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hiragana • gojuon

Hiragana Gojūon (46 Basic Characters)

Learn all 46 core Hiragana Gojūon characters with stroke order, audio pronunciation, and mnemonics.

COUNT: 46 CHARACTERS

About This Character Set

Gojūon (五十音, lit. 'fifty sounds') forms the structural foundation of the Japanese phonetic writing system. It spans 5 vowel sounds (A, I, U, E, O) and consonant rows (K, S, T, N, H, M, Y, R, W, and singular N).

Character Roster

Click any character to view stroke order and pronunciation
vowel
あ
a
Looks like an apple with a stem.
vowel
い
i
Two needles standing side-by-side.
vowel
う
u
Someone hunching over with heavy baggage.
vowel
え
e
An energetic runner or an exotic bird.
vowel
お
o
Golf ball on green, with an 'O' loop.
k
か
ka
A cutting blade or scythe cutting wheat.
k
き
ki
Looks like an antique brass key.
k
く
ku
Open bird's beak crying 'ku-ku'.
k
け
ke
A wooden barrel or keg.
k
こ
ko
Two parallel lines, like two playful koi fish.
s
さ
sa
A samurai dancer pointing a fan.
s
し
shi
A fishing hook underwater.
s
す
su
A swimmer looping in the pool.
s
せ
se
A person resting on a scenic bench.
s
そ
so
A sewing needle making a zig-zag stitch.
t
た
ta
Looks just like the letters 't' and 'a'.
t
ち
chi
A cheerleader doing a flip (number 5 shape).
t
つ
tsu
A massive tsunami wave curling.
t
て
te
A dog's tail wagging or a table curve.
t
と
to
A thorn stuck in a big toe.
n
な
na
A nun praying before a cross.
n
に
ni
Needle and two threads on the right.
n
ぬ
nu
Chopsticks tangling noodles with a loop.
n
ね
ne
A cat curling its tail.
n
の
no
A 'No Smoking' circle slash sign.
ha
は
ha
Standing person laughing 'ha-ha'.
ha
ひ
hi
A happy smiling face with chin up.
ha
ふ
fu
Mount Fuji with clouds on each side.
ha
へ
he
Mountaintop or hill shape.
ha
ほ
ho
A horse wearing a cap.
m
ま
ma
A mask with two straps.
m
み
mi
Looks like musical notes or lucky 21.
m
む
mu
A cow saying 'Moo' with a loop.
m
め
me
An eye with beautiful eyelashes (me = eye in JP).
m
も
mo
A fish hook catching more worms.
y
や
ya
A yacht sailing on water.
y
ゆ
yu
A fish swimming up (looks like a stylized fish).
y
よ
yo
A yo-yo swinging on a string.
r
ら
ra
A rabbit sitting with long ears.
r
り
ri
Two river reeds swaying in water.
r
る
ru
A route that has a loop at the bottom.
r
れ
re
A racer running rightward.
r
ろ
ro
Road without a loop (open route).
w
わ
wa
A white swan floating calmly.
w
を
wo
A cheerleader jumping over a fence (object particle).
singular
ん
n
Looks just like lowercase letter 'n'.
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