Hiragana Chart

How to read the chart

Hiragana is one of the two Japanese kana syllabaries, and it is where nearly every learner starts. Each character stands for a whole sound (a syllable), not a single letter. Read each row of the basic chart across in vowel order — a, i, u, e, o — so the first row is あ (a), い (i), う (u), え (e), お (o), the next is か (ka), き (ki), く (ku), け (ke), こ (ko), and so on.

• Copy Tap any kana to copy it as plain Unicode — paste it into a message, a name, or a bio.
• Quiz Switch off Show romaji to hide the readings and test yourself on the kana alone.
• Print Print the chart (or save it as a PDF) for the wall, a binder, or the classroom.
• Save Download a PNG to drop into notes, slides, or a study deck.

The three sections

The basic section is the 46-kana gojūon every course teaches first. The voiced section adds the dakuten (゛) and handakuten (゜) marks — the same shapes voiced into g, z, d, b, and p sounds (か → が, は → ば → ぱ). The combinations section pairs a consonant kana with a small ゃ, ゅ, or ょ to make sounds like きゃ (kya) and しょ (sho). Turn the last two sections off with the switches above when you only want the core chart.