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Japanese Alphabets
Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji

Refer to Table 1-1. to 1-4. for hiragana, and Table 2. for katakana. You'll find the Hepburn
system of romaji under each hiragana or katakana.

* Note: On this Web site, I use "wo" instead of "o" for を so that you can differentiate お(o) and
を(wo).

** Note: For technical and other reasons, I may not follow the rules of the Hepburn system
precisely, especially when dealing with long vowels. For example, under the rules, "yuki(ゆう
き)," meaning courage, needs a macron over the letter "u." However, I can't put the macron for
a technical reason. Therefore, ゆうき is spelled "yuuki" on this Web site. Read "Pronunciation of
Japanese" below to learn about long vowels.

Table 1-1. HIRAGANA（ひらがな）

Goju-onzu（五十音図） - SEION（清音＝せいおん）

ん わ ら や ま は な た さ か あ
n wa ra ya ma ha na ta sa ka a
(い) り (い) み ひ に ち し き い
i ri i mi hi ni chi shi ki i
う る ゆ む ふ ぬ つ す く う
u ru yu mu fu nu tsu su ku u
(え) れ (え) め へ ね て せ け え
e re e me he ne te se ke e
を ろ よ も ほ の と そ こ お
(w)o ro yo mo ho no to so ko o

Pronunciation of Japanese

Short Vowels:

あ(a) is pronounced like "a" as in father.

い(i) is pronounced like "ee" as in cheese.
う(u) is pronounced like "u" as in root.
え(e) is pronounced like "e" as in pet.
お(o) is pronounced like "o" as in port.

*Note that all vowel sounds should be pronounced clearly, and that they are shorter than those of the
English language.

Long Vowels:

In Japanese, some vowels are lengthened, and they are known as long vowels. For example, take a look at
the word "suji." If you see the letter "u" as a short vowel, the meaning of the word is "a muscle; a tendon;
a sinew; a line; a stripe"（すじ）, but if you make the "u" sound longer,(i.e."uu"), the meaning of the
word changes into "a figure; a numeral"（すうじ）. Therefore, learners of Japanese need to be able to
differentiate between long vowels and short vowels, though it may be confusing at first. On this Web site,
the romaji notation for the long vowels is as follows:

aa
e.g. baasan（おばあさん; a grandma）

ii
e.g. ojiisan（おじいさん； a grandpa)
uu
e.g. tsuukin（つうきん； commutation)

ei (or ee)
e.g. meijin（めいじん； an expert)

ou (or oo) : e.g. oujo （おうじょ； a Royal princess)

Table 1-2. HIRAGANA（ひらがな）

Dakuon(濁音＝だくおん) & Handakuon(半濁音＝はんだくおん)

ぱ ば だ ざ が
pa ba da za ga
ぴ び ぢ じ ぎ
pi bi ji ji gi
ぷ ぶ づ ず ぐ
pu bu zu zu gu
ぺ べ で ぜ げ
pe be de ze ge
ぽ ぼ ど ぞ ご
po bo do zo go
The dakuon(濁音) letters, shown in the white boxes above, have sonant marks at the top right.
The enlarged are as follows:

ば び ぶ べ ぼ
The handakuon(半濁音) letters, shown in the colored boxes above, have small circles at the top
right. Handakuon is the p-sound in the kana syllabary. The enlarged are as follows:

ぱ ぴ ぷ ぺ ぽ
Table 1-3. HIRAGANA（ひらがな）
Youon (拗音＝ようおん)
1. Seion (清音＝せいおん）

りゃ みゃ ひゃ にゃ ちゃ しゃ きゃ
rya mya hya nya cha sha kya
りゅ みゅ ひゅ にゅ ちゅ しゅ きゅ
ryu myu hyu nyu chu shu kyu
りょ みょ ひょ にょ ちょ しょ きょ
ryo myo hyo nyo cho sho kyo

Table 1-4. HIRAGANA（ひらがな）

Youon (拗音＝ようおん)
2. Dakuon & Handakuon (濁音・半濁音)

ぴゃ ぢゃ じゃ ぎゃ
pya ja ja gya
ぴゅ ぢゅ じゅ ぎゅ
byu ju ju gyu
ぴょ ぢょ じょ ぎょ
 pyo jo jo gyo

Table 2. KATAKANA（カタカナ）

ン ワ ラ ヤ マ ハ ナ タ サ カ ア
n wa ra ya ma ha na ta sa ka a
イ リ イ ミ ヒ ニ チ シ キ イ
i ri i mi hi ni chi shi ki i
ウ ル ユ ム フ ヌ ツ ス ク ウ
u ru yu mu fu nu tsu su ku u
エ レ エ メ ヘ ネ テ セ ケ エ
e re e me he ne te se ke e
ヲ ロ ヨ モ ホ ノ ト ソ コ オ
wo ro yo mo ho no to so ko o