In this article, we will teach you how to learn the main Japanese alphabet Hiragana, used to write most words in the Japanese language. We will also look at its history, origin, curiosities, and peculiarities.
The Japanese language consists of 3 alphabets: Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji. This article focuses only on Hiragana, but we recommend you also read the other articles below:
- KANA: Definitive Guide to Hiragana and Katakana – Japanese Alphabet
- 13 Tips to Learn the Japanese Alphabet Hiragana and Katakana
Table of Contents
What is Hiragana?
Hiragana is one of the three Japanese writing systems, consisting of 46 characters that represent syllables in the Japanese language. In total, 107 syllables are formed from the 46 Hiragana characters, including syllables with prolonged vowels and syllables with the particles “ya”, “yu”, and “yo”.
The most commonly used Hiragana in Japanese are those that make up grammatical particles and auxiliary verbs, which are fundamental for constructing sentences in Japanese.
In the process of learning the Japanese language, Hiragana is generally one of the first writing systems that students learn. Hiragana is often used in texts for beginners, children’s books, and other educational materials for Japanese learners. It is also used for writing many names of places, foods, and other Japanese objects.
The Hiragana Alphabet
See below an image and a list with the complete Hiragana alphabet, including modifications made with prolonged vowels, dakuten, and handakuten.
Complete Hiragana Table
| a | i | u | e | o | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 (wo) | |||
| N | ん (n) |
Table of Dakuten and Handakuten:
| a | i | u | e | o | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| k | が (ga) | ぎ (gi) | ぐ (gu) | げ (ge) | ご (go) |
| s | ざ (za) | じ (ji) | ず (zu) | ぜ (ze) | ぞ (zo) |
| t | だ (da) | ぢ (ji) | づ (zu) | で (de) | ど (do) |
| h | ば (ba) | び (bi) | ぶ (bu) | べ (be) | ぼ (bo) |
| p | ぱ (pa) | ぴ (pi) | ぷ (pu) | ぺ (pe) | ぽ (po) |
Table of Kya, Kyo, Kyo and similar:
| a | i | u | e | o | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| k | きゃ (kya) | きぃ (kyi) | きゅ (kyu) | きぇ (kye) | きょ (kyo) |
| g | ぎゃ (gya) | ぎぃ (gyi) | ぎゅ (gyu) | ぎぇ (gye) | ぎょ (gyo) |
| s | しゃ (sha) | し (shi) | しゅ (shu) | しぇ (she) | しょ (sho) |
| z | じゃ (ja) | じぃ (ji) | じゅ (ju) | じぇ (je) | じょ (jo) |
| t | ちゃ (cha) | ちぃ (chi) | ちゅ (chu) | ちぇ (che) | ちょ (cho) |
| d | ぢゃ (ja) | ぢぃ (ji) | ぢゅ (ju) | ぢぇ (je) | ぢょ (jo) |
| n | にゃ (nya) | にぃ (nyi) | にゅ (nyu) | にぇ (nye) | にょ (nyo) |
| h | ひゃ (hya) | ひぃ (hyi) | ひゅ (hyu) | ひぇ (hye) | ひょ (hyo) |
| b | びゃ (bya) | びぃ (byi) | びゅ (byu) | びぇ (bye) | びょ (byo) |
| p | ぴゃ (pya) | ぴぃ (pyi) | ぴゅ (pyu) | ぴぇ (pye) | ぴょ (pyo) |
We also recommend reading: Hiragana and Katakana in disuse ゐ ゑ 𛀁 ヰ ヱ
The History of Hiragana
Hiragana is a syllabic writing system that originated in Japan around the 9th century AD.
Before Hiragana, Japanese writing was done exclusively in Kanji, which are Chinese characters adapted to the Japanese language. However, Kanji did not represent the syllables of the Japanese language, making it difficult for ordinary people to write and read texts.
It was then that Hiragana was developed by women of the Japanese court, who began to use Kanji to represent the syllables of Japanese. Initially, Hiragana was called “onna-de” or “women’s writing,” because it was primarily used by women of the nobility.
Over time, the use of Hiragana spread, and it became a widely used writing system. Additionally, it was expanded with new characters, including some derived from Kanji, and became a fundamental part of Japanese writing.
Nowadays, Hiragana is one of the first writing systems that Japanese children learn in school and is widely used in Japanese texts, especially in informal texts, such as personal letters, diaries, and text messages.
When is Hiragana Used?
Hiragana is primarily used to write words of Japanese origin and for grammar, since many Japanese words are written in Kanji, it is common to use Hiragana to facilitate the writing of these words.
Hiragana is mainly used to write grammatical particles, auxiliary verbs, and other grammatical function words that cannot be written in Kanji.
Any word in the Japanese language can be written using Hiragana, but it is not recommended to use only Hiragana; if we used only Hiragana, all text would be completely meaningless, as Japanese has many words with the same pronunciation.
Throughout your studies of the Japanese language, you will know which words are commonly written using Hiragana and which would sound strange. Everything can also vary with context and formality.
How to Know if a Word Can Be Written in Hiragana?
The best way to know if a word is commonly written in Hiragana is to familiarize yourself with Japanese words and grammar. Here are some general tips that can help you identify when to use Hiragana:
- Japanese words that do not have a corresponding Kanji are usually written in Hiragana.
- Grammatical particles, such as “は” (wa), “が” (ga), “を” (o), etc., are always written in Hiragana.
- Auxiliary verbs and their respective conjugations, such as “ます” (masu), “て” (te), “た” (ta), etc., are written in Hiragana.
- Words that are commonly written in Katakana, such as names of countries, cities, foreign foods, and drinks, are generally not written in Hiragana.
- Some Japanese words that are generally written in Kanji but have additional Hiragana to provide the correct reading, such as “食べる” (taberu – to eat), have the Kanji for “to eat” and the Hiragana reading “べ” to provide the correct pronunciation.
How to Learn Hiragana?
At the beginning of the article, we recommended a very good article that shares tips on how to learn Hiragana and Katakana. We also have a video lesson below that can help you understand a little more about the Hiragana alphabet:
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