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Level: intermediate-advanced
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英和辞典インターネット辞書

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不思議の国のアリス （ルイス・キャロル 作）　[マルチメディア対訳版]　〜対訳＆各ことばからWeb辞書へのダイレクトリンク機能付〜

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Level: intermediate
Short, clearly written news articles for Japanese-language current events. All kanji come with furigana!

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NEWS WEB EASYは、小学生・中学生の皆さんや、日本に住んでいる外国人のみなさんに、わかりやすいことば　でニュースを伝えるウェブサイトです。

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A podcast of stories and conversation snippets read by native speakers covering all levels. Each accompanied by transcripts.

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A Japanese Podcast for JLPT Preparation & Skill-building

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Short, interesting stories, full of JLPT grammar, expressions, and vocab. Listen, shadow, and follow the transcript and feel your Japanese improve.

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ぼくたち また なかよしさ！
bokutachi mata nakayoshi sa!
Level: beginner
A pdf children's story.

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Available: pc, apple, iOS
Flashcard viewer. Make your own set of flashcards or import other peoples'. Helpful for Vocab & Kanji!

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Tofugu makes videos! And they're super fun! And informative!

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learn japanese language japan kanji hiragana katakana culture

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Welcome to Tofugu's YouTube Channel! We blog about Japan over at http://tofugu.com, so naturally we do Japan-related things on the YouTube channel as well. Sometimes videos have to do with the written articles, sometimes they stand alone, and sometimes they are their own series (like TofuguTV).

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Level: beginner-intermediate
さるかに合戦
Saru kani gassen by Masao Kusuyama
10 mins
A Japanese mukashi banashi.

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Level: post-beginner + intermediate
Tim Sensei groups together some helpful words for various levels and explains their nuances and uses. A nice, small list to get you started accumulating this kind of word.

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In Japanese there is an interesting set of adverbs which are all made up of four hiragana, the second of which is the small tsu, which "doubles" the following consonant, and the fourth of which is ri. I have asked a few Japanese if there is a name for this set of words, but have received only negative replies, which is surprising to me because there are so many of them. Since I feel that they need a name, and since it is surprising to me that they don't have one, I have decided to call them "bikkuri adverbs" because bikkuri means "surprise" and is itself a good example of one.

As with most points of grammar, there are exceptions. I call these adverbs because of the role they play in most Japanese constructions. Some of these are seen or heard as adjectives; some are combined with the verb suru (usually as shite iru or shita) to create adjectives. Some are "specialized" and only appear with a certain verb as a set phrase. Some of these are followed by to when used by some people. (The optional to does not change the meaning.) And there are some that don't sound right unless they are followed by to.

There are a couple in here that are not adverbs, but I include them because they fit the pattern.

I have created three groups. Group 1 is what I would call the "everyday group": the ones which are used the most and so should be learned first. The ones in Group 2 should be tackled next. They are also used often enough, but not as often as the ones in Group 1. I would call Group 3 the "obscure group." I personally have rarely or never heard these used, but they are in the dictionary. The words are arranged in Japanese alphabetical order within each group, followed by an example sentence or two.

These groupings have been done totally from my own experience. Your experience with the language will most likely be different to a certain degree. Good luck!

gakkari: to be disappointed

gussuri: to sleep soundly

shikkari: strong, firm, solid

sokkuri: just alike; identical (or close to it)

hakkiri: clear; plain; distinct

bikkuri: to be surprised

pittari: tightly; fit perfectly; exactly

yukkuri: slowly; taking one's time

assari: simple, light, frank; light (food)

ukkari: carelessly, absent-mindedly; by mistake

gisshiri: tight, full, close

kitchiri: punctually, sharp

Kitchiri shichiji desu. (It's now seven o'clock sharp)

Sono tokei wa itsumo kitchiri desu yo. (That clock is always right on.)

Kare wa kitchiri juuji ni kita. (He arrived at ten exactly.)

kossori: secretly, quietly

sappari: neat, clean, orderly; frank, open; refreshed; entirely, completely (usually with negatives)

Sappari shita hito ga suki. (I like frank, uncomplicated people.)

Ofuro ni haitte sappari shita. (I took a bath and now feel refreshed.)

Tanaka-san no iu koto wa sappari wakaranai. (I can't understand a word Mr. Tanaka says.)

shakkuri: (noun) hiccup (hiccough)

sukkari: completely, all

sukkiri: neat, clear, refreshed

battari: suddenly; with a thud; to run into someone unexpectedly

bisshori: get wet, soaked

yuttari: easy; comfortable; relaxed

uttori: entranced, fascinated

ottori: gentle, quiet, calm

gakkuri: collapse; break down

gatchiri: firmly, securely (usually used in connection with being tightfisted in money matters)

kippari: definitely, positively; (refuse) flatly

kukkiri: distinctly, clearly

zakkuri: thick and rough

shikkuri: suit; agree exactly (usually used negatively)

jikkuri: closely, carefully; without hurry

shittori: gentle, graceful; moist, damp

suppari: flatly; once and for all

suppori: cover one's head completely

tekkiri: surely, beyond doubt

dosshiri: composed; dignified

nikkori: smile at; beam at

nossori: heavily; sluggishly

pattari: abruptly, suddenly

patchiri: having bright eyes or eyes wide open

puttsuri: entirely; utterly

bettori: soaked; covered with

pokkiri: only; no more than

pokkuri: to die suddenly

potteri: plump; chubby (opposite of hossori; same as deppuri)

misshiri: hard, earnestly, severely

mutchiri: portly, plump (same as deppuri and potteri)

mekkiri: considerably; remarkably

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In Japanese there is an interesting set of adverbs which are all made up of four hiragana, the second of which is the small tsu, which "doubles" the following consonant, and the fourth of which is ri.

