Hiragana chart and writing practice
Hiragana (ひらがな) is the basic Japanese phonetic alphabet with 46 characters. It is used for native words, grammar particles and verb endings, and it is the first thing every learner of Japanese should master.
Hiragana characters
- あ a
- い i
- う u
- え e
- お o
- か ka
- き ki
- く ku
- け ke
- こ ko
- きゃ kya
- きゅ kyu
- きょ kyo
- が ga
- ぎ gi
- ぐ gu
- げ ge
- ご go
- ぎゃ gya
- ぎゅ gyu
- ぎょ gyo
- さ sa
- し shi
- す su
- せ se
- そ so
- しゃ sha
- しゅ shu
- しょ sho
- ざ za
- じ ji
- ず zu
- ぜ ze
- ぞ zo
- じゃ ja
- じゅ ju
- じょ jo
- た ta
- ち chi
- つ tsu
- て te
- と to
- ちゃ cha
- ちゅ chu
- ちょ cho
- だ da
- ぢ alt. ji
- づ alt. zu
- で de
- ど do
- な na
- に ni
- ぬ nu
- ね ne
- の no
- にゃ nya
- にゅ nyu
- にょ nyo
- は ha
- ひ hi
- ふ fu
- へ he
- ほ ho
- ひゃ hya
- ひゅ hyu
- ひょ hyo
- ば ba
- び bi
- ぶ bu
- べ be
- ぼ bo
- びゃ bya
- びゅ byu
- びょ byo
- ぱ pa
- ぴ pi
- ぷ pu
- ぺ pe
- ぽ po
- ぴゃ pya
- ぴゅ pyu
- ぴょ pyo
- ま ma
- み mi
- む mu
- め me
- も mo
- みゃ mya
- みゅ myu
- みょ myo
- や ya
- ゆ yu
- よ yo
- ら ra
- り ri
- る ru
- れ re
- ろ ro
- りゃ rya
- りゅ ryu
- りょ ryo
- わ wa
- を o/wo
- ん n
Frequently asked questions
How many Hiragana characters are there?
There are 46 basic Hiragana characters. Adding dakuten (voiced) and handakuten marks and the combination sounds (yōon such as きゃ, きゅ, きょ) brings the full chart to over 100 sounds.
What is the correct stroke order for Hiragana?
Hiragana are written top to bottom and left to right. Each character has a fixed stroke order and direction; on Nihon Zing you trace every stroke in order and get instant feedback.
What order should I learn Hiragana in?
Follow the traditional gojūon order: vowels (あ い う え お), then the k, s, t, n, h, m, y, r and w rows, and finally ん. Learning by row keeps the sounds consistent.