Learn Hiragana: The Ultimate Beginner's Guide

Hiragana is one of the three writing systems used in Japanese. It's a syllabary, meaning each symbol represents a complete sound. This is different from languages like Spanish or English, which use the Roman-Latin alphabet and require combining letters to form sounds. Hiragana is simpler: one symbol, one sound.

Japanese children and beginners learning the language usually start with hiragana. It’s widely used in Japan and appears in most Japanese textbooks and learning resources.

By learning hiragana, you'll also familiarize yourself with the sounds used in Japanese, making it a great foundation for mastering basic Japanese pronunciation.

The good news is that hiragana is easy to learn! You don’t need months or weeks—just a couple of days, or even a few hours if you put in the effort, could be enough to start reading basic Japanese text. Follow this guide, practice the exercises , and you could master hiragana today!

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The Basics of Hiragana

Hiragana consists of 46 basic characters: 5 vowels, 40 consonant–vowel combinations, and 1 singular consonant. These characters are arranged in a 5×10 grid called the Gojūon, which means "Fifty Sounds." The vowels are ordered as: a → i → u → e → o, and the consonants are listed top to bottom, starting with the vowels: a → k → s → t → n → h → m → y → r → w → (n).

	A	I	U	E	O
A	あ	い	う	え	お
K	か	き	く	け	こ
S	さ	し	す	せ	そ
T	た	ち	つ	て	と
N	な	に	ぬ	ね	の
H	は	ひ	ふ	へ	ほ
M	ま	み	む	め	も
Y	や		ゆ		よ
R	ら	り	る	れ	ろ
W	わ				を
(N)	ん

These basic characters can be modified or combined in different ways. By adding markers or modifiers, their pronunciation can change, or smaller versions of certain characters can be added to create additional sounds. This is how the Japanese language achieves its full range of sounds. In this post, we’ll focus solely on the basic sounds and leave the modifiers for another post.

We’ll go through everything row by row, character by character, and step by step. Each explanation will include Romaji (the Romanized version of Japanese text), pronunciation tips, and audio examples. At the end of the post, we’ll provide links to interactive quizzes to help you practice and recall the characters, ensuring you master them thoroughly.

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The Vowels Row

We’ll start with the five vowels because they are the foundation of the Japanese writing system. Every consonant row pairs with these vowels to form the rest of the sounds.

• あ in Romaji is A and is pronounced like the "A" in car, far, or war.

• い in Romaji is I and is pronounced like the "Ee" in feel, heel, or kneel.

• う in Romaji is U and is pronounced like the "Ue" in Sue, clue, or blue.

• え in Romaji is E and is pronounced like the "E" in beg, leg, or egg.

• お in Romaji is O and is pronounced like the "O" in orange, orbit, or online.

These five characters form the vowel row, which serves as the basis for many other sounds. To make it easier to visualize, here’s a table summarizing them:

Hiragana	Romaji	Pronunciation
あ	A	"A" like in car, far, or war.
い	I	"Ee" like in feel, heel, or kneel.
う	U	"Ue" like in Sue, clue, or blue.
え	E	"E" like in beg, leg, or egg.
お	O	"O" like in orange, orbit, or online.

These vowels are essential for learning Japanese sounds, so make sure to learn their pronunciation before moving on to the next row.

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The "K" Row

This row builds on the vowels you’ve just learned by adding the "K" sound to each one.

• か in Romaji is Ka and is pronounced like the "Ka" in karate or karaoke (which are actually Japanese words).

• き in Romaji is Ki and is pronounced like the "Kee" in keep, keen, or keel.

• く in Romaji is Ku and is pronounced like the "Coo" in cool, cooper, or scooter.

• け in Romaji is Ke and is pronounced like the "Ke" in sketch, kept, or skeleton.

• こ in Romaji is Ko and is pronounced like the "Co" in coast, coach, or coal.

