Basics Flashcards
あ
あ is pronounced like “ah!” like when you come to a realization. It also sounds like the a in “car.”
ア
ア is the katakana for あ (a).
ア has a deformed capital letter A in it. You have to turn your head to the side and connect some lines, but it’s there.
い
い is pronounced like the ee in “eel.”
To remember this kana, just think of a couple of eels hanging out. They’re upright because they’re trying to mimic the letter “i” which also stands upright and also happens to be the way you spell out this character in romaji1.
イ
イ is the katakana for い (i).
イ looks like an eagle, standing on the ground, or on a branch, or wherever. You see its legs and its back, curved down like an eagle’s?
う
う is pronounced like the oo in “ooh… ahhh!” when you’re watching fireworks. In other words, it sounds like u in “UNO,” the card game, or the number one in Spanish.
To remember this kana, notice the U shape right in it! It’s sideways but it’s there, telling you what this kana is. Be careful, there’s another similar hiragana, つ, but that one isn’t wearing a hat like U (you) are. Ooh, ahh, what a nifty hat!
ウ
ウ is the katakana for う (u).
This katakana character looks a lot like its hiragana counterpart: う. It should be similar enough to use as a mnemonic to remember what it is.
え
え is pronounced like the e in “egg.”
To remember this kana, think of it like an exotic bird. The feathery thing on its head gives it away that it’s exotic and not normal. It also lays exotic eggs, because it’s an exotic bird, after all.
エ
エ is the katakana for え (e).
Imagine this is a girder an engineer would use to build buildings. This character is in the shape of the end of a girder, and its made up of them too.
Or, you can think of it like an elevator, with its doors closed.
お
お is pronounced like you’re saying “oh.” It also sounds like the o in “origami.”
Can you see the letter o in here, two times? This one looks similar to あ, except for its one key difference: there are two letter “o” symbols visible in there. Make sure you use this to differentiate this kana (お) and that similar kana (あ). This is one area of hiragana where a lot of people trip up, but by using this mnemonic you will be able to figure them out every time.
オ
オ is the katakana for お (o).
This kana looks like an opera singer. His mouth is shaped like an o and he’s singing “Ohhhh!”
か
か is just the K sound plus あ, making a ka sound. It’s pronounced like ka in “karma.”
See how this kana looks like a mosquito? What a convenient coincidence. Mosquitos happen to be called か (ka) in Japanese. You also say “cut it out, darn mosquito!” when they try to suck your blood, so that should be easy to remember.
カ
カ is the katakana for か (ka).
It looks just like its hiragana counterpart: か, though it’s missing that little extra line. Close enough to make it easy to remember, though.
き
き is just the K sound plus い, making a ki sound.
In fact, it sounds just like the word “key” which is the mnemonic we end up using.
To remember this, notice how much it resembles a key.
Note: In some fonts, the bottom part is detached from the main part. For example: き. The pronunciation is still “ki” though!
キ
キ is the katakana for き (ki).
It looks like the hiragana き (the top part at least) and also looks like part of a weird key.
く
く is just the K sound plus う, making a ku sound. It’s pronounced “coo,” like both syllables of the word “cuckoo” (or just the first syllable, depending on your variety of English).
To remember this, think of this kana being the mouth of a coo-coo / cuckoo bird popping out saying “ku ku, ku ku!”
ク
ク is the katakana for く (ku).
This looks like a long cook’s hat.
け
け is just the K sound plus え, making a ke sound. It’s pronounced like ke in “kelp.”
See how this kana resembles some wiggly kelp?
ケ
ケ is the katakana for け (ke).
It looks like the letter K!
こ
こ is just the K sound plus お, making a ko sound. It’s pronounced like co in “cohabitating.” In British English, it is more like co in “coin.”
こ is a couple of co-habitation worms. They’re so happy together, co-habitating the same area! Alternatively, you could imagine a couple of short cords laying on the ground next to each other.
コ
コ is the katakana for こ (ko).
See the two 90 degree corners? The two corners are what help you to remember that this is “ko.”
さ
さ is just the S sound plus あ, making a sa sound. It’s pronounced like sa in “salsa.”
Notice how this kana looks like two hands stirring a bowl of salsa. This salsa is so chunky and thick, you need two hands just to stir it!
