Japanese writing

What is hiragana and how do you start learning it?

Hiragana is one of Japan's two phonetic syllabaries. It appears in grammar endings, many native Japanese words, and reading aids for kanji. Each character represents a sound unit: あ is “a” and か is “ka”.

How many characters are there?

The basic chart has 46 characters: its vowels and the ka, sa, ta, na, ha, ma, ya, ra and wa rows. That is plenty for a first pass. Voiced sounds, small vowels and combinations such as きゃ can wait. Once the basic set feels familiar, many simple Japanese words become readable.

Learn without cramming

• Start with あ・い・う・え・お.
• Add one row at a time and revisit earlier characters often.
• Practise recalling a reading, not just recognising a familiar shape.
• Use romaji as a brief bridge, then let kana take over.

What to do next

Try short reviews instead of one heroic session. Kana Start shows a character, asks for its reading, and brings difficult signs back more often. It is a useful way to make a chart turn into reading practice.

Open Kana Start for a few hiragana cards. The signs that hesitate will come back for another try.