Katakana Practice — Free Chart, Audio & Writing (No Ads)
Katakana writes the same sounds as hiragana in sharper shapes: 46 letters for foreign words and names.
👋 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 katakana
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 katakana?
Katakana (カタカナ) is the second Japanese kana script. It has exactly the same sounds as hiragana, but with sharp, straight strokes, and it is used for foreign loanwords, foreign names, brand names, and emphasis. You will see it everywhere in Japan, from café menus and train stations to manga sound effects.
If you already know hiragana, katakana is mostly about learning new shapes, because every character maps to a sound you know: ア (a), イ (i), ウ (u), エ (e), and オ (o) are the same five vowels as あ い う え お.
Haven't learned hiragana yet? Start with our hiragana practice, then come back here.
How to learn katakana
Learn it in the same chart order as hiragana. Start with the five vowels, then add one row a day. If you already know hiragana, you only need to learn the new shapes.
- Day 1Learn the vowelsア イ ウ エ オ
- Day 2Learn the K rowカ キ ク ケ コ
- Day 3Learn the S rowサ シ ス セ ソ
- Day 4Learn the T rowタ チ ツ テ ト
- Day 5Learn the N rowナ ニ ヌ ネ ノ
- Day 6Learn the H rowハ ヒ フ ヘ ホ
- Day 7Learn the M rowマ ミ ム メ モ
- Day 8Learn the Y rowヤ ユ ヨ
- Day 9Learn the R rowラ リ ル レ ロ
- Day 10Learn the W row + ンワ ヲ ン
Tips that make it stick
Small habits that make katakana stick, especially if you already know hiragana.
Say it out loud
Play the audio, then repeat. The sounds are the same as hiragana, so link each new shape to a sound you know.
Spot the hiragana twins
Some katakana look like their hiragana pair: か/カ, き/キ, へ/ヘ, り/リ, も/モ, や/ヤ. Learn those first for quick wins.
Write it by hand
Katakana strokes are short and straight, so stroke direction matters. Follow the animation, then trace it.
Read loanwords everywhere
Sound out menus and signs: コーヒー (kōhī, coffee), ホテル (hoteru, hotel), テレビ (terebi, TV).
Katakana vs hiragana
Katakana and hiragana share exactly the same sounds. The difference is how they look and what they are used for.
Katakana
カタカナSharp, straight strokes
- Foreign loanwords
- Foreign names and places
- Emphasis, like italics in English
Hiragana
ひらがなSoft, curved strokes
- Native Japanese words
- Grammar endings attached to kanji
- Particles like は, を, and に
Already know hiragana? Then you already know every katakana sound. Most learners pick up katakana in about a week, because only the shapes are new. Not there yet? Start with our hiragana practice first, or see the full overview in our Japanese alphabet guide.
Katakana extra sounds & combos: dakuten, handakuten and yōon
The same small marks you know from hiragana work exactly the same way in katakana.
Dakuten ゛
+20 soundsTwo small marks at the top right make the consonant voiced. They change the k, s, t, and h rows.
ジ and ヂ both sound like “ji”, and ズ and ヅ both sound like “zu”. ジ and ズ are far more common.
Handakuten ゜
+5 soundsA small circle used only on the h row. It turns every h sound into a p sound, as in パン (pan, bread).
Yōon ャ
+33 soundsAn i-column character plus a small ャ, ュ, or ョ merges into one syllable, as in キャンプ (kyanpu, camp).
The long vowel ー and foreign sounds
Katakana has a few extra tools for writing words borrowed from other languages. You'll meet them on almost every menu.
Long vowel ー
A dash stretches the vowel before it to double length. In vertical text it is written as a vertical line.
Foreign sounds ァ
A small ァ, ィ, ゥ, ェ, or ォ creates sounds Japanese doesn't have natively, for loanwords and names.
The V sound ゛
Adding dakuten to ウ gives ヴ, used for a “v” sound in some loanwords. Many words use the b row instead.
Ready to put your kana to work? Follow our JLPT N5 roadmap to go from kana to your first vocabulary.
Katakana questions beginners ask
Quick, plain answers to what every new learner wonders.
How long does it take to learn katakana?
If you already know hiragana, most learners can read all 46 katakana in about a week with 15 to 20 minutes of practice a day. The sounds are identical, so you only learn new shapes. Starting from zero, plan on two to three weeks for both scripts.
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 カ (ka) into ガ (ga) and ゜ turns ハ (ha) into パ (pa), giving 25 new sounds. Combos join a letter like キ with a small ャ, ュ or ョ into one sound, like キャ (kya), for 33 more. Neither has new shapes, so start them once the 46 feel easy.
- ガga · mark
- パpa · circle
- キャkya · combo
What is katakana used for?
Katakana mainly writes words borrowed from other languages, like コーヒー (coffee) and テレビ (TV), plus foreign names and places. It is also used for emphasis, the way English uses italics, and for many sound effects and animal or plant names.
How do I tell シ and ツ, or ソ and ン apart?
Look at the direction of the long stroke. In シ (shi) and ン (n) it sweeps upward from the bottom left, and the short strokes sit on the left. In ツ (tsu) and ソ (so) the long stroke falls downward from the top, and the short strokes sit along the top.
- シshi · up
- ツtsu · down
- ンn · up
- ソso · down
What does the long dash ー mean in katakana?
The dash ー makes the vowel before it twice as long. コ is ko, but コー is kō, so coffee is written コーヒー (kōhī). It is mostly used in katakana words; in hiragana a long vowel is usually written with an extra vowel character instead.
How many katakana characters are there?
There are 46 basic katakana. Adding the dakuten and handakuten marks gives 71, and the small ャ, ュ and ョ combinations bring the total to 104 sounds. Katakana also has a few extra combinations like ファ (fa) and ティ (ti) for foreign sounds.
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