Step 1 of Japanese writing
Learn hiragana
Hiragana (ひらがな) is the first script every Japanese learner picks up. It is a syllabary: each character stands for one sound, and 46 basic characters cover the whole language. This guide explains what hiragana is for, how the chart works and the best order to learn it.
What hiragana is used for
Hiragana writes the native Japanese words that have no kanji, the grammatical endings of verbs and adjectives, particles such as は, を and に, and the small reading aids (furigana) printed above difficult kanji. Children's books are written entirely in hiragana, which makes it the perfect first step. Once you can read hiragana, you can stop relying on romaji, and every greeting or phrase you learn becomes something you can read and write.
How the chart is organised
The characters are arranged in a grid called the gojūon ("fifty sounds"). Each row shares a consonant, each column shares a vowel, always in the same order: a, i, u, e, o. Learn the vowel row first, and every other row follows the same pattern.
Two small marks extend the chart without new shapes to memorise: dakuten, two short strokes (か becomes が), turns k into g, s into z, t into d and h into b, while handakuten, a small circle (は becomes ぱ), turns h into p. Finally, an i-column character followed by a small ゃ, ゅ or ょ blends into one syllable (きゃ = kya).
The best order to learn hiragana
- One row at a time. Five characters a day is plenty. Do not move on until the previous row feels easy.
- Say it out loud. Hiragana is sound first, shape second. Listen to a native recording and repeat. If a sound feels odd, the pronunciation guide explains it.
- Write it. Stroke order matters: it is what makes handwritten kana recognisable, and it anchors the shape in memory.
- Quiz yourself daily. Short mixed reviews beat one long session. Spend more time on the characters you miss.
- Read real words early. Even あい (ai, love) or いぬ (inu, dog) makes the characters feel useful. Numbers are a good first reading exercise too.
How long does it take?
With ten minutes a day, most people recognise all 46 basic hiragana within one to two weeks, and the dakuten and yōon combinations follow naturally because they reuse the same shapes. Reading at a comfortable speed takes a few more weeks of seeing the characters in real words. That is why the app unlocks the chart row by row and mixes example words into the exercises.
Characters people mix up
ぬ and め
nu has a small loop at the end of its tail; me does not.
は and ほ
ho has an extra horizontal stroke on top of the right part.
さ and き
ki has two horizontal strokes, sa only one.
る and ろ
ru ends with a loop, ro is open.
What comes next
Once hiragana feels comfortable, learn katakana: it writes the same sounds with a second set of shapes, so it goes much faster. Then follow the step-by-step plan to learn Japanese.
Practice with Kanapup
Learn every kana row by row, listen to native recordings, trace the stroke order with your finger and quiz yourself until each one sticks.