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タイローン なんか こわくない
Tairo-n nanka kowakunai
Level: beginner
A pdf of a children's book translated into Japanese about a nasty dinosaur.

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Available: online, iOS, android
An amazing resource for accumulating vocabulary!

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We'll filter videos to your level or teach you words you don't even know.

We'll filter videos to your level or teach you words you don't even know.

We'll filter videos to your level or teach you words you don't even know.

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Learn a language. Memrise is authentic, useful & personalised.

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Learn a language as it's used now. Immerse yourself in lessons that feature videos of native speakers, so you start speaking real life language, fast.

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Available: online, iOS, android
An alternative great place to put your flashcards!

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Convert Japanese text to hiragana or romaji with 99% accuracy! Now it's easier to read!

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Level: advanced
This website explains all you want to know about onomatopoeia in Japanese, and has some fun pdfs and anecdotal articles - all written in Japanese.

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オノマトペラボ　トップコンテンツ

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オノマトペラボはオノマトペの力でコミュニケーション上の「むずむず」を「しっくり」に変えることを目指すプロジェクトです。

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Level: beginner
I used this to learn before I started university. It uses mnemonics and symbols to help you learn.

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Start reading hiragana today. Most people waste months, but our mnemonics and step-by-step worksheets will have you reading hiragana in a few hours.

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Level: beginner
The accompaniment to the link above!

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Level: EVERYONE! みんなさん！
A fun podcast discussing aspects of Japanese culture. It always comes with a word of the day and a recommendation for a film or some music that you might want to look at. An easy way to relax and feel like you're learning something too!

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A comedic and educational podcast taking you on ten minute(ish) tours around everything Japanese!...

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Level: beginner
Drills to help you learn hiragana
You'll need speakers/headphones

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ｊｆ日本語教育スタンダード

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A website where users can learn about Japanese language and culture alongside the contents of the textbook "Marugoto: Japanese Language and Culture".

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Level: beginner
You'll need speakers or headphones for this one. A simple game for matching hiragana sounds to characters

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Japanese Hiragana alphabet game - alphabet chart with audio and free to use online game for learning the Japanese Hiragana alphabet. Learn to pronounce the Japanese letters with free and fun audio guide and quiz.

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Level: beginner
Games for learning vocab, numbers, kanji, kana, greetings, time expressions and more.
Bonus: they have other languages too!

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Online games for learning Japanese language

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Free to use and fun Japanese language learning games. Kids and students' online games for learning Japanese vocabulary, phrases, numbers, spelling and grammar.

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Level: beginner
Video-lead guides to conversation in various situations for tourists. Click the numbers on the grid to take you to a lesson, and explore vocab, convo practice, and quizzes to help you through each scenario.

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Welcome our Japanese Language self-study site

lesson

トピック　　Topic

文型（ぶんけい）　Grammar

表現（ひょうげん）　Expression

ひらがな、カタカナ
Hiragana, Katakana

ひらがな、かたかな

あいさつ、すうじ
Greetings, Numbers

すうじ

あいさつ

このくにホテルがありますか？ ≪≫
Is there a hotel near here? ≪At a tourist information center≫

〈 〉に があります、います
〈〉に がありますか、いますか
－はい、あります、います
いいえ、ありません／いません

～、おいします

どうやってきますか？ ≪≫
How do I get to～ ? ≪train≫

～にきませんか。
―ええ、きましょう。

とてもきいですね！≪≫
It's very big!≪Todaiji Temple(in Nara)≫

い(いAdjective)
はイAいです
イAくありません
な（なAdjective)
はナAです
ナAじゃありません

～、ください

～ませんか

Vたい
（Nが、を）Vたいです。

～たいんですが、いいですか。

どれがいいですか？ ≪≫
Which one is better? ≪MAIKO experience ≫

（XとYと）どちらがAですか。
―XのほうがAです。

～はどうですか

がいちばんAです。
の で{どれ・・いつ・どこ・}　がAですか

〜ましょうか

おすすめは？ ≪カフェ≫
What do you recommend? ≪Japanese café≫

きなN、いなN
きな はですか
どんな がきですか

どんな～がきですか

しかったです！ ≪ カフェ≫
I enjoyed my trip. ≪Japanese café≫

（Ajective past form)
はイAかったです
イAくありませんでした
はナAでした
ナAじゃありませんでした

どうでしたか。
―～かったです

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Welcome our Japanese Language self-study site トピック　　Topic 文型 （ ぶんけい ）　Grammar 表現 （ ひょうげん ）　Expression ひらがな、カタカナ Hiragana, Katakana ひらがな、かたかな あいさつ、すうじ Greetings, Numbers すうじ あいさつ このくにホテルがありますか？ ≪≫ Is there a hotel near here? ≪At a tourist information center≫ 〈 〉に があります、います 〈〉に がありますか、いますか －はい、あります、います 　いいえ、ありません／いません ～、おいします どうやってきますか？ ≪≫ How do I get to～ ?

