Japanese Hiragana & Katakana Quick Reference

Vocabulary flashcards reviewing basic Japanese writing systems, phonetic sound changes, and particle pronunciation rules.

Hiragana

The Japanese writing system used for native Japanese words, grammatical particles, and word endings.

Katakana

The Japanese writing system commonly used for foreign loanwords, foreign names, and emphasis.

Dakuten

A sound change mark that alters consonant sounds: ka → ga, sa → za, ta → da, and ha → ba.

Handakuten

A sound change mark that alters the consonant sound ha → pa.

Small tsu (Small ■ / ■)

A character that doubles the next consonant, as seen in words such as kitte (postage stamp) and beddo (bed).

Long vowel mark (■)

A symbol used in katakana to indicate a lengthened vowel sound, such as in the word for coffee.

Topic particle (■)

The particle character written as 'ha' that is pronounced as 'wa' when serving as a topic marker.

Particle を (o)

A character in the W row of the Japanese syllabary that is usually pronounced as 'o' when functioning as a particle.