🇯🇵 JAPANESE
Katakana – Part 1
Base 46 characters · ア to ン · Flashcards + reading practice
Progress: 0 / 2 exercises completed
A – Flashcard Practice
Click each card to reveal its romaji reading. Work through every row until you can recall the reading before you click.
B – Type the Reading
Type the romaji for each character. Use standard Hepburn romanisation: shi not si · chi not ti · tsu not tu · fu not hu.
The four "special" readings
- シ → shi (not "si") — The consonant /s/ palatalised before the vowel /i/, producing the /ʃ/ ("sh") sound. This applies equally in katakana and hiragana — the underlying phonology is the same.
- チ → chi (not "ti") — /t/ before /i/ became the affricate /tʃ/ ("ch"). In loanwords this lets katakana represent English words like cheese (チーズ) naturally.
- ツ → tsu (not "tu") — The /ts/ cluster reflects the actual articulation of the syllable. It appears frequently in loanwords: tsunami (ツナミ), pizza (ピッツァ).
- フ → fu (not "hu") — This consonant is a bilabial fricative /ɸ/, produced between both lips. You will see it constantly in katakana loanwords: food (フード), fork (フォーク).
What katakana is for
- Katakana is used primarily for foreign loanwords (外来語 gairaigo): アイスクリーム (ice cream), テレビ (TV), パソコン (PC).
- It is also used for foreign names, scientific terms, onomatopoeia, and for stylistic emphasis — similar to using italics in English.
- Because it represents foreign sounds, katakana also uses long-vowel marks (ー) to extend vowels: コーヒー (coffee), ケーキ (cake).
- は (ha) vs ワ (wa) rule does not apply here — the katakana particle ヲ is written as its own character and is rarely seen in modern text (hiragana を is far more common for the object particle).
ン — the lone consonant
- ン is the only katakana with no attached vowel. Its sound shifts with context: /m/ before b/p, /ŋ/ before k/g, and /n/ elsewhere.
- You will see ン frequently embedded in loanwords: パン (bread), ランニング (running), インターネット (internet).
- When ン appears before a vowel sound in a loanword, an apostrophe separates it in romanisation: sin'you — though in katakana context this rarely causes ambiguity.
The Gojūon (五十音) — Base Katakana
| a | i | u | e | o | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ∅ | 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 | ||||
* Empty cells indicate vowel combinations that no longer exist in modern Japanese. ヲ is included for completeness but is very rarely used in katakana text.
Memorisation tips
PAIRS
Learn katakana alongside its hiragana pair. Many share a visual ancestry: ア/あ, ウ/う, オ/お. Connecting the two scripts reinforces both at once.
LOANWORDS
Practice by reading katakana loanwords: テレビ (TV), コーヒー (coffee), アイスクリーム (ice cream). Guessing the English source word is a powerful mnemonic.
CONFUSABLES
Several katakana look very similar: ン/ソ, ウ/ヲ, シ/ツ, ノ/メ, ア/マ. Pay close attention to stroke direction and proportions — these are the most common mistakes.
HIGH FREQUENCY
The most common katakana in written Japanese: ン, ー (long vowel), ス, ト, ル, リ, テ, コ, イ, ア. You will see these constantly in menus, signs, and packaging.