ひらがな
The first 46 sounds of Japanese — your foundation for everything. Tap, listen, flip, quiz.
Don't try to learn all of these at once! Learn just one row (5 sounds) at a time — starting with あ い う え お. That's plenty for today. 🌸
- 1Tap the 5 characters in one row to hear each sound.
- 2Flip the flashcards for that row until they feel easy.
- 3Take the quick quiz, then move to the next row.
HIRAGANA
Click any character to hear it. Empty cells are intentional — those sounds use the same character as the A-row.
🔊 Audio uses your browser's text-to-speech. Pronunciation quality varies by device.
These shapes trip up almost every beginner. 🔊 Tap a character to hear it, and read the tip for the difference.
Near mirror images: さ curls down-left, ち curls down-right.
き has TWO short lines on top; さ has only one.
ぬ ends in a loop (the noodle tail); め is open, no loop.
Same left stroke. Right side: ね loops, れ hooks up, わ is round & open.
る ends in a little loop; ろ has no loop.
ほ has an extra horizontal bar on top; は doesn’t.