KaiwaGoHiragana chart with audio and romaji
Hiragana is the basic Japanese alphabet: 46 characters, each one a syllable such as か (ka) or し (shi). With the dakuten marks and the small ゃ ゅ ょ combinations it writes 104 sounds in total.
Hiragana is used for grammar endings (食べます), particles such as は, を and に, and for words that have no common kanji. Children’s books, furigana readings above kanji and most beginner textbooks are written in hiragana, which is why it is the first thing to learn.
Tap any character in the chart to hear it. Romaji under each character follows the Hepburn system used in most dictionaries.
Basic characters (gojūon) · 46 characters
The five vowels a, i, u, e, o, then rows of consonant + vowel: k, s, t, n, h, m, y, r, w and the single consonant n.
Dakuten and handakuten · 25 characters
Two small strokes (゛) turn k→g, s→z, t→d and h→b; a small circle (゜) turns h→p.
Combined sounds (yōon) · 33 characters
A character from the i column plus a small ya, yu or yo makes one syllable: き + ゃ = きゃ (kya).
Hiragana that are easy to confuse
- ぬ (nu) and め (me): ぬ ends with a small loop, め does not.
- わ (wa), れ (re) and ね (ne): same left stroke; わ curves round, れ kicks out, ね ends in a loop.
- さ (sa) and ち (chi): mirror images — さ opens to the left at the bottom, ち opens to the right.
- は (ha) and ほ (ho): ほ has an extra horizontal line on top.
- る (ru) and ろ (ro): る has a loop at the end, ろ is open.
How to learn Hiragana quickly
- Learn one row a day (five characters), out loud, and write each one five times in the right stroke order.
- Read real words as soon as you know a few rows instead of waiting until the chart is complete.
- Review yesterday’s rows before starting a new one; short daily sessions beat one long session a week.
- Learn dakuten and combined sounds only after the basic chart feels easy: they follow simple rules.
FAQ
How many hiragana are there?
There are 46 basic hiragana. Adding dakuten (25) and combined sounds (33) gives 104 sounds in this chart.
How long does it take to learn hiragana?
Most learners can read the 46 basic characters after one to two weeks of 15–20 minutes a day.
Should I learn hiragana or katakana first?
Hiragana first: it is used in every sentence. Katakana uses the same sounds, so it goes faster once hiragana is known.
Why is を read “o”?
を is only used as the object particle today and is pronounced like お; it is written “wo” in romaji to keep the two apart.