The katakana chart, with hiragana beside it
Each box shows the katakana, its hiragana twin and the romaji. Some pairs look alike because they came from the same kanji (か カ, り リ, へ ヘ), which gives you a head start. Press any box to hear it.
The dakuten ゛ and handakuten ゜ marks work exactly as in hiragana: カ ka → ガ ga, ハ ha → バ ba → パ pa. Small ャ ュ ョ make combined sounds the same way: キャ kya, シュ shu, チョ cho.
The long-vowel bar ー
In hiragana a long vowel is written with an extra vowel character. Katakana uses a single bar instead, and it follows the direction of writing: horizontal in horizontal text, vertical in vertical text. Each bar adds one beat.
Extra combinations for foreign sounds
Japanese lacks some sounds English has, such as “ti”, “fa” or “v”. Katakana builds them by pairing a character with a small vowel. These combinations exist only in katakana.
How an English word becomes Japanese
Japanese syllables almost always end in a vowel, so English words are reshaped to fit. Once you know these six habits, you can guess most loanwords from their sound.
| Katakana | Meaning | From |
|---|---|---|
| aisukurīmu | ice cream | English |
| kurisumasu | Christmas | English |
| makudonarudo | McDonald’s | English name |
| konbini | convenience store | English, shortened |
| sumaho | smartphone | English, shortened |
| pan | bread | Portuguese pão |
| arubaito | part-time job | German Arbeit |
| ankēto | questionnaire | French enquête |
Writing your name in katakana
Foreign names are always written in katakana, following the sound of the name, not its spelling. People choose their own version, so two people called Michael may write it differently; these are the usual forms.
シ and ツ, ン and ソ
These four are the classic katakana puzzle. The difference is where the short strokes sit and which way the long stroke travels when written by hand.
シ and ツ, ン and ソ
Four katakana are famously confusable. The difference is the direction of the strokes: シ and ン are written upward from the bottom-left; ツ and ソ downward from the top.
How English words become katakana
Japanese adds vowels after most consonants and maps sounds to the nearest kana. Knowing the pattern lets you guess thousands of words.
| Katakana | Meaning | Rule shown |
|---|---|---|
| basu | bus | vowel added after s |
| terebi | TV | shortened (television) |
| kōhī | coffee | long vowels with ー |
| beddo | bed | small ッ for a stopped sound |
| fan | fan | small ァ for sounds Japanese lacks |
| pasokon | personal computer | two words shortened |
Katakana for more than loanwords
Katakana also marks emphasis, sound effects, plant and animal names in science, and foreign names.
Check yourself
Read each word aloud, then open the answer.
- Read: テレビ
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terebiTV - Read: コーヒー
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kōhīcoffee: ー lengthens the vowel. - Read: ベッド
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beddobed: small ッ. - Read: パソコン
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pasokonpersonal computer - Read: ファン
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fanfan: small ァ makes “fa”.
Katakana in sentences
Katakana words sit inside normal sentences, surrounded by hiragana and kanji.