Katakana Chart

Katakana has 46 basic characters, the same sounds as hiragana. カ is ka, キ is ki, ク is ku. It is mostly used for words from other languages, like コーヒー (kōhī, coffee). Tap any character to hear it.

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The 46 basic katakana

Tap any character to hear it.

Katakana chart: one row per consonant, one column per vowel
	a	i	u	e	o
–
k
s
t
n
h
m
y
r
w
n

ヲ (wo) is said o and is almost never used in katakana. ン (n) is the only consonant that stands on its own; no word starts with it.

Dakuten and handakuten: ガ, ザ, ダ, バ, パ

Two short strokes (゛, dakuten) make the consonant voiced: カ ka → ガ ga, サ sa → ザ za, タ ta → ダ da, ハ ha → バ ba. A small circle (゜, handakuten) turns h into p: ハ ha → パ pa. ヂ and ヅ sound like ジ and ズ and are rare.

Dakuten and handakuten: ガ, ザ, ダ, バ, パ
	a	i	u	e	o
g
z
d
b
p

Combined sounds (yōon): キャ, シュ, チョ

A small ャュョ after a character that ends in i merges with it into one syllable: キ ki + ャ ya → キャ kya. Written full size, it would be two syllables. Katakana also has extra pairs for sounds from other languages, such as ファ fa, ティ ti and ウィ wi.

Combined sounds (yōon): キャ, シュ, チョ
	ャ	ュ	ョ
ky
sh
ch
ny
hy
my
ry	リャrya
gy
j
by
py

Katakana that look alike

シ (shi): the two dots sit on the left and the long stroke rises from below. ツ (tsu): the dots sit on top and the long stroke falls from above.
The same trap with one dot: ソ (so) has its dot on top and a falling stroke, ン (n) has its dot on the left and a rising stroke.
ク (ku) is two strokes. タ (ta) adds a short stroke inside; ケ (ke) has a flat line that sticks out to the right.
ウ (u) has a dot on top, ワ (wa) has a short stroke on the left but no dot, and フ (fu) is a single stroke.
コ (ko) is a box open on the left; in ユ (yu) the bottom line is longer and sticks out.
ノ (no) is one slanted stroke; メ (me) crosses it with a second one.

Hiragana, katakana or kanji?

Everyday Japanese mixes three scripts, often in one sentence. Hiragana and katakana are two sets of the same 46 sounds; kanji carry meaning.

Katakana

Words from other languages, foreign names, brands and sound effects. A dash ー makes a vowel long.
Hiragana

Japanese words and grammar: verb and adjective endings, small words such as は (wa) and を (o), and words without a common kanji.
Kanji

Chinese characters for the core of most words. Hiragana adds the ending: 食べる = 食 + べる.