| a | i | u | e | o | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vowels | |||||
| K | |||||
| S | |||||
| T | |||||
| N | |||||
| H | |||||
| M | |||||
| Y | |||||
| R | |||||
| W | |||||
| The moraic n |
Tap a kana to hear it.
Three scripts in one sentence
私kanjiはhiragana毎朝kanjiコーヒーkatakanaをhiragana飲kanjiみますhiragana
Most Japanese sentences mix all three scripts. Kanji, characters borrowed from Chinese, write the meaning: 私 is "I", and 毎朝 is "every morning".
Hiragana writes what holds the sentence together: the particles は and を, and the verb ending みます. Any word can be spelled in it.
Katakana writes words taken from other languages. コーヒー is "coffee", a word Japanese took from Dutch. It also writes foreign names and many sound effects.
For what sets the two kana scripts apart, and which to learn first, see hiragana vs katakana.
How many letters are there?
Hiragana and katakana have 46 basic kana each, and 104 each once you add the two sound marks and the combined sounds such as きゃ. Kanji are counted apart, because each one stands for a meaning: the government's list for everyday use holds 2,136.
| What you count | How many |
|---|---|
| Basic kana, in each script | 46 |
| With the voicing marks, as in が and ぱ | 71 |
| With the combined sounds, as in きゃ | 104 |
| Both kana scripts together | 208 |
| Common extra katakana for sounds from other languages, as in ファ and ティ. The official rules for loanwords (opens in a new tab) allow 33 in all | 21 |
| Kanji on the jōyō list (opens in a new tab), the government's list for everyday use (2010) | 2,136 |
In 285 graded texts from Yominews, Yomimaru's news section, published up to September 2026, about half of all characters were hiragana, about 14% katakana and the rest kanji. These texts were written for learners, not for native readers, so take the shares as a guide. How we counted.
Your first five kana
あ, い, う, え and お are the five vowels, and the first row of every kana chart. They already spell real words. Tap a kana to hear it, then open each word.
あおShow the answer
ao, blue
いえShow the answer
ie, house
うえShow the answer
ue, up, above
あいShow the answer
ai, love
いいえShow the answer
iie, no
How Japanese sounds work
A kana is read the same way in almost every word, so a handful of rules covers most of what you will hear.
Five vowels
Japanese has five vowels, a, i, u, e and o, and each keeps the same sound in every word. Most other kana put a consonant in front of one of them.
One kana, one beat
Japanese counts in beats called mora, and each kana takes one. A word lasts as many beats as it has kana.
The n sound takes a full beat
ん has no vowel of its own, and it still takes a full beat.
Long vowels
A vowel held for two beats adds a vowel kana in hiragana, as in おじいさん. Long e and o are usually written えい and おう. Katakana uses a dash, ー. The length changes the word.
Small tsu is a pause
A small っ is a one-beat pause before the next consonant, which comes out doubled in rōmaji.
Two ticks change the sound
Two small ticks, the dakuten, voice a kana: か becomes が. A small circle turns the h row into p: は becomes ぱ.
Dakuten, handakuten and small tsu
English letters in Japanese
Japanese also uses the English alphabet: on signs, in brand names and in words like Tシャツ, a T-shirt. Each English letter has a Japanese name written in katakana. This is how Japanese says the letters A to Z, not a Japanese alphabet.
Your first words
Start with the numbers: ten short words you will hear whenever someone says a price or a time.
One to ten
| Number | Kanji | Reading | Play |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 一 | いち | |
| 2 | 二 | に | |
| 3 | 三 | さん | |
| 4 | 四 | よん / し | |
| 5 | 五 | ご | |
| 6 | 六 | ろく | |
| 7 | 七 | なな / しち | |
| 8 | 八 | はち | |
| 9 | 九 | きゅう / く | |
| 10 | 十 | じゅう |
Four, seven and nine each have two readings, and both are correct. The word you use them in decides which one you hear:
I love you
It is a strong phrase that many couples seldom say out loud. Day to day, people more often say 好き (suki), "like".
Where to start
Hiragana first, katakana second, and kanji along the way, once you are reading.
Hiragana
Every sentence uses it, and the readings above kanji are written in it.
Katakana
The same sounds in sharper shapes, for borrowed words and names.
Kanji, as you read
A few at a time, from the words you meet in stories.
Four rows in, with あ, か, さ and た, you can already read くさい たこ, "stinky octopus": the title of a short story on Yomimaru.
Questions about the Japanese alphabet
How many letters are in the Japanese alphabet?
Japanese has no alphabet, so there is no single number. Hiragana and katakana have 46 basic characters each. The two sound marks, dakuten and handakuten, raise that to 71 per script, and combined sounds such as きゃ raise it to 104, so 208 kana across both scripts. Kanji are counted apart: the official list for everyday use, the jōyō kanji, holds 2,136.
Is the Japanese writing system hard to learn?
The two kana scripts are the easy part. Each kana stands for one sound and almost never changes it, so once you know the 46 basic shapes you can sound out any word written in kana. Kanji take far longer. There are thousands, most have more than one reading, and learners pick them up gradually as they read.
Why does Japanese use three scripts?
Each one does a different job in the same sentence. Kanji, borrowed from Chinese, carry the meaning of most nouns and verb stems. Hiragana writes the grammar: particles and verb endings. Katakana marks words taken from other languages, along with names and sound effects.
What is kana?
Kana is the name for the two Japanese scripts that spell sounds, hiragana and katakana. They cover the same set of sounds with different shapes, so あ and ア are both read a. Kanji are not kana: a kanji stands for a meaning and can be read more than one way.
Should I learn kana or kanji first?
Kana first. Beginner books and children's stories are written mostly in kana, and the furigana over a kanji spells its reading in kana too. Start with hiragana, since it appears in every sentence, then katakana, and learn kanji a few at a time from the words you meet while reading.
Keep learning
- The free Yomikana courseAll 208 kana, one row per lesson
- Tell シ, ツ, ソ and ン apartHow to tell the four katakana look-alikes apart, with a drill.
- Dakuten, handakuten and small tsuHow two ticks and a circle change a kana, with a drill.
- Free hiragana quizTest the 46 basics, dakuten or yōon, by tapping or typing.
- Free katakana quizTest yourself on all 104 katakana, then read 30 real loanwords.
- Katakana chartAll katakana, extended sounds included, with a printable PDF.
- Hiragana chartAll hiragana with mnemonics, stroke order and a printable PDF.
- Hiragana vs katakanaWhat each script is for, and which to learn first.
Start with the first row
Yomikana teaches あいうえお first, then the rest of hiragana and katakana a row at a time. It's free, and you need no account.