LinguaThe same sounds, a second set of shapes
Katakana carries exactly the sounds hiragana carries – the same grid, the same order, the same dakuten and small ャ ュ ョ. Nothing new has to be learnt about pronunciation. What is new is the job: katakana writes words that came from outside Japan, foreign names, the names of animals and plants in science, and anything a writer wants to make stand out. Its shapes are angular where hiragana curves, because they were cut down from parts of Chinese characters by monks who needed to write fast.
| Row | Katakana | Hiragana | Sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| ア | ア イ ウ エ オ | あ い う え お | a i u e o |
| カ | カ キ ク ケ コ | か き く け こ | ka ki ku ke ko |
| サ | サ シ ス セ ソ | さ し す せ そ | sa shi su se so |
| タ | タ チ ツ テ ト | た ち つ て と | ta chi tsu te to |
| ナ | ナ ニ ヌ ネ ノ | な に ぬ ね の | na ni nu ne no |
The four that get confused
シ and ツ, ソ and ン are the only real trap in katakana, and stroke direction settles it. The short strokes of シ and ン come in from the left, almost horizontally, and the long stroke sweeps up from below. The short strokes of ツ and ソ come down from above, and the long stroke sweeps down from the top. If you write them in the correct order you will never confuse them, because your hand knows which way it started.
The long dash: ー
Hiragana writes a long vowel by repeating it; katakana uses a single stroke, ー, laid in the direction of writing. ケーキ is kēki, ノート is nōto, タクシー is takushī. The dash is a full beat like any other sign, and dropping it changes the word – a Japanese ear hears ビル (a building) and ビール (beer) as two different words, not as one said carelessly.
あおいコートとしろいネクタイa blue coat and a white tie
えきのまえのタクシーthe taxi in front of the station
Words in this lesson
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| アイス | ice cream | つめたいアイス cold ice cream |
| ケーキ | cake | おいしいケーキ a delicious cake |
| コート | coat | あたらしいコート a new coat |
| スーツ | suit | あたらしいスーツ a new suit |
| テスト | test | むずかしいテスト a difficult test |
| タクシー | taxi | えきのタクシー the taxi at the station |
| ネクタイ | necktie | あおいネクタイ a blue tie |
| ノート | notebook | しろいノート a white notebook |
| サッカー | football | サッカーのしあい a football match |
| スケート | skating | ふゆのスケート skating in winter |
Exercises
This lesson has 10 exercises in the app:
- multiple choice: 3
- match the pairs: 1
- fill the gap: 2
- build the sentence: 2
- translate the sentence: 1
- listen and type: 1
Try the first one
Which of these katakana is read *shi*?
The answer, the other exercises, the audio and your progress are in the app – free at A0 and A1.