ラ — katakana “ra”

ラ is the katakana character for the sound “ra”. It is written with 2 strokes, and in hiragana the same sound is ら.

ラ

How to write ラ

Follow the numbers on the diagram: each stroke starts at its number. Keep to this order, because that is how your hand remembers the shape.

The Japanese r is one light tap of the tongue, somewhere between r, l and d.

Last updated 1 November 2026