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Hiragana: all 46 basic characters

Learn to read all 46 basic hiragana plus the most common voiced sounds, with example words for every character.

JapaneseBeginner50 cardsFree

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Hiragana

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All 50 cards

  1. 1
    あ
    Hiragana
    a
    あめ (ame) · rain
  2. 2
    い
    Hiragana
    i
    いぬ (inu) · dog
  3. 3
    う
    Hiragana
    u
    うみ (umi) · sea
  4. 4
    え
    Hiragana
    e
    えき (eki) · station
  5. 5
    お
    Hiragana
    o
    おちゃ (ocha) · green tea
  6. 6
    か
    Hiragana
    ka
    かさ (kasa) · umbrella
  7. 7
    き
    Hiragana
    ki
    きた (kita) · north
  8. 8
    く
    Hiragana
    ku
    くち (kuchi) · mouth
  9. 9
    け
    Hiragana
    ke
    けさ (kesa) · this morning
  10. 10
    こ
    Hiragana
    ko
    こえ (koe) · voice
  11. 11
    さ
    Hiragana
    sa
    さかな (sakana) · fish
  12. 12
    し
    Hiragana
    shi
    しろ (shiro) · white
  13. 13
    す
    Hiragana
    su
    すし (sushi) · sushi
  14. 14
    せ
    Hiragana
    se
    せかい (sekai) · world
  15. 15
    そ
    Hiragana
    so
    そら (sora) · sky
  16. 16
    た
    Hiragana
    ta
    たまご (tamago) · egg
  17. 17
    ち
    Hiragana
    chi
    ちず (chizu) · map
  18. 18
    つ
    Hiragana
    tsu
    つき (tsuki) · moon
  19. 19
    て
    Hiragana
    te
    て (te) · hand
  20. 20
    と
    Hiragana
    to
    とり (tori) · bird
  21. 21
    な
    Hiragana
    na
    なつ (natsu) · summer
  22. 22
    に
    Hiragana
    ni
    にく (niku) · meat
  23. 23
    ぬ
    Hiragana
    nu
    ぬの (nuno) · cloth
  24. 24
    ね
    Hiragana
    ne
    ねこ (neko) · cat
  25. 25
    の
    Hiragana
    no
    のり (nori) · seaweed
  26. 26
    は
    Hiragana
    ha
    はな (hana) · flower. As the topic particle it is read “wa”.
  27. 27
    ひ
    Hiragana
    hi
    ひと (hito) · person
  28. 28
    ふ
    Hiragana
    fu
    ふね (fune) · boat
  29. 29
    へ
    Hiragana
    he
    へや (heya) · room. As the direction particle it is read “e”.
  30. 30
    ほ
    Hiragana
    ho
    ほし (hoshi) · star
  31. 31
    ま
    Hiragana
    ma
    まど (mado) · window
  32. 32
    み
    Hiragana
    mi
    みみ (mimi) · ear
  33. 33
    む
    Hiragana
    mu
    むし (mushi) · insect
  34. 34
    め
    Hiragana
    me
    め (me) · eye
  35. 35
    も
    Hiragana
    mo
    もり (mori) · forest
  36. 36
    や
    Hiragana
    ya
    やま (yama) · mountain
  37. 37
    ゆ
    Hiragana
    yu
    ゆき (yuki) · snow
  38. 38
    よ
    Hiragana
    yo
    よる (yoru) · night
  39. 39
    ら
    Hiragana
    ra
    らいねん (rainen) · next year
  40. 40
    り
    Hiragana
    ri
    りんご (ringo) · apple
  41. 41
    る
    Hiragana
    ru
    るす (rusu) · being away from home
  42. 42
    れ
    Hiragana
    re
    れきし (rekishi) · history
  43. 43
    ろ
    Hiragana
    ro
    ろく (roku) · six
  44. 44
    わ
    Hiragana
    wa
    わたし (watashi) · I, me
  45. 45
    を
    Hiragana
    wo
    Used only as the object particle, pronounced “o”: ほんをよむ (hon o yomu) · read a book
  46. 46
    ん
    Hiragana
    n
    ほん (hon) · book
  47. 47
    が
    Hiragana
    ga
    Voiced か. がっこう (gakkō) · school
  48. 48
    ざ
    Hiragana
    za
    Voiced さ. ざっし (zasshi) · magazine
  49. 49
    だ
    Hiragana
    da
    Voiced た. だいがく (daigaku) · university
  50. 50
    ば
    Hiragana
    ba
    Voiced は. ばんごはん (bangohan) · dinner

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to learn hiragana?

Most learners can read all 46 basic characters within one to two weeks of short daily reviews.

Which romanization does this deck use?

Hepburn romanization (shi, chi, tsu, fu), the system used on Japanese signs and in most textbooks.

Should I learn hiragana or katakana first?

Hiragana first: it appears in nearly every Japanese sentence, while katakana is mostly for loanwords and names.

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