Learn Katakana: The Next Step In japanese Writing

Introduction to Katakana

What is Katakana?
Katakana is one of the three main scripts used in the Japanese writing system, alongside hiragana and kanji. It is a syllabary, meaning each character represents a syllable or sound, and it's the next script learned by in Japanese once you have mastered reading hiragana.

Unlike hiragana, katakana is only used for foreign loan words. Any non-Japanese word that is used in Japanese will be writen with katakana to form an aproximation of the original word. This is interesting for two main reasons. First, it allows you to identify loan words in Japanese very easily. Second, it helps you understand how Japanese aproximations of sounds work. As an example of this you can see the word ramen is written ラメン. While many people assume ramen is a Japanese dish, it was actually brought over form China, hence it being written using Katakana.

Another example from English is hamberger, which approximates as ハンバグ. In romaji this is: hanbagu. Notice how the lone m in hamberger gets changed into an n. That's a fairly common alterations. By paying attention to the differnet ways katakana is used, you can get a good sense for what loan words you've never seen in Japanese would look like!

The Basics of Katakana

The Structure of Katakana: It's Hiragana, but Different!
Katakana consists of 46 basic characters, each representing a unique vowel or consonant-vowel combination. These characters form the foundation of the Japanese phonetic system and are essential for reading and writing. If you're paying attention, you'll notice that that's exactly the same as hiragana. Katakana is phonetically a complete copy of hiragana. So if you already know hiragana, which you should before you start katakana, you only need to learn the new characters.

The chart below shows the characters in katakana as well as their romaji.

Learning katakana

Starting with Vowels
Just like with hiragana, begin with the five basic vowels: ア (a), イ (i), ウ (u), エ (e), オ (o).

The vowels are pronounced the same as in hiragana, see the refersher below:

• あ and ア, or a, is pronounced like the a in father.
• い and イ, or i, is pronounced like the e's in meet.
• う and ウ, or u, is pronounced like the o's in shoot.
• え and エ, or a, is pronounced like the e in bet.
• お and オ, or o, is pronounced like the o in story.

Understanding Consonants and Syllables
After the vowels, focus on the consonant-vowel syllables. Just like with hiragana, each syllable combines a consonant sound and a vowel. We still recommend learning them in column sets. Once you've reviewed for a bit head on over to our practice tool and drill them until you've got them down!

Katakana diacritical marks
Diacritical marks, the small symbols added to certain characters to change their pronunciation, are thankfully exactly the same in katakana and you don't need to learn any new marks. There are still the same two main types:

• Dakuten (゛), often called "ten-ten": This mark looks like a small quotation mark.
• Handakuten (゜), or "maru": This mark is a small circle.

See the chart below showing all currently used diacritical marks.

Special Katakana Characters
In katakana, the small characters still act the same, but you will be using the katakana variations of those small characters. in addition this, and not show in the chart long vowels sounds in katakana are sometimes indicated with ー instead of an additional vowel.

Katakana Practice

Regular Practice
Consistent practice is key to mastering katakana. Our tools help you study like flashcards, but they aren't a substitue for reading actual katakana, they just help you get the characters down. Take things one column at a time and you'll master katakana in no time!