The basic katakana chart below shows all 46 katakana characters — the complete katakana alphabet from ア (a) to ン (n). Each card shows the katakana with romaji pronunciation. Tap any character to hear it spoken in natural Japanese.
カタカナBasic Katakana Chart
Tap any character to hear its pronunciation
| a | i | u | e | o |
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Katakana is used mainly for foreign loanwords, foreign names, and onomatopoeia. It shares the same sounds as hiragana but uses different, sharper character shapes. 46 characters total — same count as basic hiragana.
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What Is Katakana?
Katakana (カタカナ) is one of the three writing systems used in Japanese, alongside hiragana and kanji. It is a phonetic syllabary — each character represents a sound, not a meaning. Katakana has exactly the same 46 sounds as hiragana, but uses different, sharper and more angular character shapes. It is most commonly used for foreign loanwords (借用語), foreign names, scientific terms, and onomatopoeia.
When Is Katakana Used?
Once you can read the katakana chart, you will start spotting it everywhere in Japanese. The four main uses are:
- Foreign loanwords (外来語) · コーヒー (koohii, coffee), テレビ (terebi, TV), パソコン (pasokon, PC)
- Foreign names and places · アメリカ (Amerika, America), マリア (Maria)
- Onomatopoeia and sound effects · ドキドキ (dokidoki, heartbeat), ワンワン (wanwan, woof)
- Emphasis and technical terms · like bold text in English — used in ads, menus, and scientific writing
💡 Tip: If you see a word in katakana you don’t recognise, try reading it aloud slowly — it is often an English word adapted to Japanese sounds. アイスクリーム (aisu kuriimu) = ice cream.
How Is Katakana Different from Hiragana?
Both scripts cover the same 46 sounds, but they look very different. Hiragana characters are rounded and flowing — they developed from cursive kanji. Katakana characters are angular and sharp — they developed from individual strokes of kanji. For example, the sound “a” is あ in hiragana and ア in katakana. Same sound, completely different shape. In real Japanese text, both scripts appear together alongside kanji, so learning both is essential.
The Katakana Chart Structure
The basic katakana chart follows the same gojuuon (五十音) grid as hiragana — 10 rows of 5 sounds each, though 4 slots are empty, giving 46 characters total:
- ア行 (a-row) · ア イ ウ エ オ
- カ行 (ka-row) · カ キ ク ケ コ
- サ行 (sa-row) · サ シ ス セ ソ
- タ行 (ta-row) · タ チ ツ テ ト
- ナ行 (na-row) · ナ ニ ヌ ネ ノ
- ハ行 (ha-row) · ハ ヒ フ ヘ ホ
- マ行 (ma-row) · マ ミ ム メ モ
- ヤ行 (ya-row) · ヤ ― ユ ― ヨ
- ラ行 (ra-row) · ラ リ ル レ ロ
- ワ行 + ン · ワ ヲ ン
Commonly Confused Katakana Pairs
Several katakana characters look almost identical. Watch out for these pairs:
- ソ (so) vs ン (n) · The stroke direction differs — ソ strokes go bottom-left to top-right; ン goes top-left to bottom-right
- シ (shi) vs ツ (tsu) · Same issue — rotate your mental image 90° and check the diagonal stroke
- ア (a) vs マ (ma) · ア has a short top stroke with a longer crossing line; マ has a hook at the end
- ウ (u) vs ワ (wa) · ウ has a small horizontal stroke on top; ワ does not
⚠️ The ソ/ン and シ/ツ pairs trip up almost every beginner. Write them out by hand several times — the stroke direction difference becomes obvious once you have written it yourself.
How Long Does It Take to Learn Katakana?
If you already know hiragana, one to two weeks of consistent daily practice is enough to read katakana fluently. If you are learning both scripts at the same time, give yourself a little more room. The fastest approach: learn one row per day, tap through each row in the chart above out loud, then write each character by hand 5–10 times. Focus on the confusing pairs (ソ/ン, シ/ツ) early so they do not become bad habits. Reading real loanwords — menus, product labels, signs — is the best reinforcement once you know the basics.