# お — hiragana “o”

お is the hiragana character for the sound “o”. It is written with 3 strokes, and in katakana the same sound is オ.

- Reading: o
- Strokes: 3
- Katakana: オ

## How お sounds

Like the o in “go”, but short and pure, without sliding into a w.

## Don't confuse it with

あ

## Words with お

| Word | Reading | Meaning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| おはよう | ohayou | good morning |
| おやすみ | oyasumi | good night; day off |
| おめでとう | omedetou | congratulations! |
| おもう | omou | to think |
| おく | oku | to put |
| おおく | ooku | many |

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From Moji Ninja (https://moji.ninja/), a free app for learning hiragana, katakana and the JLPT kanji from N5 to N1 with spaced repetition. Page: https://moji.ninja/hiragana-chart/o/. Last updated 2026-11-01.