Note: Like き, the bottom part of さ is detached from the main part in some fonts. For example: さ.
サ
サ is the katakana for さ (sa).
Look at these two fish that are hanging on a skewer. The small one is a sardine and the bigger one is a salmon. You can tell that by the size difference. You can also remember this is “sa” because fish are called さかな (sakana) in Japanese.
し
し is just the SH sound plus い, making a shi sound. It’s pronounced like shee in “sheep.”
Take note that this is the first “exception” kana where it doesn’t follow the patterns that show up everywhere else. Instead of being “si” it’s “shi” (though you will see it written both ways when dealing with romaji. One more reason why you ought to just learn hiragana already).
This kana looks like a giant shepherd’s crook used to herd sheep. Baaaa… get in that corral, sheep!
シ
シ is the katakana for し (shi).
This kana looks like a smiley face, but something is wrong with it. Both eyes are sideways and stacked on top of each other like some deep sea fish. She has a very weird face.
す
す is just the S sound plus う, making a su sound. It’s pronounced like the word “sue,” or su in “suit.”
See the swing doing a loop-dee-loop throwing that poor kid off of it? Imagine him screaming “I’M GONNA SUE SOMEBODY FOR THIIIIIiiiissss” as he flies off into the distance.
ス
ス is the katakana for す (su).
What’s that up there? It’s Superman walking in the sky! Wait — upon closer inspection, it’s just his disembodied supersuit. …W-Where the heck did he go naked?
せ
せ is just the S sound plus え, making a se sound. It’s pronounced like se in “sell.”
This kana looks like a mouth with a big vampire fang in it. Someone’s trying to sell you a set of vampire teeth because they are just so sexy! Oh Dracula, always trying to make a quick buck.
セ
セ is the katakana for せ (se).
It looks really similar to the hiragana せ, so you should be able to use that to remember this kana.
そ
そ is just the S sound plus お, making a so sound. It’s pronounced like so in “soda.” In British English, it’s more like so in “song.”
See how this kana looks like a mouth slurping soda?
ソ
ソ is the katakana for そ (so).
It is one needle and a long thread, which you use to sew. Remember, needles are always vertical like this needle, because you need to stab it through something, straight down. This will help you to differentiate this one and the very similar ン, the katakana for “n.”
た
た is just the T sound plus あ, making a ta sound. It’s pronounced like ta in “taco.”
Use your imagination and see this kana as a fork, taco, and lime garnish for your taco. Wait… you’re eating a taco with a fork? That’s a bit weird, but you do you, pal.
タ
タ is the katakana for た (ta).
タ looks like a kite. Kites are called たこ (tako) in Japanese. This is actually a taco kite, too. It looks exactly like a giant taco flying high in the sky. Tacos are all the rage these days!
ち
ち is just the CH sound plus い, making a chi sound. It’s pronounced like chee in “cheese.”
This is the second “exception” hiragana. Instead of a “ti” sound, it’s a “chi” sound. Try not to forget this.
You know when someone tells you to say “cheese” when taking a picture of you? This kana looks like that forced smile you have to make every time you’re in a group photo.
チ
チ is the katakana for ち (chi).
Doesn’t this look like a cheerleader, doing a cheer?
つ
つ is just the TS sound plus う, making a tsu sound. It’s pronounced like tsu in “tsunami.”
This is another “exception” hiragana. Instead of saying “tu” you say “tsu.”
Look at the swoosh of this hiragana. Doesn’t it look like a big wave, or tsunami?
ツ
ツ is the katakana for つ (tsu).
While ソ (so) had one needle and thread, ツ has two needles and thread. Remember, needles are vertical because you use them to stab into cloth, straight down. This will help you to differentiate this one from シ (shi), which has more horizontal lines. Horizontal lines means it’s a face, vertical means it’s needles. So this one has two needles.
て
て is just the T sound plus え, making a te sound. It’s pronounced like te in “telescope.”
Can you see a good ol’ telescope? It’s a hand-held one! In Japanese, “hand” is て (te). That should help you remember that this kana looks like an old-school hand(te)-held telescope.
テ
テ is the katakana for て (te).
This kana looks like a telephone pole.