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Level: beginner
I used this to learn before I started university. It uses mnemonics and symbols to aid memory!

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So you've learned hiragana. Good for you. Ready to do the same thing all over again so you can learn katakana?

This guide assumes you went through our hiragana guide already, so it won't explain how and why this method works. It uses the same style techniques, worksheets, and exercises. It also skips the pronunciation explanations (except when a katakana character is different from hiragana). If you haven't yet, please review the learn hiragana guide before you begin learning the katakana. If you have, then you know the drill. Let's get started with the first ten katakana.

In terms of what you're learning, it will be very simple. Katakana is, for the most part, the same sounds you learned with hiragana. But, the characters representing those sounds are different. It would be like if in English you replaced the letter "A" with the symbol "ア" without changing how it's used and pronounced.

When Do I Use Katakana?

Katakana is used for a variety of things. The most common use is to transcribe foreign words (non-Japanese words), especially English words. There is some issue with this though. The sounds available in the Japanese language tend to be limited, and are not as flexible compared to other languages. So, words that are transcribed in katakana often don't sound like the original. As you get used to it, though, you'll begin to not only understand non-Japanese words that have been made "Japanese," but also know how to say foreign words using Japanese sounds (and write them in katakana).

Besides foreign words, katakana is often used for:

Scientific words

Animal names

Many foods (especially animal and plant foods) are written in katakana too.

Onomatopoeia.

"Robot-speech" (as in, when you write out text for robots talking)

Various stylistic purposes

There are other smaller use cases as well, but those will be the main ones (aside from foreign words, which will be 80%+ of the use cases).

Tofugu's Learn Katakana Book

Before you actually start studying katakana, I wanted to let you know that we also have Learn Katakana Book - a PDF version of this Learn Katakana content you can print or use on your tablet.

Just like its hiragana version, it comes with extra handwriting practice and reading practice that use actual katakana words. If you prefer a more hands-on learning experience, or simply think the PDF format works better for you, check it out!

Katakana Charts

As the first step, download this katakana chart. It shows all the katakana (including "variation" katakana) you will be learning on this page. If you have a printer, print it out. If not, you can follow along digitally too.

Optionally, download the katakana "mnemonic" chart. It's a handy chart that shows basic katakana along their mnemonic images, which we'll be using on this page to help you remember the katakana. Print it and hang it on your bathroom door, or your bedroom ceiling - whatever spot you think you'll be frequently stairing at.

Let's Learn Katakana!

As with the hiragana guide, just follow each and every step and you'll come out the other side with the ability to read katakana. Some of you will finish this guide in hours, others days, but overall it should be pretty quick. Learning katakana is a lot easier since you already have that hiragana foundation. At least, I hope you do.

Because of this, I want you to learn ten katakana characters right from the very start. You can handle it, can't you?

As you know from learning hiragana, the first five katakana characters are going to be vowel sounds. After that, it's just that consonant + vowel pattern until we reach katakana's version of "n." For the most part, everything will be pronounced exactly the same. When there is an exception to the rule I'll let you know. Otherwise, this guide does not focus much on pronunciation because it assumes you already know it.

ア is the katakana for あ (a).

ア has a deformed capital letter A in it. You have to turn your head to the side and connect some lines, but it's there.

イ is the katakana for い (i).

イ looks like an <u>ea</u>gle, standing on the ground, or on a branch, or wherever. You see its legs and its back, curved down like an eagle's?

ウ is the katakana for う (u).

This katakana character looks a lot like its hiragana counterpart: う. It should be similar enough to use as a mnemonic to remember what it is.

エ is the katakana for え (e).

Imagine this is a girder an <u>e</u>ngineer would use to build buildings. This character is in the shape of the end of a girder, and its made up of them too.

Or, you can think of it like an <u>e</u>levator, with its doors closed.

オ is the katakana for お (o).

This kana looks like an <u>o</u>pera singer. His mouth is shaped like an o and he's singing "<u>Oh</u>hhh!"

カ is the katakana for か (ka).

It looks just like its hiragana counterpart: か, though it's missing that little extra line. Close enough to make it easy to remember, though.

キ is the katakana for き (ki).

It looks like the hiragana き (the top part at least) and also looks like part of a weird <u>key</u>.

ク is the katakana for く (ku).

This looks like a long <u>coo</u>k's hat.

ケ is the katakana for け (ke).

It looks like the letter K!

コ is the katakana for こ (ko).

See the two 90 degree <u>co</u>rners? The two corners are what help you to remember that this is "ko."
アイウエオカキクケコ Tasks
Now that you've put these kana into your brain (at least somewhat shakily) it's time to pull them out. Recall is the foundation of memory, and you're going to start doing just that. For each "tasks" section make sure you follow along perfectly. Skipping these steps may cause you to fail later on in the future. Having a strong base to build off of is important with each section.

1. Head over to Tofugu's Learn Kana Quiz. Select "Practice Katakana" and then the ア/a and カ/ka boxes and hit the "Start Quiz!" button. Practice these kana again and again until you're able to answer them all in twenty seconds.

