All 46 basic characters, dakuten, handakuten, yōn combos, and special marks — with romaji for each.
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Methodology: Our character references follow standard Hepburn romanization conventions and Unicode 15.1 character assignments.
The foundational syllabary. Each character represents one mora.
| a | i | u | e | o | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | アa | イi | ウu | エe | オo |
| K | カka | キki | クku | ケke | コko |
| S | サsa | シshi | スsu | セse | ソso |
| T | タta | チchi | ツtsu | テte | トto |
| N | ナna | ニni | ヌnu | ネne | ノno |
| H | ハha | ヒhi | フfu | ヘhe | ホho |
| M | マma | ミmi | ムmu | メme | モmo |
| Y | ヤya | — | ユyu | — | ヨyo |
| R | ラra | リri | ルru | レre | ロro |
| W | ワwa | — | — | — | ヲwo |
| N | ンn | ||||
Two small strokes (゛) added to unvoiced characters to create voiced equivalents. K/S/T/H rows become G/Z/D/B.
| Base | a | i | u | e | o |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | ガga | ギgi | グgu | ゲge | ゴgo |
| Z | ザza | ジji | ズzu | ゼze | ゾzo |
| D | ダda | ヂji | ヅzu | デde | ドdo |
| B | バba | ビbi | ブbu | ベbe | ボbo |
A small circle (゜) added to the H-row only, creating the P-row.
| Base | a | i | u | e | o |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | パpa | ピpi | プpu | ペpe | ポpo |
Katakana combined with small ya (ャ), yu (ュ), or yo (ョ) to form compound morae.
| Base | ya | yu | yo |
|---|---|---|---|
| K | キャkya | キュkyu | キョkyo |
| S | シャsha | シュshu | ショsho |
| T | チャcha | チュchu | チョcho |
| N | ニャnya | ニュnyu | ニョnyo |
| H | ヒャhya | ヒュhyu | ヒョhyo |
| M | ミャmya | ミュmyu | ミョmyo |
| R | リャrya | リュryu | リョryo |
| G | ギャgya | ギュgyu | ギョgyo |
| Z | ジャja | ジュju | ジョjo |
| D | ヂャja | ヂュju | ヂョjo |
| B | ビャbya | ビュbyu | ビョbyo |
| P | ピャpya | ピュpyu | ピョpyo |
Functional marks used alongside katakana characters.
| Character | Name | Function | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| ー | Chōnpu | Long vowel marker — extends preceding vowel | コーハー = kōhō |
| ッ | Sokuon | Small tsu — doubles the following consonant (gemination) | コッポ = koppu |
| ゛ | Dakuten | Voiced mark — adds voicing (e.g. k→g, s→z) | カ + ゛ = ガ (ga) |
| ゜ | Handakuten | Semi-voiced mark — H-row becomes P-row | ハ + ゜ = パ (pa) |
| ャ ュ ョ | Small ya / yu / yo | Used in yōn combinations (see above) | シ + ャ = シャ (sha) |
ン (n) is the only consonant that stands alone without a vowel. When followed by a vowel character, an apostrophe is used in romaji to avoid confusion: shin’ya (シンヤ = night bus) vs. shi-nya (チャ).
Katakana is one of three Japanese writing systems. Each has a distinct purpose:
| System | Primary Use | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Katakana | Loanwords, foreign names, onomatopoeia, emphasis, technical/scientific terms | コーヒー (coffee), デザイン (design), ガヤ (gayō) |
| Hiragana | Native Japanese words, grammar particles, verb endings, furigana | これ (this), は (topic particle), ます (polite ending) |
| Kanji | Content words, names, concepts — each character carries meaning | 日本 (Japan), 人 (person), 山 (mountain) |
Try our English to Katakana converter to see how katakana handles real-world words, or Romaji to Katakana to type Japanese sounds directly.
For authoritative background on Japanese phonetics and writing systems, we recommend: