Hiragana
Hiragana is the foundation of written Japanese. Its 46 basic sounds (seion) spell grammar particles, verb and adjective endings, and native words. Voicing marks (tenten and maru) and the small ゃ/ゅ/ょ of yoon extend the same set to cover every Japanese sound.
Tap a character to hear its pronunciation.
Seion
a
i
u
e
o
-
k
s
t
n
h
m
y
r
w
n
Tenten / Maru (゛ / ゜)
Add the tenten mark (゛) to voice a sound: k→g, s→z, t→d, h→b. The maru mark (゜) turns h→p. e.g. か (ka) + ゛ = が (ga).
a
i
u
e
o
g
z
d
b
p
Yoon
Combined sounds with small ゃ, ゅ, ょ - e.g. き + ゃ = きゃ (kya).
ya
yu
yo
ki
shi
chi
ni
hi
mi
ri
gi
ji
bi
pi
Long vowels (Chouon)
A long vowel holds the vowel for two beats. In hiragana, add the matching vowel: あ->ああ, い->いい, う->うう. The え-row usually adds い and the お-row usually adds う (so えい sounds like ē and おう like ō).
mother
older brother
air
older sister
father
good morning