2. Print out, copy, or download this worksheet. You'll need to go through it, filling in the boxes with the romaji for the kana. Try your best not to cheat - even if you spend a while trying to remember a kana it will be beneficial to your memory (as long as you're able to recall it on your own). Looking up the answer doesn't help your memory at all, but struggle (with accomplishment) tells your brain that this is a thing worth remembering. Try using the mnemonics when you need to recall something you can't figure out right away.

This should be fairly easy with only ten kana (and maybe a little boring too), but when you're done move on to the next ten katakana.

Now that you have the "A & K-columns" under your belt it's time for the "S & T-columns." You should already know about the "exception pronunciations" from the hiragana guide.

サ is the katakana for さ (sa).

Look at these two fish that are hanging on a skewer. The small one is a <u>sa</u>rdine and the bigger one is a <u>sa</u>lmon. You can tell that by the size difference. You can also remember this is "sa" because fish are called さかな ( sa kana) in Japanese.

シ is the katakana for し (shi).

This kana looks like a smiley face, but something is wrong with it. Both eyes are sideways and stacked on top of each other like some deep <u>sea</u> fish. <u>She</u> has a very weird face.

ス is the katakana for す (su).

What's that up there? It's <u>Su</u>perman walking in the sky! Wait - upon closer inspection, it's just his disembodied <u>su</u>per<u>su</u>it. ...W-Where the heck did he go naked?

セ is the katakana for せ (se).

It looks really similar to the hiragana せ, so you should be able to use that to remember this kana.

ソ is the katakana for そ (so).

It is one needle and a long thread, which you use to <u>sew</u>. Remember, needles are always vertical like this needle, because you need to stab it through something, straight down. This will help you to differentiate this one and the very similar ン, the katakana for "n."

タ is the katakana for た (ta).

タ looks like a kite. Kites are called <u>た</u>こ (<u>ta</u>ko) in Japanese. This is actually a <u>ta</u>co kite, too. It looks exactly like a giant taco flying high in the sky. Tacos are all the rage these days!

チ is the katakana for ち (chi).

Doesn't this look like a <u>chee</u>rleader, doing a cheer?

ツ is the katakana for つ (tsu).

While ソ (so) had one needle and thread, ツ has two needles and thread. Remember, needles are vertical because you use them to stab into cloth, straight down. This will help you to differentiate this one from シ (shi), which has more horizontal lines. Horizontal lines means it's a face, vertical means it's needles. So this one has <u>two</u> needles.

テ is the katakana for て (te).

This kana looks like a <u>te</u>lephone pole.

ト is the katakana for と (to).

It looks just like a <u>to</u>tem pole.
サシスセソタチツテト Exercises
Now that you've done another set of ten, it's time for exercises! As usual, these exercises will help you to practice katakana you've previously learned plus the ones you just learned.

1. Back to Tofugu's Learn Kana Quiz. Select "Practice Katakana" and then the ア, カ, サ, and タ boxes. Do the quiz several times and see if you can do it all in under 30 seconds (or just complete the task 5 times). Once you're able to do either of those, move on.

2. Using this worksheet, print out, copy, or download it and fill out the boxes with the correct romaji. If you can't remember something try to think back to the mnemonic first before cheating.

When you're able to do these two tasks move on to the next ten kana.

Great - it's time to learn your next ten katakana! ナ is my favorite. Who doesn't love a narwhal?

ナ is the katakana for な (na).

See the majestic <u>na</u>rwhal, swimming up to the surface? What a beautiful creature.

ニ is the katakana for に (ni).

This is two <u>nee</u>dles, laying on their side. Now, don't get confused about how I said that needles are always vertical... that's only with the katakana that have the slope in them (ソ and ツ). When they're on their own, resting, and not being used to sew anything (no thread) they're just two needles laying on their side.

ヌ is the katakana for ぬ (nu).

The chopsticks are grabbing onto some <u>noo</u>dles and pulling them out of a bowl.

ネ is the katakana for ね (ne).

Look, this kana looks like a horse jumping over a hurdle saying "<u>Ne</u>igh!" Don't gamble, kids!

ノ is the katakana for の (no).

It looks like a really long <u>no</u>se.

ハ is the katakana for は (ha).

This is shaped like one of those rice paddy <u>ha</u>ts. You'll have to connect the pieces, but you can see it, right?

ヒ is the katakana for ひ (hi).

<u>He</u> is saying "<u>hee</u>hee." Can you see his cheeky grin?

フ is the katakana for ふ (fu).

フ looks like a <u>f</u>lag that's triangle-shaped. <u>Hoo</u>ray for the triangle flag!

You'll need to use your imagination to add the stick/flagpole, but you'll know フ is a flag waving in the wind when you see that triangle shape.

ヘ is the katakana for へ (he).

This katakana looks just like the hiragana へ. If you know one you know them both!

ホ is the katakana for ほ (ho).

This is a <u>ho</u>ly cross. You can even see holy light coming off of it. So holy.
ナニヌネノハヒフヘホ Exercises
Time to practice ten at a time! It's a lot, but you're getting better at learning these things, right? Hopefully easier than hiragana was?

