🇯🇵 JAPANESE
Katakana – Study & Learn
Base 46 characters · ア to ン · Flashcards & reading practice
What is Katakana?
Katakana (片仮名) is the second of the three Japanese writing systems. Like hiragana, it has 46 base characters representing the same syllable sounds — but with sharper, more angular strokes. Its main role is to write foreign loanwords (外来語, gairaigo), making it essential for modern Japanese.
WHERE YOU'LL SEE IT
Katakana is used for foreign loanwords (コーヒー, テレビ, スマホ), foreign names and place names (アメリカ, ロンドン), onomatopoeia, scientific terms, and for emphasis — similar to how English uses italics.
THE GOJŪON 五十音
The same 50-sound grid as hiragana — each row shares a consonant, each column shares a vowel. Only 46 of the 50 positions are used. Learning katakana is faster once you know hiragana, since the sounds are identical.
WHAT'S NOT COVERED HERE
This page covers the 46 base characters only. Dakuten (゛voiced marks: ガ, ザ, ダ, バ) and yōon combinations (キャ, シュ, チョ…) are covered in the Part 2 exercise page.
THE FIVE VOWELS
Every other character is built on these five. They sound identical to hiragana vowels.
アa
イi
ウu
エe
オo
The 46 Characters
Click any card to reveal its romaji reading. Use the buttons below to flip all cards at once.
Reading Practice
Each character appears in 2–3 simple sentences. Romaji is shown above each sentence in full. Highlighted characters are the one being practised in that entry.