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Katakana is the angular Japanese script used for foreign loanwords, borrowed names, and technical terms. There are 46 base characters, organised in the same vowel-consonant grid as hiragana but with sharper, more geometric strokes. The biggest challenge is not memorisation — it is telling apart look-alike pairs like ツ vs シ and ン vs ソ. Use the charts below to study each row, then test yourself on the pairs that catch most learners out.
| Row | a | i | u | e | o |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| vowels | ア (a) | イ (i) | ウ (u) | エ (e) | オ (o) |
| k | カ (ka) | キ (ki) | ク (ku) | ケ (ke) | コ (ko) |
| s | サ (sa) | シ (shi) | ス (su) | セ (se) | ソ (so) |
| t | タ (ta) | チ (chi) | ツ (tsu) | テ (te) | ト (to) |
| n | ナ (na) | ニ (ni) | ヌ (nu) | ネ (ne) | ノ (no) |
| h | ハ (ha) | ヒ (hi) | フ (fu) | ヘ (he) | ホ (ho) |
| m | マ (ma) | ミ (mi) | ム (mu) | メ (me) | モ (mo) |
| y | ヤ (ya) | — | ユ (yu) | — | ヨ (yo) |
| r | ラ (ra) | リ (ri) | ル (ru) | レ (re) | ロ (ro) |
| w | ワ (wa) | — | — | — | ヲ (wo) |
| n | ン (n) — standalone nasal | ||||
The long vowel mark ー extends the vowel sound of the preceding character. In horizontal text it is always a horizontal dash: コーヒー (kōhī = coffee), テレビ (terebi = TV). There is no equivalent mark in hiragana.
Every katakana character represents the same sound as its hiragana counterpart. The shapes are unrelated — katakana was derived from parts of kanji, hiragana from full kanji cursive.
| Sound | Hiragana | Katakana | Sound | Hiragana | Katakana |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| a | あ | ア | na | な | ナ |
| i | い | イ | ni | に | ニ |
| u | う | ウ | tsu | つ | ツ |
| ka | か | カ | shi | し | シ |
| ki | き | キ | so | そ | ソ |
| ko | こ | コ | n | ん | ン |
| Pair | Sounds | How to tell them apart |
|---|---|---|
| ン vs ソ | n vs so | ン has two short strokes going left-to-right then a main stroke that sweeps left. ソ has two short strokes going top-to-bottom and the main stroke sweeps right. Memory aid: ン leans like a lazy N; ソ stands up straight. |
| ツ vs シ | tsu vs shi | ツ has two short strokes on the left side (vertical orientation), main stroke sweeps right. シ has two short strokes on the top (horizontal orientation), main stroke sweeps down. Memory aid: ツ smiles (facing right); シ faces down. |
| ノ vs メ | no vs me | ノ is a single clean diagonal stroke — the simplest katakana. メ has two crossing strokes forming an X shape. If it crosses, it is メ. |
| ウ vs ワ | u vs wa | ウ has a small horizontal stroke at the top, then a symmetrical body below. ワ has a small angled stroke at top-right that leans outward, making the whole shape asymmetric. |
| フ vs ク | fu vs ku | フ is one stroke — a short horizontal and a long downward sweep. ク is two strokes — a short diagonal and a separate long curve that angles outward. |
| ロ vs 口 | ro vs mouth (kanji) | ロ is the katakana for "ro" — a square with an open bottom-right corner. The kanji 口 (mouth) is nearly identical but fully closed. In katakana text, the square is always ロ. |
The best way to cement katakana is to read real words you already know. All of these appear in everyday Japanese.
| カタカナ | Romaji | Origin word |
|---|---|---|
| コーヒー | kōhī | coffee |
| テレビ | terebi | television |
| アイスクリーム | aisu kurīmu | ice cream |
| スマホ | sumaho | smartphone |
| パソコン | pasokon | personal computer |
| レストラン | resutoran | restaurant |
| バス | basu | bus |
| ホテル | hoteru | hotel |
| ニュース | nyūsu | news |
| チョコレート | chokoreeto | chocolate |
| スーパー | sūpā | supermarket |
| エレベーター | erebētā | elevator |
Adding ゛ (dakuten, two dots) or ゜ (handakuten, small circle) to base characters creates the voiced and semi-voiced sounds.
| Base | +゛ (voiced) | Base | +゛ (voiced) | Base | +゜ (p-sound) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| カ ka | ガ ga | タ ta | ダ da | ハ ha | パ pa |
| キ ki | ギ gi | チ chi | ヂ ji | ヒ hi | ピ pi |
| ク ku | グ gu | ツ tsu | ヅ zu | フ fu | プ pu |
| サ sa | ザ za | ハ ha | バ ba | ヘ he | ペ pe |
| シ shi | ジ ji | ヒ hi | ビ bi | ホ ho | ポ po |
Katakana is used for foreign loanwords (コーヒー coffee, テレビ TV), foreign names and place names, scientific and technical terms, onomatopoeia in manga, and emphasis — similar to italics in English.
Both represent the same 46 sounds. Hiragana is rounded, used for native Japanese words and grammar. Katakana is angular, used for foreign loanwords and borrowed terms. If you see a rounded character it is hiragana; if it is sharp and geometric it is katakana.
46 base characters, plus voiced variants with ゛ (dakuten) and ゜ (handakuten), and combination characters like ファ (fa), ティ (ti), ウィ (wi) used in foreign sounds. Total usable forms exceed 70.
The four hardest pairs: ン vs ソ (n vs so — stroke direction differs), ツ vs シ (tsu vs shi — same strokes, rotated 90°), ノ vs メ (no vs me — single vs crossing strokes), ウ vs ワ (u vs wa — symmetry differs).
Yes — hiragana is far more common in everyday text (particles, verb endings, native words). Katakana appears mainly in loanwords. Once you know hiragana, katakana is usually faster to learn because both scripts represent identical sounds.
Learners who already know hiragana typically learn katakana in 1–2 weeks of daily practice. From scratch, allow 2–3 weeks. The challenge is not memorisation — it is distinguishing the look-alike pairs like ツ/シ and ン/ソ under reading speed.
The YoruLearn app drills all 46 katakana characters through spaced-repetition flashcards and reading practice — with extra focus on the look-alike pairs ツ/シ and ン/ソ that trip up most learners.