1. Using Tofugu's Learn Kana Quiz, practice the katakana from the ア, カ, サ, タ, ナ, and ハ columns. Try to complete this task five times and get your time under one minute.

2. Copy, print out, or download this worksheet and fill in all the boxes. As always, use the mnemonics and try not to cheat. If this is starting to feel easy, try to time yourself to see how long it takes to complete each section and try to beat yourself each time.

When you are done with these exercises it's time to move on to the next set of katakana.

Not quite ten in this set (before the exercises), but close enough. Let's start with the "M-column."

マ is the katakana for ま (ma).

Look at all those angles! Those lengths! Those measurements! All that <u>ma</u>th!

ミ is the katakana for み (mi).

Three <u>mi</u>ssiles, flying towards you. Be careful!

ム is the katakana for む (mu).

It is shaped like a cow's friendly face. Look at that snout! <u>Moo</u>.

メ is the katakana for め (me).

This looks like an "X" which is over someone's <i></i> <ruby>目<rp>（</rp><rt>め</rt><rp>）</rp></ruby> (<u>me</u>), which is "eye" in Japanese. <u>Me</u>h, I guess they're dead now.

モ is the katakana for も (mo).

This looks very similar to the hiragana も, so you should be able to make that connection and remember both of these.

ヤ is the katakana for や (ya).

This looks just like the hiragana や, minus a little line.

ユ is the katakana for ゆ (yu).

<u>You</u> have a hook for a hand. What are you, a pirate?

ヨ is the katakana for よ (yo).

See how this kana looks like someone doing <u>yo</u>ga? Only a <u>yo</u>gi could bend into such a boxy position.
マミムメモヤユヨ Exercises
Time to practice these eight katakana (and the previous ones as well). Once again, go through the steps to make sure you know everything well!

1. Using Tofugu's Learn Kana Quiz, practice the ア, カ, サ, タ, ナ, ハ, マ, and ヤ columns. Once you've done this three times, or you're able to get this all done fairly quickly (1:30 or so?) move on to step 2.

2. Using this worksheet, copy, print out, or download it and write in all the boxes. When you're all done, it's time to tackle the last "main katakana" section. You're almost there! Not so hard, right?

Last set! When you're done with this you can start looking at the weird katakana stuff. Some would say that's the horrible part, but I think it's fun.

ラ is the katakana for ら (ra).

It is a <u>ra</u>ptor wearing some sweet sunglasses like a <u>ra</u>pper.

リ is the katakana for り (ri).

It looks just like the hiragana り, or at least very, very similar.

ル is the katakana for る (ru).

There are two <u>rou</u>tes you can take. Route one and Route two.

レ is the katakana for れ (re).

Look at that beautiful <u>re</u>d hair that <u>Re</u>i has! It's so flowy!

ロ is the katakana for ろ (ro).

This <u>ro</u>ad goes around in a square, never ending. What a terrible road this is. What are you, a 12 year old playing Sim City?

ワ is the katakana for わ (wa).

When you ask a question (that's why this is a question mark) you often begin your question with the word <u>wha</u>t. What are you doing? What are you wearing? What are you not wearing?

ヲ is the katakana for を (wo).

To remember ヲ is "wo," think of a dog <u>wo</u>ofing so hard its tongue is flying out. "<u>Oh</u>!" you exclaim, taken aback by this dog's tongue.

ン is the katakana for ん (n/m).

Do you remember how シ (shi) is a lady with a weird face? The two little dashes are more horizontal than vertical, which helps us to know it's a face.

So, what about ン? It's a ma<u>n</u> who has only o<u>ne</u> eye. <u>Mm</u>nnnnn, but why only one eye, you ask? Don't ask, I don't know.
ラリルレロワヲン Exercises
This is the last of the main katakana. The exercises will now cover quite a bit (you know quite a bit!), so make sure you understand and know everything before moving on.

1. Go to Tofugu's Learn Kana Quiz, select "Practice Katakana" as usual, and then select the "All Main Kana" box. Aim to be able to finish it in three minutes. If that's too easy try two minutes. Two minutes should be difficult but doable.

2. Using this worksheet, fill in all the blanks. You know the drill!

That's it! From here on out it's just combinations of kana or variations on kana you already know, which makes things both easier and harder. Let's start with katakana's dakuten.

Dakuten

For the most part, if you know hiragana's dakuten, you know katakana's dakuten. Just as a refresher:

But, there are some katakana out there that you can dakuten that aren't the standard fare.

Actually, many Japanese speakers aren't used to pronouncing the "V" sound, so it often comes out as a "BU" sound. That's as close as they can get. But, when you combine that with some small katakana (next section), we can make a sound that almost, but not quite, sounds like a "V".

Combination Katakana

Just like with hiragana, you can combine small katakana with big katakana to make new sounds. It gets a little trickier with katakana though. Let's start with the part you do know (from the hiragana guide) first.

With katakana, combinations don't stop here. It gets... weird.

In addition to the basic combination katakana above (which are I-row sounds + ャ/ュ/ョ), you can combine some of the U-row sounds and the small vowels ァィゥェォ. This is used a lot more in katakana than hiragana because there are many sounds commonly used in non-Japanese languages that katakana needs to try to account for. The most interesting example of this is the V-sounds: ヴ + small vowels.

