How to learn hiragana and katakana fast: a simple plan for beginners

TUREFF• •0

Japanese uses three scripts: hiragana, katakana and kanji. Kanji takes years, but the two kana sets are small, regular and learnable in a week or two of steady practice. Once you can read kana you can use real textbooks, read furigana above kanji and sound out menus and signs, so it is the best first step you can take.

What hiragana and katakana are for

Both are syllabaries: each character stands for a syllable, not a single letter. They cover exactly the same sounds.

Hiragana is used for grammar endings, particles and native words with no common kanji. It looks rounded: あ, か, さ.
Katakana is used mostly for foreign loanwords, names, sound effects and emphasis. It looks angular: ア, カ, サ.

Learn hiragana first. It is what you will see most, and katakana is much easier once you know how the system works.

The 46 basic characters

Each set has 46 basic characters, laid out in a grid of five vowels (a, i, u, e, o) against consonant rows (k, s, t, n, h, m, y, r, w), plus the single consonant ん / ン (n).

The vowel row: あ a, い i, う u, え e, お o
The k row: か ka, き ki, く ku, け ke, こ ko
A few break the pattern: し shi, ち chi, つ tsu, ふ fu

Learn the grid row by row and recite it aloud. The order (a, ka, sa, ta, na, ha, ma, ya, ra, wa) is also dictionary order, so it pays off later.

Dakuten and handakuten

Two small marks turn the basic characters into new sounds, so you do not need to learn new shapes:

Dakuten (two short strokes, ゛) voices a sound: か ka becomes が ga, さ sa becomes ざ za, た ta becomes だ da, は ha becomes ば ba.
Handakuten (a small circle, ゜) works only on the h row: は ha becomes ぱ pa.

Small characters

Small tsu (っ / ッ) doubles the next consonant, shown as a short pause: きって kitte (stamp), カップ kappu (cup).
Small ya, yu, yo combine with an i-column character: き ki plus ゃ gives きゃ kya, し shi plus ょ gives しょ sho.

Long vowels

In hiragana, a long vowel is usually written by adding a vowel: おかあさん okaasan (mother), おとうさん otousan (father). An o sound is usually lengthened with う, and an e sound often with い.
In katakana, a long vowel is written with a dash, ー: コーヒー koohii (coffee), ケーキ keeki (cake).

Vowel length changes meaning, so read and say it carefully from the start.

A study plan for one to two weeks

Days 1 to 3: learn hiragana a row or two at a time. Write each character a few times while saying it aloud.
Days 4 to 5: add dakuten, handakuten, small tsu and the small ya, yu, yo combinations. Read short words.
Days 6 to 9: learn katakana the same way, using loanwords you already know (テレビ terebi, television; パン pan, bread).
Days 10 onward: review with a spaced-repetition flashcard app for a few minutes daily and read anything in kana you can find: children's books, song lyrics, product packaging.

Mnemonics that work

Linking each shape to a picture speeds things up a lot. A few common ones:

し shi looks like a fishing hook; "she" goes fishing.
ぬ nu looks like noodles with a loop at the end.
ツ tsu and シ shi are a classic katakana trap: tsu's strokes run more vertically, like a face looking down; shi's run more horizontally, like a face looking sideways.
ソ so and ン n have the same problem; drill these pairs side by side.

Make up your own mnemonics too. A silly image you invented is easier to remember than one you read.

Common mistakes

Relying only on romaji. Stop using it as soon as you can; it slows reading down and teaches the wrong pronunciation.
Learning by recognition only. Writing each character by hand, even a little, helps you tell similar shapes apart.
Skipping katakana. It is everywhere in modern Japanese, from menus to the names of foreign products.

Which characters keep tripping you up, and what mnemonic finally fixed one for you? Share it in the comments.