← Back
Writing Systems & Pronunciation
Hiragana, katakana, kanji overview, mora, pitch accent and pronunciation
あ い う え お
a i u e o (hiragana vowels)
a i u e o
The five Japanese vowels; basis of the kana system
か き く け こ
ka ki ku ke ko
ka ki ku ke ko
The k-row of hiragana
さ し す せ そ
sa shi su se so
sa shi su se so
Note: し is 'shi' not 'si'
た ち つ て と
ta chi tsu te to
ta chi tsu te to
Note: ち=chi, つ=tsu (irregular romanisation)
カタカナ — katakana
katakana script
katakana
Second syllabary, used for foreign/loan words
漢字 — kanji
kanji (Chinese characters)
kanji
Logographic characters borrowed from Chinese
濁点 が ざ だ ば
dakuten: ga za da ba
ga za da ba
Two dots voice a consonant: か→が
半濁点 ぱ ぴ ぷ ぺ ぽ
handakuten: pa pi pu pe po
pa pi pu pe po
Small circle makes h-row into p-row
拗音 きゃ しゃ ちゃ
contracted sounds: kya sha cha
kya sha cha
Small や/ゆ/よ combine with i-row kana
こんにちは / おはよう / さようなら
Hello / Good morning / Goodbye
konnichiwa / ohayou / sayounara
Basic greetings