These combination katakana are used for representing V-sounds (like, " visual" can be written as ヴィ ジュアル). Since the V-sounds don't really exist in the Japanese language, ヴァ, ヴィ, ヴェ, and ヴォ sound more like the BW-sounds.

In addition to this, there are W-sounds that need to be added in as well. As you know, the kana only cover わ and を, and を isn't really a sound that's used, it's only used as a particle. So, to make up for the missing W-sounds, you combine ウ + small vowels.

The third big set is F-sounds. You can combine フ + small vowels to make all the other F-sounds you need.

And, there's also ツ + small vowels. This set is relatively less common, but is often used for transcribing Italian Z-sounds like モッ ツァ レラ (Mozrella) as well as Chinese TS- or TZ-sounds. Note that you use "ts" for typing.

Besides these sets, there are also a few more scattered sounds you can make with combination katakana. The rest are:

Notice that these are not using sounds from the U-row, yet use the small vowels. Again, you see small vowels used in katakana far more often than you do in hiragana to represent sounds that the Japanese language doesn't traditionally have.

The most important thing right now is to be able to read these extra combinations and know they exist. You'll see some of these pretty often, which means that through experience they will get natural. It's just one of those things you have to use and experience to become comfortable with it. I think the main problem is that they're foreign... but not completely foreign. They're based off foreign languages, probably a language that you know, which means that these sounds (and the rest of katakana) are asking you to break your own language and speak it incorrectly so that you can speak it "correctly" in Japanese. It's a weird conundrum.

Long Vowels

Unlike hiragana, which deals with long vowels by adding more vowels to things, katakana has a special vowel extender character. Luckily it's very simple: a dash.

When you see this, you'll just need to extend the vowel that it comes after. For example:

The vowels are doubled for the sake of example, but really, what it sounds like is just a long smooth extended sound, rather than repeated vowels - like "chse" and "bcon." In fact, チーズ and ベーコン are how you write "cheese" and "bacon" in katakana.

Now, take a guess and read: ベーコンチーズバーガー.

...That's "beekon chiizu baagaa (bacon cheese burger)." You can now read "bacon cheese burger" on menu written in Japanese! 🍔

At this point, you can probably imagine that you'll see this dash quite a lot in katakana. Knowing how and when to use it, especially when you try to "spell" out words you don't really know the spelling of, can be challenging. With a lot of experience, mistakes, and even more experience you'll start to understand when and how to use it. For now, just focus on reading it correctly. That part is much easier, and that is the part that will give you the experience you need to reproduce it later on.

Additional Practice

Although you can probably read most katakana words now, there's a little more you should do before going out into the real world. Try to do everything in the "Additional Practice" section. It will make katakana reading a lot less overwhelming.

First, I'd like you to go back to Tofugu's Learn Kana Quiz. This time, select "Practice Katakana" then "All Kana" and practice them all.

When you feel comfortable with that, it's time to practice with some worksheets. They're a bit different from the other worksheets in that they're "real" sentences and we're not keeping track of the frequency of the kana being used. It's a bit more like real life... with a nice protective bubble. Don't worry a ton about the meaning, but if you can figure it out that's extra points for you! It's all in "English" ... though it has been converted into Japanese pronunciation using katakana.

When you finish this, I bet you'll be feeling pretty special, like some kind of katakana master. If you don't (or even if you do), here's some more katakana practice that's worth doing.

Apps & Other Programs

There are plenty of apps and resources out there to help you drill as well. Some of them you've seen already because of this guide, others you have not.

I'm sure there are plenty of other resources out there as well, but this should be good enough to get you to that level where you can start using the katakana with other resources.

What Next After Learning Katakana?

For most people, becoming comfortable with katakana is a slower process than it was with hiragana. This is mostly because katakana shows up less frequently compared to hiragana, so you don't have as much opportunity to practice. Despite not showing up as often, it is still very important. If you can spend an extra 3-4 hours really studying katakana you'll save yourself 20+ hours in the future, just because katakana won't slow you down. It's worth studying now so that you aren't tripping up later on.

After learning katakana, though, what should you do (besides studying katakana more)?

Kanji

If you haven't started kanji, get started right away. If you like the approach we took here (mnemonics, etc) we made WaniKani to show people that kanji isn't as hard as it seems.

Grammar

Along with kanji or after you have a foundation in kanji, it's time to learn some Japanese grammar. There are many resources to help you to do this. There are sites like Tae Kim's Guide To Japanese as well as textbooks ( we like the Genki series). We also have a collection of our own grammar references on this Tofugu website as well.

I hope this guide helped you to learn katakana effectively and quickly! Keep working hard and you'll continue to get better and better. With katakana you'll be able to read foreign words, read a lot of menus, onomatopoeia, and much more. Keep it up and soon you'll be able to read everything!

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The sequel to our famously fast Learn Hiragana guide. Learn katakana quick, in hours or days (not months) using mnemonics and step-by-step worksheets.

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Level: beginner
Drills to help you learn katakana
You'll need speakers/headphones

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ｊｆ日本語教育スタンダード

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A website where users can learn about Japanese language and culture alongside the contents of the textbook "Marugoto: Japanese Language and Culture".

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Level: beginner
You'll need headphones or speakers for this one. A simple game where you listen for a sound and match the katakana character.

