KANA: Definitive Guide to Hiragana and Katakana - Japanese Alphabet

In this article, we are going to see a Definitive Guide to Hiragana and Katakana, you will get to know the basics of the Japanese alphabet and I will even recommend the real definitive guide at the beginning of this article. That's right! Kana: Definitive Guide to Hiragana and Katakana!

What is Hiragana and Katakana?

Have you ever wondered what the Japanese alphabet looks like? How does it work? The Japanese language has a syllabic script, where letters are actually syllables that form words.

These syllables are written using Hiragana, a set of 46 simple ideograms that form the 109 syllables present in the Japanese language.

The problem is that the Japanese alphabet doesn't have just Hiragana, there is another set of ideograms that form 109 syllables called Katakana.

There is also a huge number of more complex ideograms that are usually from 1 to 3 syllables and form whole words called Kanji. Let's get to know these Japanese alphabet writings now.

The good thing about the Japanese alphabet is that because it is made up of syllables, it increases reading and speaking speed. Another very good thing about Japanese is that the pronunciation of syllables doesn't change like Portuguese where the S has a Z sound and things like that.

There are no accents other than Dakuten which is actually a complete alteration of the lyrics.

Types of writing in the Japanese alphabet

Hiragana – 平仮名: It is used for all words for which there is no kanji, or it exists but is rarely used. It is also used to replace the kanji and in the endings of verbs and adjectives. (あいうえおかきくけこ)

Katakana – 片仮名: Katakana is used to write common and proper names of foreign, mainly Western origin, onomatopoeias, technical words, slang and scientific names of plants and animals. (アイウエオカキクケコ)

Kanji – 漢字: They are ideograms of Chinese origin, which are used in numerous Japanese words. We won't go into details about kanji in this article.

Romaji - As we call Japanese written using our Roman letters. It's a transliteration of the Japanese alphabet into our own.

How did 46 letters become 109 sounds?

The truth is that there are 46 drawings that form syllables, but there are elements used as diacritics in Japanese, responsible for changing the sound of the letter. Do not worry, there are few:

• handakuten or maru – ゜ – a small circle, similar to the degree symbol. (は = ぱ);
• Dakuten or ten-ten – ゛ - It looks like a quotation mark. (か = が);
• Sokuon (っ) -a small tsu. It serves to extend the sound between 2 hiragana. (だって);
• Ya Yu Yo - small, used to make sounds like: Kya Nya, etc. (ぴゅ/ニャ);

Each of them can modify the Hiragana sound in a different way. In the list of characters below you will find the usage of Handakuten and Dakuten. You will also see combinations with Hiragana.

We recommend reading: Dakuten and handakuten – Japanese quotes

Questions about Hiragana and Katakana

Over the years, Suki Desu has written numerous articles answering questions about the Hiragana and Katakana alphabet. I decided to briefly summarize these doubts and add the articles that address them in detail.

What is Hiragana and Small Katakana for?

The small hiragana used to be used in syllables like wi (うぃ), we (ウェ), vi (ヴィ), ve (ヴェ), je (じぇ), fa (ファ) and others. Nowadays, these syllables are rarely used, with the use remaining only for the small TSU [っ], used to elongate syllables. 

The small tsu is called Sokuon [促音] which indicates a double sound of a consonant or a pause or cut in the pronunciation. Unfortunately, only kana アイウエオあいうえどうつやゆよ can get small.

For more information, read the article: How to Use and Type Small Hiragana and Katakana

Can I use Hiragana and Katakana in the same word?

We know that the alphabets are written together, but in different words except the characters with hiragana. And the Katakana? Can it be mixed into a hiragana word or vice versa? Yes, but it's rare and impossible and usually breaks the rules of Japanese.

There are some created verbs that mix katakana with a hiragana ending, such as in the case of going to Starbucks, which is said as "Sutabaru" [スタバる]. Not to mention that a single word can be written in both hiragana and katakana. 

For more information, read the article: Can I use hiragana and katakana in the same word?

Kanji or Hiragana? When to know Which to use?

There is no way to know how or which to use. If the word is usually written with Kanji and Hiragana, it's up to you how to choose. All words can be written with Hiragana or Kanji, except those that are of foreign origin or verbs and adjectives that use both spellings in their composition.

Still, you may be able to write a verb or adjective entirely in hiragana, without the kanji, but you can't write it entirely in kanji. It all depends on the context, the words of the text, the message you want to convey, there is no right or wrong.