That’s the complete "K" row! Here’s the table summary:

Hiragana	Romaji	Pronunciation
か	Ka	"Ka" like in karate or karaoke.
き	Ki	"Kee" like in keep, keen, or keel.
く	Ku	"Coo" like in cool, cooper, or scooter.
け	Ke	"Ke" like in sketch, kept, or skeleton.
こ	Ko	"Co" like in coast, coach, or coal.

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The "S" Row

The "S" row mostly follows the same pattern as previous rows—just add the vowel sounds after the "S." However, we encounter our first exception here. Don’t worry, we’ll explain it below.

• さ in Romaji is Sa and is pronounced like the "Sa" in sack.

• し is not Si as you might expect but Shi. It’s pronounced like the "Shee" in sheet or sheep.

• す in Romaji is Su and is pronounced like the "Soo" in soon or soothe.

• せ in Romaji is Se and is pronounced like the "Se" in self, sense, or set.

• そ in Romaji is So and is pronounced like the "So" in social, sober, or soldier.

With this, you’ve completed the "S" row!

Hiragana	Romaji	Pronunciation
さ	Sa	"Sa" like in sack.
し	Shi	"Shee" like in sheet or sheep.
す	Su	"Soo" like in soon or soothe.
せ	Se	"Se" like in self, sense, or set.
そ	So	"So" like in social, sober, or soldier.

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The "T" Row

The "T" row can be a bit tricky because it has not just one exception, but two.

• た in Romaji is Ta, and it is pronounced like the "Ta" in guitar or starch.

• ち is our first exception. In this case, it is not "Ti," but Chi. It is pronounced like the "Chee" in cheek or cheese.

• つ is the second and final exception in this row. It is not Tu, but Tsu. The "Ts" sound is not commonly used in English, and the most famous word with this sound is of Japanese origin: tsunami.

• て in Romaji is Te, and it is pronounced like the "Te" in text or tell.

• と in Romaji is To, and it is pronounced like the "To" in tone, told, or tome.

The "T" row introduces a couple of exceptions, so be sure to pay attention to the characters Chi and Tsu. While the other characters follow a regular pattern, the two exceptions can be a bit tricky since their sounds are quite different from what you might expect.

Hiragana	Romaji	Pronunciation
た	Ta	"Ta" like in guitar or starch.
ち	Chi	"Chee" like in cheek or cheese.
つ	Tsu	"Tsu" like in tsunami.
て	Te	"Te" like in text or tell.
と	To	"To" like in tone, told, or tome.

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The "N" Row

In this row there are no exceptions, everything works as it should. Simply add each of the vowel sounds to after the "N" and you have the five sounds in this row.

• な in Romaji is Na, and it is pronounced like the "Na" in narcissist, nanogram, or monarchy.

• な in Romaji is Ni, and it is pronounced like the "Nee" in need, knee, or sneeze.

• ぬ in Romaji is Nu, and it is pronounced like the "Noo" in snoop, noon, or snooze.

• ね in Romaji is Ne, and it is pronounced like the "Ne" in next, nest, or nerd.

• の in Romaji is No, and it is pronounced like the "No" in north, normal, or Norway.

This is the end of the "N" row.

Hiragana	Romaji	Pronunciation
な	Na	"Na" like in narcissist, nanogram, or monarchy.
に	Ni	"Nee" like in need, knee, or sneeze.
ぬ	Nu	"Noo" like in snoop, noon, or snooze.
ね	Ne	"Ne" like in next, nest, or nerd.
の	No	"No" like in north, normal, or Norway.

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The "H" Row

The "H" row is one of the most complex in Hiragana because it contains three exceptions. One is constant, while the other two depend on the situation. Below, we’ll break down each character and explain these nuances.

• は In Romaji is Ha, pronounced like the "Ha" in harmony, harvest, or Harvard. However, when used as a grammatical particle, its pronunciation changes to "Wa," as in water. This makes it one of the most commonly encountered exceptions in Japanese.

