The 46 Characters

平仮名(ひらがな) is Japan’s first phonetic alphabet, the script used for native Japanese words, grammar particles, and anything that does not have (or need) a kanji. Most learners need to memorize these 46 characters. It takes real repetition, even with shortcuts. Still, each hiragana evolved from a cursive form of a Chinese character you likely already know, which gives Mandarin readers a head start.

This page gives you the complete chart, pronunciation guide, and row-by-row etymology. By the end, hiragana should feel less like random squiggles and more like simplified versions of characters from your Mandarin vocabulary.

How hiragana works

Unlike kanji, hiragana is purely phonetic: one character, one sound (with a few combinations covered in the next lesson). No silent letters, no unpredictable spellings. Learn the 46 characters and you can read any word written in hiragana.

Japanese arranges hiragana in a grid called the 五十音(ごじゅうおん) (gojūon), literally “fifty sounds,” though the basic set is 46. Characters are grouped into rows (行, gō) by their first consonant, and columns by vowel.

Vowel	Column name
a	あ段 (a-dan)
i	い段 (i-dan)
u	う段 (u-dan)
e	え段 (e-dan)
o	お段 (o-dan)

Pronunciation guide

Japanese vowels are pure and consistent. They do not shift the way English vowels often do. Hold each vowel for exactly one beat (one mora).

Hiragana	Romaji	English approximation	Mandarin hint
あ	a	“ah” as in father	啊 (a)
い	i	“ee” as in see	衣 (yī)
う	u	“oo” as in food (lips rounded, not spread)	乌 (wū)
え	e	“eh” as in bed	诶 (ēi)
お	o	“oh” as in go (pure, no glide to “w”)	哦 (ó)

Consonant rows follow the pattern: consonant + vowel. The n row (な行) and standalone ん are exceptions to the five-vowel pattern.

Special pronunciation notes

These five characters break the “read it as written” rule in romaji. Memorize the correct reading now. It will save confusion later.

Character	Wrong	Correct	Why it matters
し	si	shi	Sounds like English “she,” not “see”
ち	ti	chi	Like “cheese” without the ending
つ	tu	tsu	Like “cats” without the “ca”: a sharp stop
ふ	fu	fu / hu	Lips barely touch; between “fu” and blowing out a candle
ら行	ra / la	r-like flap	Tongue taps once, between English “r” and “l”

False Friend 偽りの友

Do not pronounce ふ like Mandarin 夫 (fū) with full lip contact. Japanese ふ is much softer, almost a breathy “hu.” And ら is not a rolled Spanish “r” or a hard English “r.” Place your tongue near the ridge behind your upper teeth and tap once, lightly.

Memory Trick 記憶のコツ

Think of Japanese as a metronome language. Each hiragana character equals one beat. The word 東京(とうきょう) is 4 beats (to-u-kyo-u), not 2 syllables like English “Tokyo.” Count beats when you read. It trains your ear for natural Japanese rhythm.

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The complete hiragana chart

Row	a	i	u	e	o
あ行	あa	いi	うu	えe	おo
か行	かka	きki	くku	けke	こko
さ行	さsa	しshi	すsu	せse	そso
た行	たta	ちchi	つtsu	てte	とto
な行	なna	にni	ぬnu	ねne	のno
は行	はha	ひhi	ふfu	へhe	ほho
ま行	まma	みmi	むmu	めme	もmo
や行	やya	—	ゆyu	—	よyo
ら行	らra	りri	るru	れre	ろro
わ行	わwa	—	—	—	をwo
ん	んn

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Row by row: sounds, origins, and memory tricks

Each hiragana comes from 草書 (sōsho), cursive script, of a kanji. Heian-period (794–1185) scribes wrote kanji quickly, and over centuries those cursive forms became independent letters. As a Mandarin reader, you already know most of these source kanji.

あ行: The pure vowels

Hiragana	Source kanji	Mandarin	Meaning
あ ▶Listen	安	ān	peace, safe, cheap
い ▶Listen	以	yǐ	by means of, therefore
う ▶Listen	宇	yǔ	eaves, universe, space
え ▶Listen	衣	yī	clothing
お ▶Listen	於	yú	at, in (classical)

You likely know 安 from 安全 (safe), 以 from 以前 (before), 宇 from 宇宙 (universe), 衣 from 衣服 (clothes). For shapes: あ from 安 has the loop on the left collapsed into a smooth curve; い from 以 is two strokes simplified to two parallel lines; え from 衣 keeps the sweeping left stroke of 衣 floating free.

Deep Dive 深掘り

The あ行 are the only characters with no consonant. Every other row adds a consonant before the vowel. In Japanese linguistics, these five are called 単独音 (tandokuon), “standalone sounds,” and they anchor the entire phonetic system.

Memory Trick 記憶のコツ

• う from 宇: the roof 宀 and bottom 于 merged into one flowing う. Look for the hook that was 宇’s top radical.
• お from 於: the complex 於 got compressed into a compact loop. The tail of お echoes 於’s right side.

あClick to reveal

a — as in 'father'aFrom 安 (ān, peaceful)

← Prev1 / 5Next →Shuffle

Which hiragana makes the rounded 'oo' sound (as in food)?

A. うB. おC. いD. え

Which kanji is the origin of あ?

A. 安 (peace)B. 以 (by means of)C. 宇 (universe)D. 於 (at)

Key takeaways

• Hiragana is purely phonetic: one character equals one sound (one mora)
• The 46 basic characters are arranged in the gojūon (五十音) grid by consonant row and vowel column
• The five vowels (あいうえお) are pure and consistent — hold each for exactly one beat
• Most hiragana evolved from cursive kanji you already know in Mandarin — use those origins as memory anchors

Mark as CompleteNext: Hiragana: か to た Rows →