The purpose of Kanji is to prevent people from getting lost when reading a word, because of the numerous words with the same hiragana script. By studying Japanese you will understand which words are usually written in hiragana, even though there is kanji. Through reading and contacting the language, you will understand how words are natively written by the Japanese.

How to distinguish Similar Katakana? [シンツソ]

Many when learning katakana get confused with [シンツソ]. The truth is, only time and practice can help you discern these diabolical similarities. Some apply the following tip to help memorize:

• シ – Shi is a girl looking into the eyes of tsu.
• ツ – Tsu is a boy looking down.
• So – Winking “so“
• ン – A thinking about it “NNNNN… I don’t think like that.”
• ノ – Closed eyes “noooooooooooooo!”

We recommend reading our article: Distinguishing Similar Katakana

Hiragana Table – ひらがな

あ a	い i	う u	え e	お o
か ka	き ki	く ku	け ke	こ ko
が ga	ぎ gi	ぐ gu	げ ge	ご go
さ sa	し shi	す su	せ se	そ so
ざ za	じ ji	ず zu	ぜ ze	ぞ zo
た ta	ち chi	つ tsu	て te	と to
だ da	ぢ ji	づ zu	で de	ど do
な na	に ni	ぬ nu	ね ne	の no
は ha	ひ hi	ふ fu	へ he	ほ ho
ば ba	び bi	ぶ bu	べ be	ぼ bo
ぱ pa	ぴ pi	ぷ pu	ぺ pe	ぽ po
ま ma	み mi	む mu	め me	も mo
や ya		ゆ yu		よ yo
ら ra	り ri	る ru	れ re	ろ ro
わ wa	を wo	ん n/m

Hiragana Japanese alphabet combinations

きゃ kya	きゅ kyu	きょ kyo
ぎゃ gya	ぎゅ gyu	ぎょ gyo
しゃ sha	しゅ shu	しょ sho
じゃ ja	じゅ ju	じょ jo
ちゃ cha	ちゅ chu	ちょ cho
にゃ nya	にゅ nyu	にょ nyo
ひゃ hya	ひゅ hyu	ひょ hyo
びゃ bya	びゅ byu	びょ byo
ぴゃ pya	ぴゅ pyu	ぴょ pyo
みゃ mya	みゅ myu	みょ myo
りゃ rya	りゅ ryu	りょ ryo

Katakana table – カタカナ

ア a	イ i	ウ u	エ e	オ o
カ ka	キ ki	ク ku	ケ ke	コ ko
ガ ga	ギ gi	グ gu	ゲ ge	ゴ go
サ sa	シ shi	ス su	セ se	ソ so
ザ za	ジ ji	ズ zu	ゼ ze	ゾ zo
タ ta	チ chi	ツ tsu	テ te	ト to
ダ da	ヂ ji	ヅ zu	デ de	ド do
ナ na	ニ ni	ヌ nu	ネ ne	ノ no
ハ ha	ヒ hi	フ fu	ヘ he	ホ ho
バ ba	ビ bi	ブ bu	ベ be	ボ bo
パ pa	ピ pi	プ pu	ペ pe	ポ po
マ ma	ミ mi	ム mu	メ me	モ mo
ヤ ya		ユ yu		ヨ yo
ラ ra	リ ri	ル ru	レ re	ロ ro
ワ wa	ヲ wo	ン n/m

Katakana Japanese alphabet combinations

キャ kya	キュ kyu	キョ kyo
ギャ gya	ギュ gyu	ギョ gyo
シャ sha	シュ shu	ショ sho
ジャ ja	ジュ ju	ジョ jo
チャ cha	チュ chu	チョ cho
ニャ nya	ニュ nyu	ニョ nyo
ヒャ hya	ヒュ hyu	ヒョ hyo
ビャ bya	ビュ byu	ビョ byo
ピャ pya	ピュ pyu	ピョ pyo
ミャ mya	ミュ myu	ミョ myo
リャ rya	リュ ryu	リョ ryo

Videos to decorate hiragana and katakana

What is the right way to write the Japanese alphabet? How will I decorate all this? Firstly, we ask that you focus on memorizing the meaning of these characters. We have also prepared some videos to help with this task;

The video below teaches the pronunciation of Hiragana and also helps to memorize it:

The Video below from our channel teaches you how to write the Japanese alphabet Hiragana:

What do you think of the Japanese alphabet? Already learned? We appreciate the comments and shares that help a lot.