• ひ in Romaji Hi, and it is pronounced like the "Hea" in heat, heal, or heap.

• ふ is the constant exception. In Romaji, it is not Hu, but Fu. Its pronunciation is like the "Foo" in food or fool. The "F" sound in Japanese is softer and closer to an "H" than the English "F".

• へ is written as He in Romaji, and pronounced like the "He" in hell, help, or hence. However, when used as a grammatical particle, its pronunciation changes to "E," the same as the vowel え.

• ほ The Romaji for this character is Ho, pronounced like the "Ho" in horn, horse, or horror.

The "H" row introduces several exceptions, so it’s essential to pay close attention to context when reading or using these characters. Be especially mindful of は and へ when they appear as particles, as their pronunciations differ from their usual readings.

Hiragana	Romaji	Pronunciation
は	Ha	"Ha" (normal) or "Wa" (particle).
ひ	Hi	"Hea" like in heat, heal, or heap.
ふ	Fu	"Foo" like in food or fool.
へ	He	"He" (normal) or "E" (particle).
ほ	Ho	"Ho" like in horn, horse, or horror.

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The "M" Row

Good news! This row doesn't have any exception.

• ま in Romaji is Ma and is pronounced like the "Ma" in mark, mars or march.

• み in Romaji is Mi and is pronounced like the "Mea" in mean, or meat.

• む in Romaji is Mu and is pronounced like the "Moo" in mood, moon or smooth.

• め in Romaji is Me and is pronounced like the "Me" in men, smell or member.

• も in Romaji is Mo and is pronounced like the "Mo" in more, moral or morning.

The "M" row is simple and consistent, with no exceptions to memorize.

Hiragana	Romaji	Pronunciation
ま	Ma	"Ma" like in mark, mars, or march.
み	Mi	"Mea" like in mean or meat.
む	Mu	"Moo" like in mood, moon, or smooth.
め	Me	"Me" like in men, smell, or member.
も	Mo	"Mo" like in more, moral, or morning.

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The "Y" Row

This row is shorter than all you've seen so far, it has only three characters.

• や in Romaji is Ya and is pronounced like the "Ya" in yard.

• ゆ in Romaji is Yu and is pronounced like the word "you".

• よ in Romaji is Yo and is pronounced like the "Yo" in york.

That was easy and short, right?

Hiragana	Romaji	Pronunciation
や	Ya	"Ya" like in yard.
ゆ	Yu	like the word "you"
よ	Yo	"Yo" like in york

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The "R" Row

This row includes five characters, and thankfully, it doesn’t have any exceptions. However, the pronunciation can be tricky for some people because the sounds produced in this row are not common to all English accents. The key sound here is called the flap, a consonant sound made with a single, quick flip of the tongue against the roof of the mouth. This sound exists in American English in words like letter, party, or shadow, where the "t" or "d" is pronounced in a softer, flapped way.

• ら in Romaji is Ra and is pronounced like the "Ta" in data.

• り in Romaji is Ri and is pronounced like the "ty" in party.

• る in Romaji is Ru and is pronounced like the "To" in a sentence like "go to the store".

• れ in Romaji is Re and is pronounced like the "Dde" in added.

• ろ in Romaji is Ro and is pronounced like the "Do" in shadow.

Hopefully that wasn't too hard. Here's the review:

Hiragana	Romaji	Pronunciation
ら	Ra	"Ta" like in data.
り	Ri	"Ty" like in party.
る	Ru	"To" like in go to the store.
れ	Re	"Dde" like in added.
ろ	Ro	"Do" like in shadow.

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The "W" Row

This row only has two character, and it has one exception.

• わ in Romaji is Wa and is pronounced like the "Wa" in water, warrior or wasp.

• を in Romaji is Wo and is pronounced like the "Wo" in world. However, when used as a grammatical particle, its pronunciation changes to "O," the same as the vowel お.