と
と is just the T sound plus お, making a to sound. It’s pronounced like to in “toe.” In British English, it sounds like “to” in “top.”
This kana looks just like someone’s toe with a little nail or splinter in it. Imagine how much this would hurt if it was your toe!
ト
ト is the katakana for と (to).
It looks just like a totem pole.
な
な is just the N sound plus あ, making a na sound. It’s pronounced like na in “nachos.”
The nun is praying in front of the cross asking for nachos, because she’s craving a delicious snack. The cross up in the air should be the main giveaway that this is な.
ナ
ナ is the katakana for な (na).
See the majestic narwhal, swimming up to the surface? What a beautiful creature.
に
に is just the N sound plus い, making a ni sound. It’s pronounced like nee in “needle.
Do you see the needle pulling the thread?
ニ
ニ is the katakana for に (ni).
This is two needles, laying on their side. Now, don’t get confused about how I said that needles are always vertical… that’s only with the katakana that have the slope in them (ソ and ツ). When they’re on their own, resting, and not being used to sew anything (no thread) they’re just two needles laying on their side.
ぬ
ぬ is just the N sound plus う, making a nu sound. It’s pronounced like noo in “noodle.”
This kana looks like some noodles. There are several other kana that are similar to this one (れ, め, ね, わ), but you know this one is noodles because there are no sharp angles in it. It’s 100% smooth and bendable, like noodles! It even has an extra loop at the bottom, because it is a noodle.
ヌ
ヌ is the katakana for ぬ (nu).
The chopsticks are grabbing onto some noodles and pulling them out of a bowl.
ね
ね is just the N sound plus え, making a ne sound. It’s pronounced like ne in “Nelly.”
This is Nelly the cat. There are other kana very similar to this one (ぬ, れ, め, わ), but you know this is different. Why? Because it has a loop at the end for the tail, and it’s not super bendable like ぬ (noodles) is — see those sharp corners on the left?
To top things off, Nelly is a necromancer. Why? I have no idea, you’ll have to ask her. It must have something to do with the undead cat army she’s creating.
Also, if you know the word neko (Japanese for “cat”), you can use that too. This is a ねこ.
ネ
ネ is the katakana for ね (ne).
Look, this kana looks like a horse jumping over a hurdle saying “Neigh!” Don’t gamble, kids!
の
の is just the N sound plus お, making a no sound. It’s pronounced like no in “nose” or “nori.”
See the big pig nose there? You can also think of this as a “No Smoking” sign (the ones with the cigarette and the big red circle and slash through it). Pick the one that sticks with you the best.
ノ
ノ is the katakana for の (no).
It looks like a really long nose.
は
は is just the H sound plus あ, making a ha sound. It’s pronounced like ha in “haha” (like laughing!).
This kana looks like an uppercase letter H plus a lowercase letter a.
What does that spell? “Ha!”
Why are you laughing? Stop that. Make sure you can see the H + a in the kana.
ハ
ハ is the katakana for は (ha).
This is shaped like one of those rice paddy hats. You’ll have to connect the pieces, but you can see it, right?
ひ
ひ is just the H sound plus い, making a hi sound. It’s like the English pronoun “he.” In other words, it sounds like he in “heat.”
He has a big nose. See that big nose? Now say it out loud. “He has a big nose.”
ヒ
ヒ is the katakana for ひ (hi).
He is saying “heehee.” Can you see his cheeky grin?
ふ
ふ is halfway between the F and H sounds, plus う, making a fu / hu sound. It’s pronounced like a softly blown-out version of foo in “fool,” or sometimes hoo in “hoop.”
Someone is over there dancing like a fool. What’s that around their neck? …Oh, that’s a hula hoop! That’s why they’re twisting their body so hard.
フ
フ is the katakana for ふ (fu).
フ looks like a flag that’s triangle-shaped. Hooray for the triangle flag!
You’ll need to use your imagination to add the stick/flagpole, but you’ll know フ is a flag waving in the wind when you see that triangle shape.
へ
へ is just the H sound plus え, making a he sound. It’s pronounced like he in “help,” or “Helens.
Do you know the famous mountain Mt. Saint Helens? This kana isn’t totally flat like Helens is, but it’s pretty squat looking. That’s why this one is Helens.
