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Katakana: all 46 basic characters

Learn all 46 basic katakana and the common voiced sounds, each with a real loanword so the shapes stick.

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Katakana

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All 50 cards

  1. 1
    ア
    Katakana
    a
    アイス (aisu) · ice cream
  2. 2
    イ
    Katakana
    i
    イギリス (Igirisu) · the United Kingdom
  3. 3
    ウ
    Katakana
    u
    ウイルス (uirusu) · virus
  4. 4
    エ
    Katakana
    e
    エアコン (eakon) · air conditioner
  5. 5
    オ
    Katakana
    o
    オレンジ (orenji) · orange
  6. 6
    カ
    Katakana
    ka
    カメラ (kamera) · camera
  7. 7
    キ
    Katakana
    ki
    キロ (kiro) · kilo(gram, metre)
  8. 8
    ク
    Katakana
    ku
    クラス (kurasu) · class
  9. 9
    ケ
    Katakana
    ke
    ケーキ (kēki) · cake
  10. 10
    コ
    Katakana
    ko
    コーヒー (kōhī) · coffee
  11. 11
    サ
    Katakana
    sa
    サラダ (sarada) · salad
  12. 12
    シ
    Katakana
    shi
    シャツ (shatsu) · shirt
  13. 13
    ス
    Katakana
    su
    スポーツ (supōtsu) · sports
  14. 14
    セ
    Katakana
    se
    セーター (sētā) · sweater
  15. 15
    ソ
    Katakana
    so
    ソファ (sofa) · sofa
  16. 16
    タ
    Katakana
    ta
    タクシー (takushī) · taxi
  17. 17
    チ
    Katakana
    chi
    チーズ (chīzu) · cheese
  18. 18
    ツ
    Katakana
    tsu
    ツアー (tsuā) · tour
  19. 19
    テ
    Katakana
    te
    テレビ (terebi) · television
  20. 20
    ト
    Katakana
    to
    トマト (tomato) · tomato
  21. 21
    ナ
    Katakana
    na
    ナイフ (naifu) · knife
  22. 22
    ニ
    Katakana
    ni
    ニュース (nyūsu) · news
  23. 23
    ヌ
    Katakana
    nu
    カヌー (kanū) · canoe
  24. 24
    ネ
    Katakana
    ne
    ネクタイ (nekutai) · necktie
  25. 25
    ノ
    Katakana
    no
    ノート (nōto) · notebook
  26. 26
    ハ
    Katakana
    ha
    ハンバーガー (hanbāgā) · hamburger
  27. 27
    ヒ
    Katakana
    hi
    ヒーター (hītā) · heater
  28. 28
    フ
    Katakana
    fu
    フォーク (fōku) · fork
  29. 29
    ヘ
    Katakana
    he
    ヘリコプター (herikoputā) · helicopter
  30. 30
    ホ
    Katakana
    ho
    ホテル (hoteru) · hotel
  31. 31
    マ
    Katakana
    ma
    マスク (masuku) · mask
  32. 32
    ミ
    Katakana
    mi
    ミルク (miruku) · milk
  33. 33
    ム
    Katakana
    mu
    ゲーム (gēmu) · game
  34. 34
    メ
    Katakana
    me
    メール (mēru) · email
  35. 35
    モ
    Katakana
    mo
    モデル (moderu) · model
  36. 36
    ヤ
    Katakana
    ya
    タイヤ (taiya) · tire
  37. 37
    ユ
    Katakana
    yu
    ユニフォーム (yunifōmu) · uniform
  38. 38
    ヨ
    Katakana
    yo
    ヨーグルト (yōguruto) · yogurt
  39. 39
    ラ
    Katakana
    ra
    ラジオ (rajio) · radio
  40. 40
    リ
    Katakana
    ri
    リボン (ribon) · ribbon
  41. 41
    ル
    Katakana
    ru
    ルール (rūru) · rule
  42. 42
    レ
    Katakana
    re
    レストラン (resutoran) · restaurant
  43. 43
    ロ
    Katakana
    ro
    ロボット (robotto) · robot
  44. 44
    ワ
    Katakana
    wa
    ワイン (wain) · wine
  45. 45
    ヲ
    Katakana
    wo
    Rare in modern Japanese; the object particle is written with hiragana を.
  46. 46
    ン
    Katakana
    n
    パン (pan) · bread
  47. 47
    ガ
    Katakana
    ga
    Voiced カ. ガラス (garasu) · glass
  48. 48
    ザ
    Katakana
    za
    Voiced サ. ピザ (piza) · pizza
  49. 49
    ダ
    Katakana
    da
    Voiced タ. ダンス (dansu) · dance
  50. 50
    バ
    Katakana
    ba
    Voiced ハ. バス (basu) · bus

Frequently asked questions

What is katakana used for?

Mainly loanwords (テレビ, terebi), foreign names, onomatopoeia and emphasis, much like italics in English.

Why do some katakana look alike?

Pairs like シ/ツ and ソ/ン differ in stroke direction. Reviewing them on a spaced schedule is the fastest way to tell them apart.

What does the long dash (ー) mean?

It lengthens the previous vowel: ケーキ is kēki (cake).

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