Hiragana	Romaji	Pronunciation
わ	Wa	"Wa" like in water, warrior, or wasp.
を	Wo	"Wo" (normal) or "O" (particle).

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The (N) Row

This is the final row and it contains the only character which is not a syllable but just a consonant.

• ん in Romaji is N and is pronounced like the "N" in ten, men or when.

Is worth noting that to type this character you have to type "nn".

Hiragana	Romaji	Pronunciation
ん	N	"N" like in ten, men, or when.

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All Hiragana Characters

Hiragana	Romaji	Pronunciation
あ	A	"A" like in car, far, or war.
い	I	"Ee" like in feel, heel, or kneel.
う	U	"Ue" like in Sue, clue, or blue.
え	E	"E" like in beg, leg, or egg.
お	O	"O" like in orange, orbit, or online.
か	Ka	"Ka" like in karate or karaoke.
き	Ki	"Kee" like in keep, keen, or keel.
く	Ku	"Coo" like in cool, cooper, or scooter.
け	Ke	"Ke" like in sketch, kept, or skeleton.
こ	Ko	"Co" like in coast, coach, or coal.
さ	Sa	"Sa" like in sack.
し	Shi	"Shee" like in sheet or sheep.
す	Su	"Soo" like in soon or soothe.
せ	Se	"Se" like in self, sense, or set.
そ	So	"So" like in social, sober, or soldier.
た	Ta	"Ta" like in guitar or starch.
ち	Chi	"Chee" like in cheek or cheese.
つ	Tsu	"Tsu" like in tsunami.
て	Te	"Te" like in text or tell.
と	To	"To" like in tone, told, or tome.
な	Na	"Na" like in narcissist, nanogram, or monarchy.
に	Ni	"Nee" like in need, knee, or sneeze.
ぬ	Nu	"Noo" like in snoop, noon, or snooze.
ね	Ne	"Ne" like in next, nest, or nerd.
の	No	"No" like in north, normal, or Norway.
は	Ha	"Ha" (normal) or "Wa" (particle).
ひ	Hi	"Hea" like in heat, heal, or heap.
ふ	Fu	"Foo" like in food or fool.
へ	He	"He" (normal) or "E" (particle).
ほ	Ho	"Ho" like in horn, horse, or horror.
ま	Ma	"Ma" like in mark, mars, or march.
み	Mi	"Mea" like in mean or meat.
む	Mu	"Moo" like in mood, moon, or smooth.
め	Me	"Me" like in men, smell, or member.
も	Mo	"Mo" like in more, moral, or morning.
や	Ya	"Ya" like in yard.
ゆ	Yu	like the word "you"
よ	Yo	"Yo" like in york
ら	Ra	"Ta" like in data.
り	Ri	"Ty" like in party.
る	Ru	"To" like in go to the store.
れ	Re	"Dde" like in added.
ろ	Ro	"Do" like in shadow.
わ	Wa	"Wa" like in water, warrior, or wasp.
を	Wo	"Wo" (normal) or "O" (particle).
ん	N	"N" like in ten, men, or when.

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Practice What You've Learned

After learning all the hiragana characters, their romaji and their pronunciations, is time to put your memory to work. Go to the Gojuuon Hiragana Practice Quiz and keep practicing until you complete the session.

After finishing your practice, try taking the Test. In the test you have a limited number of errors you can make before losing. But don't worry, if you lose, you will only be prompted to try practicing again.

In our Quiz, each character comes with a handwriting worksheet you can download. You can print it out or use it directly on your phone or tablet to practice writing the symbols. Writing by hand is a great way to learn faster since it engages your sense of touch, adding another layer to your learning beyond just looking and listening. That said, handwriting practice isn’t a must right now. Our main goal is to help you recognize and read hiragana quickly, so while it’s encouraged, don’t worry if you can’t get to it just yet.

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