Japanese Kana Made Easy: A1 Tips for Hiragana & Katakana

Kana are your first superpower in Japanese. With hiragana and katakana, you can read menus, names, and everyday signs. In this post, you’ll learn the difference between the two scripts, how to use small characters (ゃ,ゅ,ょ,っ), dakuten (゛) and handakuten (゜), and how to handle long vowels in katakana (ー). Practice is woven throughout with short, friendly exercises.

Hiragana vs. Katakana: What’s the difference?

  • Hiragana (ひらがな): used for native Japanese words, particles (は, を, に), and endings
  • Katakana (カタカナ): used for loanwords (カフェ), foreign names (アナ), onomatopoeia (ドキドキ), and emphasis

If you can read both, you can read almost anything at A1 level.

ひらがな ひらがな
hiragana (Japanese syllabary)
noun
ひらがなを れんしゅうします。
I practice hiragana.
カタカナ カタカナ
katakana (Japanese syllabary)
noun
なまえは カタカナで かいてください。
Please write your name in katakana.
Japanese
わたしは がくせいです。
I am a student.
Japanese
アナは カフェに いきます。
Ana is going to a café.
🧠 Hiragana vs. Katakana Basics

Small ゃ/ゅ/ょ (Yoon): “Kya, kyu, kyo” made easy

Small ゃ, ゆ, よ combine with an i-row kana (き, し, に, ち, ひ, み, り, ぎ, じ, ぴ, etc.) to create new sounds:

  • き + ゃ → きゃ (kya)
  • し + ょ → しょ (sho)
  • に + ゅ → にゅ (nyu)

These are common in everyday words and names.

その みせは きく が おおいです。

Japanese
きゃくが ならんでいます。
Customers are lining up.

Small っ (sokuon): Double consonant, short pause

Small っ indicates a brief pause and doubles the next consonant sound.

  • がっこう (gakkou, school)
  • カップ (kappu, cup)

It changes meaning and pronunciation, so don’t skip it!

が ga (hiragana with dakuten ゛) っ small っ (sokuon, gemination) こ ko う long "o" in hiragana (こ + う → こう)
Japanese
あした、がっこうに いきます。
Tomorrow, I will go to school.
カプ → カップ Small ッ is needed to double the consonant (p) in カップ.

Dakuten (゛) and Handakuten (゜)

Dakuten (゛) adds voicing: か→が, さ→ざ, た→だ, は→ば. Handakuten (゜) adds a p-sound for the は-row: は→ぱ, ひ→ぴ, ふ→ぷ.

These marks appear on both hiragana and katakana.

だくてん だくてん
voicing mark (゛)
noun
だくてんで か は が に なります。
With dakuten, か becomes が.
はんだくてん はんだくてん
semi-voicing mark (゜)
noun
はんだくてんで は は ぱ に なります。
With handakuten, は becomes ぱ.
Japanese
パンを かいます。
I will buy bread.

Long vowels in katakana: the ー mark (chōon)

In katakana, a long vowel is shown with a horizontal line: ー. Examples:

  • コーヒー (koohii, coffee)
  • ラーメン (raamen, ramen)
  • スーパー (suupaa, supermarket)

In hiragana, long vowels are often written with う or い (おう, えい).

きょう ラメン を たべます。

Japanese
コーヒーを のみます。
I drink coffee.

Katakana look‑alikes: don’t let them fool you

Some katakana are easy to mix up:

  • ソ vs. ン: ソ has a slanted stroke and a small line that opens at the top; ン is more curved and often opens at the bottom.
  • ツ vs. シ: ツ has short strokes pointing down (like eyebrows), シ has strokes pointing sideways.

Be patient—your eyes will adjust with practice.

ンフト → ソフト ソフト (software). ソ and ン look similar; watch the stroke direction.

Quick practice: build and order

Practice reading simple kana sentences and basic word order.

🔠 Put the words in order

Put the words in a natural order.

💬 Greeting in hiragana

Culture note: where you’ll see kana

  • Menus and signs use a lot of katakana for loanwords: バーガー, アイス, スタバ.
  • Children’s books and language learner materials favor hiragana.
  • Names of stations, companies, and products may mix scripts: 東京メトロ, セブンイレブン.

Reading kana in real life will quickly build your confidence.

🧠 Small kana & long vowels check

Summary: your A1 kana toolkit

  • Hiragana: native words, particles, verb endings
  • Katakana: loanwords, names, onomatopoeia, emphasis
  • Small ゃ/ゅ/ょ: make “kya/kyu/kyo,” etc.
  • Small っ: short pause, double consonant
  • Dakuten/handakuten: add voicing (が, ざ, ば) and p-sounds (ぱ)
  • Katakana long vowels: use ー (コーヒー, スーパー)

Keep reading short signs, menus, and learner texts. Five minutes a day makes a difference.

Keep going!

Try copying 10 hiragana and 10 katakana a day. Read words you see around you: コンビニ, バス, レジ, メニュー. Celebrate every word you can read—your kana superpower is growing!