Moji NinjaHiragana chart with stroke order
Hiragana (ひらがな) is the first Japanese script to learn. Each of its 46 basic characters is one syllable, and with the dakuten marks and the small ゃ ゅ ょ っ they spell every sound in Japanese. Below are all 46 with their romaji, then how to write each one, stroke by stroke.
The hiragana chart (gojūon)
Read the chart row by row: each row shares a consonant, each column a vowel. ん (n) is the only character without a vowel. を is pronounced “o” and is used only as a particle; in romaji it is usually written wo.
| a | i | u | e | o | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| – | あa | いi | うu | えe | おo |
| k | かka | きki | くku | けke | こko |
| s | さsa | しshi | すsu | せse | そso |
| t | たta | ちchi | つtsu | てte | とto |
| n | なna | にni | ぬnu | ねne | のno |
| h | はha | ひhi | ふfu | へhe | ほho |
| m | まma | みmi | むmu | めme | もmo |
| y | やya | ゆyu | よyo | ||
| r | らra | りri | るru | れre | ろro |
| w | わwa | をwo | |||
| n | んn | ||||
Hiragana stroke order
The numbers show the order of the strokes. Stroke order matters: it makes your handwriting look right and helps you read other people's. Most strokes run from top to bottom and from left to right.
Hiragana that look alike
ぬ (nu) ends in a loop; め (me) doesn't.
The left stroke is the same. ね (ne) ends in a loop, れ (re) kicks out to the right, and わ (wa) curves round and down.
る (ru) ends in a loop; ろ (ro) doesn't.
Mirror images: the lower curve of ち (chi) bulges to the right, the lower curve of さ (sa) to the left.
き (ki) has two horizontal strokes; さ (sa) has one.
On the right, ほ (ho) has two horizontal strokes; は (ha) has one.
お (o) has a separate dot at the top right; あ (a) doesn't.
In り (ri) the right stroke is much longer than the left.
How to learn hiragana fast
- One row at a time. Five characters, a review, then the next row. Moji Ninja's learning path is built this way.
- Test yourself instead of re-reading. Memory research shows that recalling an answer builds memory faster than reading it again.
- Space your reviews. Spaced repetition brings each character back just as you start to forget it.
- Write by hand. A few copies in the right stroke order fix the shape.
- Make up a memory hook for the characters that won't stick.
Many learners can read all 46 in one to two weeks with 15–30 minutes a day. Next steps: dakuten and handakuten, combination kana (yōon), small っ and long vowels, and katakana.
Frequently asked questions
How many hiragana characters are there?
There are 46 basic hiragana. The dakuten and handakuten marks add 25 more (20 and 5), and the small ゃ, ゅ and ょ make 33 combinations such as きゃ (kya).
Should I learn hiragana or katakana first?
Hiragana. It writes grammar endings, particles and many everyday words, so it is in every sentence. Katakana spells the same syllables and is quick to learn afterwards.
What is the difference between hiragana and katakana?
They spell the same sounds. Hiragana writes native Japanese words and grammar; katakana writes loanwords, foreign names, sound effects and emphasis.
Why is を written wo but read “o”?
In standard Japanese を is pronounced “o”. Writing it wo keeps it apart from お, and it is used only as the object particle: 本を読む (hon o yomu, “read a book”).
How long does it take to learn hiragana?
Many learners can read all 46 in one to two weeks with 15–30 minutes of practice a day. Writing them from memory takes a little longer.