Hiragana (ひらがな) is one of the three main writing systems in Japanese, alongside katakana and kanji. It's a phonetic script, which means each character represents a specific sound rather than a concept or meaning. For anyone beginning to learn Japanese, hiragana is the essential first step, serving as the foundation for reading and writing the language.
Unlike the more complex kanji, which are logographic characters borrowed from Chinese, hiragana is a simpler, cursive script developed in Japan. It consists of 46 basic characters, each representing a syllable (a combination of a consonant and a vowel, or just a vowel).
Hiragana emerged during the Heian period (794-1185 CE) as a simplified form of kanji. It was initially known as onnade (women's hand) because it was primarily used by women, who were often excluded from learning kanji, which was considered the formal writing system used by men, particularly in government and scholarly contexts.
The characters were created by taking parts of more complex kanji and writing them in a cursive, flowing style. For example, the hiragana character 'あ' (a) derives from the kanji '安' (pronounced 'an' in Japanese, meaning 'peaceful').
Over time, hiragana gained wider acceptance and eventually became an integral part of the Japanese writing system used by everyone. Today, it's one of the first things Japanese children learn when they start school.
Hiragana consists of 46 basic characters, representing 5 vowel sounds, 40 consonant-vowel combinations, and 1 standalone consonant. Here's the complete hiragana chart:
a | i | u | e | o | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
- | あ a | い i | う u | え e | お o |
k | か ka | き ki | く ku | け ke | こ ko |
s | さ sa | し shi | す su | せ se | そ so |
t | た ta | ち chi | つ tsu | て te | と to |
n | な na | に ni | ぬ nu | ね ne | の no |
h | は ha | ひ hi | ふ fu | へ he | ほ ho |
m | ま ma | み mi | む mu | め me | も mo |
y | や ya | ゆ yu | よ yo | ||
r | ら ra | り ri | る ru | れ re | ろ ro |
w | わ wa | を wo | |||
n | ん n |
a | i | u | e | o | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
g | が ga | ぎ gi | ぐ gu | げ ge | ご go |
z | ざ za | じ ji | ず zu | ぜ ze | ぞ zo |
d | だ da | ぢ ji | づ zu | で de | ど do |
b | ば ba | び bi | ぶ bu | べ be | ぼ bo |
p | ぱ pa | ぴ pi | ぷ pu | ぺ pe | ぽ po |
Hiragana also includes combinations of characters to form additional sounds. These are called contracted sounds or yōon and are formed by combining a character from the i-column with a smaller version of や(ya), ゆ(yu), or よ(yo).
ya | yu | yo | |
---|---|---|---|
k | きゃ kya | きゅ kyu | きょ kyo |
s | しゃ sha | しゅ shu | しょ sho |
ch | ちゃ cha | ちゅ chu | ちょ cho |
n | にゃ nya | にゅ nyu | にょ nyo |
h | ひゃ hya | ひゅ hyu | ひょ hyo |
m | みゃ mya | みゅ myu | みょ myo |
r | りゃ rya | りゅ ryu | りょ ryo |
g | ぎゃ gya | ぎゅ gyu | ぎょ gyo |
j | じゃ ja | じゅ ju | じょ jo |
b | びゃ bya | びゅ byu | びょ byo |
p | ぴゃ pya | ぴゅ pyu | ぴょ pyo |
Hiragana plays several essential roles in Japanese writing:
While kanji is used for most content words (nouns, verb stems, adjective stems), hiragana fills in the grammatical framework and provides the glue that holds Japanese sentences together.
While hiragana and katakana represent the same sounds, they serve different purposes in Japanese writing:
To learn more about katakana and its specific uses, check out our detailed guide:What is Katakana? Understanding Japan's Second Writing System
For a deeper comparison between hiragana and katakana, including when to use each, visit:Hiragana vs Katakana: Key Differences Explained
Learning hiragana is the foundational first step in your Japanese language journey. Here's a suggested approach:
To help you master hiragana, here are some valuable resources:
Our platform offers engaging games and quizzes to help you learn and practice hiragana.
Download and print hiragana charts and practice worksheets to assist with your studies.
These resources provide additional information and learning materials:
Hiragana is the foundational writing system for anyone learning Japanese. Its 46 basic characters represent all the sounds of the Japanese language and provide the framework for grammar and pronunciation.
Ready to start learning? Try our interactive hiragana lessons, designed to help you master these characters through engaging, game-based learning.
Explore katakana, the Japanese script used for foreign words, emphasis, and technical terms.
Read ArticleUnderstand the differences and know when to use hiragana versus katakana in Japanese writing.
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