Free · no login
Hiragana Chart
A hiragana chart lists all 46 modern hiragana characters in gojūon order, from あ to ん. Click a character to hear it and watch its stroke order. Romaji on this page is Hepburn.
a
3 strokes: a short horizontal, a vertical with a hook, then the loop.
Stroke order on this hiragana chart
Each character shows a numbered stroke diagram. The diagrams are simplified stroke paths in the standard handwritten order, not a font outline. あ, お, か, け, さ, せ, に, は, ま, む, も, や, を take 3 strokes. き, た, な, ふ, ほ take 4. く, し, そ, つ, て, の, ひ, へ, る, ろ, ん take 1. The rest take 2.
Rows follow the gojūon: あ、か、さ、た、な、は、ま、や、ら、わ, then ん. や and わ are short rows. を is the object particle, read wo here, not a second spelling of お. は as a topic particle is read wa in sentences, but the chart reading is ha.
Hiragana pronunciation guide
Read the chart in gojūon order: each row adds a consonant to the five vowels あ (a), い (i), う (u), え (e), お (o). Say them "ah, ee, oo, eh, oh" — short and even, never stressed. か is "ka", き is "ki", and so on across the row.
Five readings trip up beginners: し is shi (not "si"), ち is chi (not "ti"), つ is tsu (not "tu"), ふ is fu — a soft blow between "h" and "f", and を is written wo but sounds like "o". ん is a syllabic "n" that hums through the nose. Click any character above to hear it.
In real sentences three characters change sound as particles: は is read wa, へ is read e, and を is read o. On this chart you see their dictionary readings: ha, he, wo.
Dakuten ( ゛ ) and handakuten ( ゜ ) are not on this chart, but you will meet them on day two: they turn か into が (ga), さ into ざ (za), た into だ (da), and は into ば (ba) or ぱ (pa).
Three tips that actually work
- Learn one row a day in gojūon order — あ行, か行, さ行 — and say each character out loud as you write it.
- Write by hand and follow the stroke order above; your hand remembers what your eyes forget.
- Test yourself backwards (o, e, u, i, a) and shuffled. If you only know あ→お order, you don't know them yet.
Printable hiragana chart
| a | i | u | e | o | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| あ a | い i | う u | え e | お o | |
| k | か ka | き ki | く ku | け ke | こ ko |
| s | さ sa | し shi | す su | せ se | そ so |
| t | た ta | ち chi | つ tsu | て te | と to |
| n | な na | に ni | ぬ nu | ね ne | の no |
| h | は ha | ひ hi | ふ fu | へ he | ほ ho |
| m | ま ma | み mi | む mu | め me | も mo |
| y | や ya | ゆ yu | よ yo | ||
| r | ら ra | り ri | る ru | れ re | ろ ro |
| w | わ wa | を wo | |||
| ん n |
Hiragana chart questions
How do I read a hiragana chart?
Read left to right, top to bottom. Each row shares a consonant: the か row is ka ki ku ke ko. The column headers show the five vowels (a i u e o). Empty cells in the や and わ rows are sounds that don't exist in modern Japanese.
How many characters are on a hiragana chart?
A modern hiragana chart has 46 characters. It starts with あいうえお and ends with ん. The obsolete ゐ and ゑ are not included.
What order does a hiragana chart follow?
The gojūon ("fifty sounds") order: ten rows of あ か さ た な は ま や ら わ, plus ん. The や row has 3 characters (や ゆ よ) and the わ row has 2 (わ を) — the missing slots were never used in modern Japanese.
What romaji does this hiragana chart use?
Hepburn romaji. し is shi, ち is chi, つ is tsu, ふ is fu, and the particle を is written wo.
How do you pronounce し, ち, つ, and ふ?
し is "shi", ち is "chi", つ is "tsu" (like the end of "cats"), and ふ is a soft "fu" blown between the lips — halfway between "h" and "f". Click each character on the chart to hear it.
What is the difference between hiragana and katakana?
Hiragana writes native Japanese words and grammar (です, たべる); katakana writes foreign loanwords and emphasis (コーヒー, コンピューター). Same 46 sounds, different scripts. This page covers hiragana only.
Does this hiragana chart include katakana or dakuten?
No. This page is only the 46 basic hiragana characters. Katakana, dakuten such as が, and handakuten such as ぱ are not on this chart.
How long does it take to learn hiragana?
Most learners memorize all 46 in one to two weeks at one row a day, then need another few weeks of reading practice before it feels automatic. Writing each character by hand in stroke order roughly halves the time.
Do I need to learn hiragana stroke order?
Yes if you ever write by hand: correct stroke order keeps characters balanced and readable, and it is how Japanese children — and every dictionary — learn them. For reading only, you can skip it.
Why is を written "wo" but sounds like "o"?
を is the object particle, and in modern Japanese it is pronounced "o". Hepburn romaji keeps the historical spelling "wo" to distinguish it from お. Similarly は is "wa" and へ is "e" when used as particles.
Is ん a syllable?
ん is the only single consonant in Japanese — a syllabic "n" that gets its own beat (mora). 日本 (にほん, ni-ho-n) has three beats, not two and a half.