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Japanese Katakana alphabet game - alphabet chart with audio and free to use online game for learning the Japanese Katakana alphabet. Learn to pronounce the Japanese letters with free and fun audio guide and quiz. > <meta name=

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Level: beginner
All your basic characters from the gojuuon

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Level: beginner
All the rest of the characters that weren't in that other chart!

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Level: beginner
Loads of squares for practising your beautiful hand writing!

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Level: beginner
Basic katakana characters from the gojuuon with nice cute pictures to help you remember!

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Level: beginner
More katakana with more adorable pictures so your brain doesn't get bored of the same black and white sheets all the time.

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Level: beginner
Have you been yearning for a sheet with small squares on which to write your katakana? Well look no further! Print out this bad boy and get yourself some learning.

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A powerful dictionary with great options for searching kanji!

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Jisho is a powerful Japanese-English dictionary. It lets you find words, kanji, example sentences and more quickly and easily.

Enter any Japanese text or English word in the search box and Jisho will search a myriad of data for you.

Here's a few example searches to give you a taste of what Jisho can do.

There are more examples and explanations on the search options page.

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Jisho is a powerful Japanese-English dictionary. It lets you find words, kanji, example sentences and more quickly and easily. Enter any Japanese text or English word in the search box and Jisho will search a myriad of data for you. Here's a few example searches to give you a taste of what Jisho can do.

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Level: beginner
Choose the kana you find hard to read/remember, and practice converting them into romaji with this fun game!

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Level: beginner
Choose the characters you find tricky and play this game to help you learn them!

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Available: android

Learn to write hiragana & katakana in bitesize chunks on the go!

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Write It! Japanese - Apps on Google Play

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Write It! Japanese is the first writing recognition app for Japanese kana! Try our writing recognition and you'll never want to go back to tracing apps. ✌★ Hassle-free writing.

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Level: beginner
Usagi-chan's simple game helps you learn to read hiragana (as well as remember the order of the gojuuon or kana chart)

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Level: beginner
Usagi-chan's back again, and this time, it's personal! OK, no, it's not personal. But it might help you personally learn to read katakana as well as memorise the kana chart!

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Level: beginner + post-beginner
Usagi-chan's done it again! Print out flashcard sheets (make sure you set it to double-sided!) and kanji handwriting worksheets!

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Thank you to Mr. Masayoshi Kanai for giving us permission to use his stroke order Quicktime movies.

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Level: beginner
Downloadable beginner's textbooks shared with you! All for free!
These are too big to share here so follow the links to the google drive!

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Level: beginner + intermediate
This website hosts all sorts of games and activities to which can be done by themselves or as an accompaniment to the textbook. You'll find the first Marugoto textbook in pdf form in the google drive link above.

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ｊｆ日本語教育スタンダード

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A website where users can learn about Japanese language and culture alongside the contents of the textbook "Marugoto: Japanese Language and Culture".

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Level: beginner + intermediate + advanced
Find simple and entertaining explanations to lots of Japanese grammar questions as well as fun videos and more! Bonus points for doggos

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= Onaka suita naa...

（あっ！ミュートし忘れた！）😅

= Ah! Myuuto shiwasureta.

= Oops. I forgot to mute the mic.

= Gamen ga furiizu shite imasu.

Maggie: 「それでは会議を始めます。おもちゃをしまってください。」

= Soredewa kaigi wo hajimemasu. Omocha wo shimatte kudasai.

= OK, let's start the meeting. Please put away your toys.

Elsa:　「やばっ！みんなに見えてるのかなあ...」😱

= Yabah! Minna ni mieteru no kanaa.

= Oh no! I wonder if everybody can see me.

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Onaka suita naa... （あっ！ミュートし忘れた！）😅 = Ah! Myuuto shiwasureta. = Oops. I forgot to mute the mic. = Gamen ga furiizu shite imasu. Maggie: 「それでは会議を始めます。おもちゃをしまってください。」 = Soredewa kaigi wo hajimemasu. Omocha wo shimatte kudasai. = OK, let's start the meeting. Please put away your toys. Elsa:　「やばっ！みんなに見えてるのかなあ...」😱 = Yabah! Minna ni mieteru no kanaa.

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Level: beginner
Resources to aid the use of the Genki series of textbooks, but fun on their own too!

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The Japanese on your Computer section contains information on how to set your computer up for reading and writing in Japanese. These Genki Resource pages were written using the Unicode (UTF-8) format for character encoding and in order for you to properly view these pages, you may need to modify your browser settings.

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Also available for firefox
Highlight words for their English translation and loads more info. Change the size of the pop-up for more or less information.

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Japanese dictionary with Anki integration

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Available: online, iOS, android
An app which helps you learn sentences as well as words, and encourages you to keep at it for a few minutes every day.

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Duolingo is the world's most popular way to learn a language. It's 100% free, fun and science-based. Practice online on duolingo.com or on the apps!

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A Japanese-English online dictionary with thesaurus, example sentences etc..

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英和辞典・和英辞典 - Weblio辞書

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約497万語収録の英和辞典・和英辞典。英語のイディオムや熟語も対応している他、英語の発音を音声でも提供。無料で使える日本最大級のオンライン英語辞書サービス。

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Available: android
A great dictionary app with lots of input options so you can always search what you need. You can easy store vocab you want to remember too!

