🇯🇵 JAPANESE

Katakana Part 2 – Study & Learn

Dakuten · Handakuten · Yōon · Flashcards & reading practice

Dakuten, Handakuten & Yōon

The same three modifications that extend hiragana also extend katakana — and they are especially important here. Voiced katakana characters (ガ, ジ, ビ, ド…) and yōon combinations (シャ, チョ, ジャ…) appear in hundreds of everyday loanwords. Mastering this section unlocks the vast majority of katakana vocabulary.

DAKUTEN (゛) VOICED MARKS

Two dots (゛) added to the top-right voice the consonant: K→G, S→Z, T→D, H→B. In katakana this applies constantly — ガス (gas), ドア (door), バス (bus), ビール (beer), ズボン (trousers) are all everyday words.

HANDAKUTEN (゜) SEMI-VOICED

A small circle (゜) on the H-row creates the P sound: ハ→パ, ヒ→ピ, フ→プ, ヘ→ペ, ホ→ポ. Common in loanwords: パーティー (party), ピザ (pizza), プール (pool), ポスト (postbox).

YŌON 拗音 CONTRACTIONS

A small ャ, ュ, or ョ after an i-column character creates one contracted syllable. Extremely common in katakana: シャワー (shower), チョコレート (chocolate), ジュース (juice), ショッピング (shopping). These combinations are essential for reading foreign words.

KEY PATTERNS AT A GLANCE

Three modification types — each with a visible marker.

カ→ガdakuten

ハ→パhandakuten

キ+ャyōon kya

ヂ / ヅrare forms

ヂ and ヅ are virtually obsolete in modern katakana — modern writing uses ジ and ズ instead. They appear only in a handful of proper nouns (e.g. タカラヅカ).

All Characters & Combinations

Click any card to reveal its romaji reading. Yōon combinations (two characters = one sound) are shown together on the front.

Reading Practice

Each character or combination appears in 2 sentences. Romaji is shown above each sentence. Highlighted characters are the one being practised — yōon combinations are highlighted as a unit.

Katakana Study Practice Exercises