Hiragana Practice — Free Chart, Audio & Writing (No Ads)
New to Japanese? Hiragana is the first script you learn: 46 letters, one sound each.
👋 Tap any card to hear it, or press Auto-Play to hear all 46 in order.
Stroke order data: KanjiVG © Ulrich Apel, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Everything you need to learn hiragana
Hear it, watch it, write it, repeat. Four tools built into every character on the chart.
Natural Japanese Audio
Hear clear, natural Japanese pronunciation for every character, combos included, to train your ear from day one.
Animated Stroke Order
Watch each stroke drawn in order and direction, with numbered guide circles.
Tracing Canvas
Trace over a faint guide or write freehand on a practice grid with mouse, finger, or stylus.
Hands-Free Auto-Play
Let the chart walk you through every row with synchronised audio and highlighting.
What is hiragana?
Hiragana (ひらがな) is the foundational phonetic alphabet of the Japanese language and the essential starting point for every new learner. Whether you are preparing for the JLPT N5 exam, planning to travel to Japan, or starting self-study from scratch, building muscle memory and auditory recall for hiragana unlocks the rest of Japanese.
Unlike English, where letters change sound depending on context, hiragana is completely phonetic: each character represents exactly one sound, built on the five core vowels—あ (a), い (i), う (u), え (e), and お (o).
New to Japanese writing? Our Japanese alphabet guide explains how hiragana works alongside katakana and kanji.
How to learn hiragana
Learn it in chart order. Start with the five vowels, then add one row a day. Every row pairs one consonant with the same five vowels, so each new row is just one new sound.
- Day 1Learn the vowelsあ い う え お
- Day 2Learn the K rowか き く け こ
- Day 3Learn the S rowさ し す せ そ
- Day 4Learn the T rowた ち つ て と
- Day 5Learn the N rowな に ぬ ね の
- Day 6Learn the H rowは ひ ふ へ ほ
- Day 7Learn the M rowま み む め も
- Day 8Learn the Y rowや ゆ よ
- Day 9Learn the R rowら り る れ ろ
- Day 10Learn the W row + んわ を ん
Tips that make it stick
Small habits that turn 10 days of study into hiragana you never forget.
Say it out loud
Play the audio, then repeat. Linking the shape to the sound beats silent memorisation.
Write it by hand
Follow the stroke order animation, then trace it a few times. Writing builds recall far faster than looking.
Review every day
Short daily sessions beat one long weekend cram.
Read real words early
Once you know a few rows, read simple words like ねこ (neko, cat) and さかな (sakana, fish).
Hiragana vs katakana
Japanese uses two kana scripts that share exactly the same sounds. The difference is how they look and what they are used for.
Hiragana
ひらがなSoft, curved strokes
- Native Japanese words
- Grammar endings attached to kanji
- Particles like は, を, and に
Katakana
カタカナSharp, straight strokes
- Foreign loanwords
- Foreign names and places
- Emphasis, like italics in English
Learn hiragana first. It appears in nearly every Japanese sentence, and textbooks, JLPT N5 materials, and children's books all assume you can read it. Katakana is much quicker afterwards because you already know every sound. When you're ready, move on to our katakana practice.
Extra sounds & combos: dakuten, handakuten and yōon
You don't need new characters for these. Small marks on kana you already know create every extra sound in Japanese.
Dakuten ゛
+20 soundsTwo small marks at the top right make the consonant voiced. They change the k, s, t, and h rows.
じ and ぢ both sound like “ji”, and ず and づ both sound like “zu”. じ and ず are far more common.
Handakuten ゜
+5 soundsA small circle used only on the h row. It turns every h sound into a p sound.
Yōon ゃ
+33 soundsAn i-column character plus a small ゃ, ゅ, or ょ merges into one syllable. きゃ is one sound, not “ki-ya”.
Ready to put your kana to work? Follow our JLPT N5 roadmap to go from kana to your first vocabulary.
Hiragana questions beginners ask
Quick, plain answers to what every new learner wonders.
How long does it take to learn hiragana?
Most beginners can read all 46 hiragana in one to two weeks with 15 to 20 minutes of practice a day. Writing them neatly from memory takes a little longer. Follow the 10-day path above, one or two rows a day, and review the earlier rows before adding new ones.
Should I learn hiragana or katakana first?
Start with hiragana. It writes native Japanese words and the grammar endings in every sentence, and beginner textbooks use it from page one. Katakana uses the same sounds, so once hiragana clicks you can learn it in about a week.
How many hiragana characters are there?
There are 46 basic hiragana. Adding the two small marks, dakuten and handakuten, gives 25 more sounds for 71 in total. The small ゃ, ゅ and ょ combinations add 33 more, so you can write 104 sounds without learning any new shapes.
- 46basic
- +25with marks
- +33combos
Do I need to learn hiragana stroke order?
Yes, it is worth it. Stroke order makes your writing look natural, helps you remember each shape, and makes handwritten Japanese much easier to read. Tap the pencil on any card in the chart to watch the strokes drawn in order, then trace them yourself.
What are the Extra sounds and Combos on the chart?
They are steps 2 and 3, for after the 46 basics. Extra sounds add a small mark to a letter you already know: ゛ turns か (ka) into が (ga) and ゜ turns は (ha) into ぱ (pa), giving 25 new sounds. Combos join a letter like き with a small ゃ, ゅ or ょ into one sound, like きゃ (kya), for 33 more. Neither has new shapes, so start them once the 46 feel easy.
- がga · mark
- ぱpa · circle
- きゃkya · combo
Is this hiragana practice really free?
Yes. The chart, audio, stroke order animations, tracing canvas and quiz are all free, with no ads and no signup. Practice as much as you like. When you are ready for words, the KotoNexa app teaches JLPT vocabulary with flashcards.
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