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Japanese does not use one alphabet. It combines two 46-character phonetic scripts—hiragana and katakana—with meaning-based kanji. Romaji is the Latin-letter spelling learners use temporarily. The chart below pairs every basic hiragana with its katakana equivalent, so you can see that both scripts represent the same sounds even though their shapes and uses differ.
| Row | A | Sound | I | Sound | U | Sound | E | Sound | O | Sound |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vowels | あ / ア | a | い / イ | i | う / ウ | u | え / エ | e | お / オ | o |
| K | か / カ | ka | き / キ | ki | く / ク | ku | け / ケ | ke | こ / コ | ko |
| S | さ / サ | sa | し / シ | shi | す / ス | su | せ / セ | se | そ / ソ | so |
| T | た / タ | ta | ち / チ | chi | つ / ツ | tsu | て / テ | te | と / ト | to |
| N | な / ナ | na | に / ニ | ni | ぬ / ヌ | nu | ね / ネ | ne | の / ノ | no |
| H | は / ハ | ha | ひ / ヒ | hi | ふ / フ | fu | へ / ヘ | he | ほ / ホ | ho |
| M | ま / マ | ma | み / ミ | mi | む / ム | mu | め / メ | me | も / モ | mo |
| Y | や / ヤ | ya | — | — | ゆ / ユ | yu | — | — | よ / ヨ | yo |
| R | ら / ラ | ra | り / リ | ri | る / ル | ru | れ / レ | re | ろ / ロ | ro |
| W + N | わ / ワ | wa | — | — | — | — | — | — | を / ヲ, ん / ン | o, n |
The basic inventory contains 46 hiragana and 46 matching katakana. Marks called dakuten and handakuten create sounds such as が, ざ, だ, ば, and ぱ. Small ゃ・ゅ・ょ combine with i-row kana to create sounds such as きゃ (kya).
| System | What it represents | Main use | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hiragana | Japanese sounds | Grammar endings and native words | たべます |
| Katakana | The same Japanese sounds | Loanwords, names, emphasis | ホテル |
| Kanji | Meaning-bearing characters | Core nouns, verb stems, adjective stems | 日本語 |
| Romaji | Latin-letter transcription | Temporary pronunciation support | nihongo |
A real sentence usually mixes scripts: 私はコーヒーを飲みます。 combines kanji, katakana, and hiragana. That mixture is normal, not an advanced exception.
Use the hiragana stroke-order chart, then continue to learn katakana before starting the JLPT N5 kanji list.
Japanese has 46 basic hiragana and 46 matching katakana. Kanji is not a fixed alphabet; learners gradually acquire meaning-based characters.
Learn hiragana first because it appears in grammar endings and beginner materials. Add katakana immediately afterward.
Kanji is part of the Japanese writing system, but it is not an alphabet. A kanji usually represents meaning and may have several readings.
Romaji writes Japanese sounds with Latin letters. It is useful briefly, but learners should move to kana early.
No. They encode the same sound inventory. Their shapes and typical uses are different.
Start with the five vowels and hiragana rows, then use a quiz and stroke-order chart before moving to katakana.
YoruLearn reinforces hiragana, katakana, vocabulary, and kanji through spaced repetition, writing practice, and adaptive review.