A combined “byo” sound |
| ピャ | pya | A combined “pya” sound |
| ピュ | pyu | A combined “pyu” sound |
| ピョ | pyo | A combined “pyo” sound |
Small kana
| Character | Reading | Memory note |
|---|---|---|
| ァ | small a | A small kana used with another kana; read it in context. |
| ィ | small i | A small kana used with another kana; read it in context. |
| ゥ | small u | A small kana used with another kana; read it in context. |
| ェ | small e | A small kana used with another kana; read it in context. |
| ォ | small o | A small kana used with another kana; read it in context. |
| ャ | small ya | A small kana used with another kana; read it in context. |
| ュ | small yu | A small kana used with another kana; read it in context. |
| ョ | small yo | A small kana used with another kana; read it in context. |
| ヮ | small wa | A less common small kana. Its pronunciation depends on the word. |
| ヵ | small ka | A less common small kana. Its pronunciation depends on the word. |
| ヶ | small ke | A less common small kana. Its pronunciation depends on the word. |
Reading marks
| Character | Reading | Memory note |
|---|---|---|
| ッ | double consonant | Hold the following consonant for one extra beat; this is not the sound tsu. |
| ー | long vowel | Extend the preceding vowel by one beat. The vowel depends on the word. |
| ヽ | repeat kana | Repeat the preceding unvoiced katakana. This mark has no sound by itself. |
| ヾ | repeat with voicing | Repeat the preceding katakana with a voiced consonant. This mark has no sound by itself. |
Loanword sounds
| Character | Reading | Memory note |
|---|---|---|
| シェ | she | A combination used to represent a foreign loanword sound. |
| ジェ | je | A combination used to represent a foreign loanword sound. |
| チェ | che | A combination used to represent a foreign loanword sound. |
| ティ | ti | A combination used to represent a foreign loanword sound. |
| トゥ | tu | A combination used to represent a foreign loanword sound. |
| テュ | tyu | A combination used to represent a foreign loanword sound. |
| ディ | di | A combination used to represent a foreign loanword sound. |
| ドゥ | du | A combination used to represent a foreign loanword sound. |
| デュ | dyu | A combination used to represent a foreign loanword sound. |
| イェ | ye | A combination used to represent a foreign loanword sound. |
| ウィ | wi | A combination used to represent a foreign loanword sound. |
| ウェ | we | A combination used to represent a foreign loanword sound. |
| ウォ | wo | A combination used to represent a foreign loanword sound. |
| ファ | fa | A combination used to represent a foreign loanword sound. |
| フィ | fi | A combination used to represent a foreign loanword sound. |
| フェ | fe | A combination used to represent a foreign loanword sound. |
| フォ | fo | A combination used to represent a foreign loanword sound. |
| フュ | fyu | A combination used to represent a foreign loanword sound. |
| ツァ | tsa | A combination used to represent a foreign loanword sound. |
| ツィ | tsi | A combination used to represent a foreign loanword sound. |
| ツェ | tse | A combination used to represent a foreign loanword sound. |
| ツォ | tso | A combination used to represent a foreign loanword sound. |
| クァ | kwa | A combination used to represent a foreign loanword sound. |
| クィ | kwi | A combination used to represent a foreign loanword sound. |
| クェ | kwe | A combination used to represent a foreign loanword sound. |
| クォ | kwo | A combination used to represent a foreign loanword sound. |
| グァ | gwa | A combination used to represent a foreign loanword sound. |
| ヴァ | va | A v-series loanword spelling; many speakers pronounce it like the corresponding b sound. |
| ヴィ | vi | A v-series loanword spelling; many speakers pronounce it like the corresponding b sound. |
| ヴ | vu | A v-series loanword spelling; many speakers pronounce it like the corresponding b sound. |
| ヴェ | ve | A v-series loanword spelling; many speakers pronounce it like the corresponding b sound. |
| ヴォ | vo | A v-series loanword spelling; many speakers pronounce it like the corresponding b sound. |
| ヴュ | vyu | A v-series loanword spelling; many speakers pronounce it like the corresponding b sound. |
How to memorize these characters
Choose the matching reading from four options and check the instant feedback. Correct answers advance the review interval; missed characters appear once in an end review after all original questions. First-pass accuracy is kept separate from end-review results. Use scheduled reviews or free practice without changing review dates. Progress stays in your browser; export a backup to move devices.