Learning Kana

Hiragana (ひらがな)

Hiragana is use for native applications

Katakana (カタカナ)

Is used to indicate foreignness.

Romanji

Hepburn Romanji is a romanization of the kana characters that focuses on being pronounceable for English speakers.

The Gojūon (五十音 / ごじゅうおん)

The gojūon is the prevailing “alphabetical” order that is used in Japan. It provides a structure for ordering each basic kana. Here is the gojūon for Hiragana. Each of the kana are linked to an in depth section that provides the Hiragana, Katakana, Hepburn Romanji, and pronunciation in international phonetic alphabet.

		k	s	t	n	h	m	y	r	w	ɴ
a	あ	か	さ	た	な	は	ま	や	ら	わ
i	い	き	し	ち	に	ひ	み		り
u	う	く	す	つ	ぬ	ふ	む	ゆ	る
e	え	け	せ	て	ね	へ	め		れ
o	お	こ	そ	と	の	ほ	も	よ	ろ	を	ん

The Moriac Nasal - ん

There are

The Mora

Daku

Digraphs

Gyō versus Dan

Reference

The a Gyō

| Romanji | Hiragana | Katakana | IPA | |———+———-+———-+—————| | a | あ | ア | [ a ] | | i | い | イ | [ i ] | | u | う | ウ | [ u ] | | e | え | エ | [ e ] | | o | お | オ | [ o ] |

*** The ka Gyō

| Romanji | Hiragana | Katakana | IPA | |———+———-+———-+—————-| | ka | | | [ka] | | ki | | | [ki] | | ku | | | [ku] | | ke | | | [ke] | | ko | | | [ko] |

*** The sa Gyō

| Romanji | Hiragana | Katakana | IPA | |———+———-+———-+—————| | sa | | | [sa] | | shi | | | [ɕi] | | su | | | [su] | | se | | | [se] | | so | | | [so] |

*** The ta Gyō

| Romanji | Hiragana | Katakana | IPA | |———+———-+———-+—————| | ta | | | [ta] | | chi | | | [tɕi] | | tsu | | | [tsu] | | te | | | [te] | | to | | | [to] |

*** The na Gyō

| Romanji | Hiragana | Katakana | IPA | |———+———-+———-+—————| | na | | | [na] | | ni | | | [ni] | | nu | | | [nu] | | ne | | | [ne] | | no | | | [no] |

*** The ha Gyō

| Romanji | Hiragana | Katakana | IPA | |———+———-+———-+—————| | ha | あ | ア | [ha] | | hi | い | イ | [çi] | | fu | う | ウ | [ɸu] | | he | え | エ | [he] | | ho | お | オ | [ho] |

*** The ma Gyō

| Romanji | Hiragana | Katakana | IPA | |———+———-+———-+—————| | ma | あ | ア | [ma] | | mi | い | イ | [mi] | | mu | う | ウ | [mu] | | me | え | エ | [me] | | mo | お | オ | [mo] |

*** The ya Gyō

| Romanji | Hiragana | Katakana | IPA | |———+———-+———-+—————-| | ya | | | [ja] | | | | | | | yu | | | [hu] | | | | | | | yo | | | [ho] |

*** The ra gyo

| Romanji | Hiragana | Katakana | IPA | |———+———-+———-+—————| | a | あ | ア | [ a ] | | i | い | イ | [ i ] | | u | う | ウ | [ u ] | | e | え | エ | [ e ] | | o | お | オ | [ o ] |

*** The wa gyō

| Romanji | Hiragana | Katakana | IPA | |———+———-+———-+—————-| | wa | | | [wa] | | wo | | | [ o ] |