Practice Hiragana & Katakana
Choose the kana you're learning, type what you see, and keep your streak alive. Free, fast, and no signup needed.
Hiragana
Katakana
What is hiragana?
Hiragana (ひらがな) is the core Japanese syllabary — 46 base characters that spell out native Japanese words, grammar particles, and word endings. Each character represents one syllable sound, like か (ka) or ね (ne). It's the first script Japanese children learn, and the best starting point for learners: once you can read hiragana, you can pronounce any Japanese word written in it.
What is katakana?
Katakana (カタカナ) covers the same sounds as hiragana with a different, more angular set of characters. Japanese uses it for loanwords like コーヒー (coffee), foreign names, onomatopoeia, and emphasis. Menus, signs, and product names lean heavily on katakana, so being able to read it quickly makes a huge difference in the real world.
How to learn the kana fast
Short, frequent practice beats long cram sessions. Start with the main kana of one script, drill them until they feel automatic, then mix in the dakuon and combination kana. Typing the romaji — like this quiz has you do — builds recall, which is much stronger than just recognizing a character on a chart. A few five-minute rounds a day and most people can read every kana within a couple of weeks.