How long does it take to learn hiragana?

One to two weeks at 15 to 20 minutes a day to recognise them, together with katakana, then a few weeks of short reviews to read them without hesitating.

Should I learn hiragana before katakana?

No: the most efficient way is to learn them together, row by row, since they are the same sounds.

No: it helps at the very start, but no Japanese textbook or text uses it. The sooner you read kana, the faster you progress.

Learn hiragana: the chart, reading rules and traps

Hiragana write Japanese words, verb endings and particles: it's the script you'll read the most. The most efficient way is to learn them together with katakana, row by row (see our 2-week method). This guide covers what is specific to hiragana.

Updated 5 October 2026

What there is to learn

There are 46 basic hiragana, arranged in rows of 5 vowels (a, i, u, e, o). Then come 25 variants with dakuten (゛) or handakuten (゜), which change the sound (か ka → が ga, は ha → ぱ pa), and 33 combinations with a small ゃ, ゅ or ょ (き + ゃ = きゃ kya). KanaLearn's chart has 113 in all.

Start with the 46 basic ones, together with their katakana equivalents: almost all the variants follow from there.

The basic chart

Sounds	Hiragana	Katakana
a i u e o	あ い う え お	ア イ ウ エ オ
ka ki ku ke ko	か き く け こ	カ キ ク ケ コ
sa shi su se so	さ し す せ そ	サ シ ス セ ソ
ta chi tsu te to	た ち つ て と	タ チ ツ テ ト
na ni nu ne no	な に ぬ ね の	ナ ニ ヌ ネ ノ
ha hi fu he ho	は ひ ふ へ ほ	ハ ヒ フ ヘ ホ
ma mi mu me mo	ま み む め も	マ ミ ム メ モ
ya yu yo	や ゆ よ	ヤ ユ ヨ
ra ri ru re ro	ら り る れ ろ	ラ リ ル レ ロ
wa wo	わ を	ワ ヲ
n	ん	ン

Reading rules to know

は reads “wa” as the topic particle: わたしは (watashi wa).
へ reads “e” as the direction particle: がっこうへ (gakkō e).
を reads “o” and is almost only used to mark the object: みずをのみます.
A small っ doubles the next consonant: きって (kitte, stamp), ざっし (zasshi, magazine).
Long vowels: おう and おお make a long “ō” (がっこう gakkō), えい is often said “ē” (せんせい sensē).
ん before b, p or m sounds almost like “m”: しんぶん (shinbun), えんぴつ (enpitsu).

Pictures to remember

Give each character a picture, the sillier the better: ぬ looks like a bowl of noodles, め like an eye, し like a fish hook, く like an open beak. In the app you can write your own mnemonics.

Classic traps

さ and ち, ね / れ / わ, る and ろ, は and ほ, ぬ and め: practise these pairs side by side.
Reading with romaji for too long: switch to kana only as soon as you can.

Practise

FAQ

How long does it take to learn hiragana?: One to two weeks at 15 to 20 minutes a day to recognise them, together with katakana, then a few weeks of short reviews to read them without hesitating.
Should I learn hiragana before katakana?: No: the most efficient way is to learn them together, row by row, since they are the same sounds.
Is romaji enough?: No: it helps at the very start, but no Japanese textbook or text uses it. The sooner you read kana, the faster you progress.

Remember them for good

Quizzes, writing, listening and spaced reviews: KanaLearn has you review each word at the right time. Free, no ads.

Start for free