Hiragana vs katakana
Hiragana and katakana are two sets of the same sounds. They look different and do different jobs, and you'll need both to read Japanese.
At a glance
| Hiragana | Katakana | |
|---|---|---|
| Look | Soft and rounded | Sharp and angular |
| Basic characters | 46 | 46 |
| Main use | Native words and grammar | Loanwords and foreign names |
| Example | たべる (taberu, to eat) | コーヒー (kōhī, coffee) |
| Long vowels | Extra vowel: おかあさん | Dash: ケーキ |
| Came from | Cursive kanji | Parts of kanji |
The same sounds, side by side
| Sound | Hiragana | Katakana |
|---|---|---|
| a i u e o | あ い う え お | ア イ ウ エ オ |
| ka ki ku ke ko | か き く け こ | カ キ ク ケ コ |
| sa shi su se so | さ し す せ そ | サ シ ス セ ソ |
| na ni nu ne no | な に ぬ ね の | ナ ニ ヌ ネ ノ |
Pairs that look alike across scripts
A few katakana are near copies of their hiragana partners, which makes them easy wins: か/カ, き/キ, せ/セ, へ/ヘ, り/リ and も/モ. Others look nothing alike, like ふ/フ or ね/ネ.
How they work together
A single Japanese sentence often uses all three scripts:
わたしはコーヒーを飲みます。
Watashi wa kōhī o nomimasu. I drink coffee. わたしは, を and みます are hiragana; コーヒー is katakana; 飲 is a kanji meaning “drink”.
Which to learn first
Start with hiragana. Once you can read it comfortably, move on to katakana, which usually takes less time because the sounds are already familiar. Then begin kanji alongside real vocabulary.
Questions learners ask
Do hiragana and katakana make the same sounds?
Yes. Every basic hiragana has a katakana partner with the same sound: あ and ア are both “a”, か and カ are both “ka”.
Which should I learn first?
Hiragana. It appears in nearly every sentence, so you'll use it from day one. Katakana is quicker to learn afterwards because the sounds are already familiar.
Where do kanji fit in?
Kanji is the third script. They carry meaning rather than just sound and make up the core of most words in writing. Hiragana fills in grammar around them, and katakana handles borrowed words.