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Akebi Japanese Dictionary - Apps on Google Play

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With stroke-order independent handwriting recognition, 320k+ example sentences, 200k+ words and 6k+ Kanji database!Akebi allows you to use character masks to filter out thousands of words from a large Japanese Dictionary. It allows you to specify what radicals appear in each character of the word, and set particular characters.

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Level: intermediate
Text by O Henry
Read by Chikako Okasaki
25 mins

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Level: advanced
鹿踊りのはじまり
Shishi odori no hajimari by Miyazawa Kenji.
21 mins

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Level: any (it's mostly music)
Maybe you'll find something you like!

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Listen to 22 Japanese Radio Stations. Japanese music covers a very wide range of different styles. Traditional Japanese music may include the ancient court music Gagaku or Minyo folk music. The more contemporary Japanese music may include styles such as Jpop (Japanese Pop) and other genres which have been influenced by Western music such as Rock, Metal and Dance music.

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Level: beginner
Hear words said aloud alongside their English counterparts
The whole website has lots of useful resources for
the JLPT

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JLPT Level N5 Resources - Free vocabulary lists and MP3 sound files

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Selection of free resources to help study for the level N5 of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT).

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Draw in your kanji (slowly) and it'll help you work it out! Works best if you know the stroke-order. There are other input modes too.

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Handwritten kanji recognition. Draw a kanji in the box with the mouse. The computer will try to recognize it. Be careful about drawing strokes in the correct order and direction.

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Level: beginner
Use alongside Genki textbook.
Lists all the Genki grammar in alphabetical order so it's easy to look up.

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Japanese / Grammar Index / Genki I & II Grammar Index

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An alphabetical list of all Japanese grammar points covered in the JLPT exams from N4 (easiest) ~N1 (hardest).

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This Chrome extension allows you to hover over a Japanese word for the English translation.
Available for firefox as Rikaichan

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As a Japanese dictionary, rikaikun helps you look up the only the words you don't know without losing your place. It's also useful for Japanese speakers wanting to know how to say Japanese phrases in English.

Features:
* Using shift or enter, switch between word, names, and Kanji dictionaries.
* Enable text to speech in the options to hear Japanese words you look up spoken out load.
* Press 'c' to copy the current word and definitions to the clipboard for making flash cards.
* Customize how the pop up dictionary looks and what content it shows.

Activate the extension by clicking the 理 icon in the top right. When the introductory pop up appears, rikaikun is ready for action.

When it's activated, when you hover over Japanese words they'll be translated in a pop up.  If you hit shift/enter, you'll see some information about the first Kanji.

Press 'd' to hide the English definitions; press it again to bring them back. (Also changeable on the Options page.)

Changelog:
https://github.com/melink14/rikaikun/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md

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rikaikun shows the reading and English definition of Japanese words when you hover over Japanese text in the browser.

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Available: android
An offline Japanese dictionary app that let's you look up words by copying text on your phone or tablet!

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Popup Japanese Dictionary - Apps on Google Play

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Copy any Japanese word to look up its meaning, without leaving your current screen! Popup Japanese Dictionary is an offline Japanese dictionary app that lets you look up words just by copying text.

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王さ マックロイ
Ousama Makkuroi
Level: Beginner
A pdf children's book for reading practice! It's a fun story and it's not too long!

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Level: various
A series of articles about selected grammar points written by the Tofugu team about specially chosen interesting points.

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You may start out skimming the surface of the Japanese language, but at some point going deeper will pay dividends. Whether that's focusing on on'yomi/kun'yomi, rendaku, or the real-life use of です, the deeper you go with the fundamental components of Japanese, the more benefits you gain from study time. Start fortifying your foundation with our articles below. Each one you read is another step toward fluency.

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You may start out skimming the surface of the Japanese language, but at some point going deeper will pay dividends. Whether that's focusing on on'yomi/kun'yomi, rendaku, or the real-life use of です, the deeper you go with the fundamental components of Japanese, the more benefits you gain from study time.

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A funny man says funny things. You might learn some words, but more likely you'll see a pastiche of yourself as a learner of Japanese.

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クラウド♂ノルウェー人-- お笑い動画--芸能人モノマネ「--人が日本語を喋ると」シリーズ-- いっぱい笑ってください!!! ミスターヤバタン

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The most concise and entertaining video on Japanese history you will ever see - by bill wurtz

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Level: post-intermediate + advanced
Daily snippets of world news spoken in Japanese. Each clip is around 15 minutes.

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Listen to KBS WORLD Radio Japanese News on TuneIn

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KBS WORLD Radio Japanese News podcast on demand - Listen to free internet radio, sports, music, news, talk and podcasts. Stream live events, live play-by-play NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, college football, NCAA basketball, and Premier League matches. CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, ESPN, BBC, NPR.

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Create flashcards from vocab you see when browsing with chrome, and keep all your vocab in one handy place.

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A Japanese-English popup dictionary with flashcard functionality.

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My First Japanese Kanji Book Learning kanji the fun and easy way PDFDrive 

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Beginners kanji text book.

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Kanji mnemonics Kanji kiokujutsu an instruction manual for learning Japanese characters PDFDrive 

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A kanji instruction manual