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Nihongo Online School > Tips for More Effective Studying > Learn Hiragana for Beginners: Chart, Reading Practice & Texts
Learn Hiragana for Beginners: Chart, Reading Practice & Texts
2026/05/29
Director: Kotaro Muramoto
Principal of Nihongo Online School
In September 2019, he founded "Nihongo Online School". Since then, has been teaching Japanese online lessons, with a total of over 1,000 students.
He has designed an individualized curriculum based on student’s needs and study goal. And is conscious of making the classes speech-centered in order to improve students’ speaking skills.
The school asks students to submit homework assignments worth 2 hours per lesson to improve faster. By supporting students with these features, students are able to efficiently improve Japanese language skills.
Before vocabulary, before grammar, before your first conversation, hiragana is where Japanese begins.
This guide includes the full beginner hiragana chart and hiragana reading practice stories with audio to start practising right now.
If you want to understand how hiragana fits into the broader Japanese writing system, we cover that in a separate guide.
Contents
Is It Possible to Become Fluent in Japanese Without Hiragana?
No, becoming fluent in Japanese without hiragana is not possible.
Every real resource, from textbooks to native materials, requires it from the very first lesson. At Nihongo Online School, hiragana comes before greetings, before vocabulary, before anything else.
The reason is structural. Japanese has no spaces between words. Without hiragana, you can’t identify particles, verb endings, or even where one word stops and the next begins.
How Do I Start Learning Hiragana as a Beginner?
Starting hiragana as a beginner is straightforward with the right order.
- Learn the 5 vowels first あ (a), い (i), う (u), え (e), お (o). Every other character is simply a consonant paired with one of these sounds.
- Learn row by row vowels → K → S → T → N… Each row takes 15-30 minutes.
- Use mnemonics to connect each character’s shape to a visual memory. Most good hiragana books for beginners are built entirely on this method.
- Read real words such as ねこ (cat), みず (water), あさ (morning).
Once you’ve mastered hiragana, the natural next step is katakana. We explain the differences between hiragana, katakana and kanji in our complete guide to Japanese letters.
Can a Beginner Learn Hiragana in Just One Day?
A beginner can learn hiragana in one day, in the sense of being able to read all 46 basic characters. Some manage it in a few hours with a mnemonic-based method.
That said, “readable” and “automatic” are two different things. After a single intensive session, reading is slow and conscious. Deeply memorizing hiragana generally takes 1~2 weeks of daily practice after that first day.
Full Hiragana Chart for Beginners: All 46 Letters
The full hiragana chart for beginners below covers all 46 basic characters, each with its romaji reading, a real Japanese word example, and audio. If you’re not familiar with romaji yet, check out our complete romaji chart and beginner’s guide.
| Hiragana | Romaji | Example word | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vowels | |||
| あ | a | あさ (asa) morning |
|
| い | i | いぬ (inu) dog |
|
| う | u | うみ (umi) sea |
|
| え | e | えき (eki) station |
|
| お | o | おか (oka) hill |
|
| K row | |||
| か | ka | かさ (kasa) umbrella |
|
| き | ki | きって (kitte) stamp |
|
| く | ku | くも (kumo) cloud |
|
| け | ke | けむり (kemuri) smoke |
|
| こ | ko | こえ (koe) voice |
|
| S row | |||
| さ | sa | さかな (sakana) fish |
|
| し | shi * | しお (shio) salt |
|
| す | su | すし (sushi) sushi |
|
| せ | se | せかい (sekai) world |
|
| そ | so | そら (sora) sky |
|
| T row | |||
| た | ta | たまご (tamago) egg |
|
| ち | chi * | ちず (chizu) map |
|
| つ | tsu * | つき (tsuki) moon |
|
| て | te | てがみ (tegami) letter |
|
| と | to | とり (tori) bird |
|
| N row | |||
| な | na | なつ (natsu) summer |
|
| に | ni | にく (niku) meat |
|
| ぬ | nu | ぬの (nuno) cloth |
|
| ね | ne | ねこ (neko) cat |
|
| の | no | のり (nori) seaweed |
|
| H row | |||
| は | ha / wa (particle) | はな (hana) flower |
|
| ひ | hi | ひと (hito) person |
|
| ふ | fu | ふね (fune) boat |
|
| へ | he / e (particle) | へや (heya) room |
|
| ほ | ho | ほし (hoshi) star |
|
| M row | |||
| ま | ma | まち (machi) town |
|
| み | mi | みず (mizu) water |
|
| む | mu | むし (mushi) insect |
|
| め | me | めだか (medaka) killifish |
|
| も | mo | もり (mori) forest |
|
| Y row | |||
| や | ya | やま (yama) mountain |
|
| ゆ | yu | ゆき (yuki) snow |
|
| よ | yo | よる (yoru) night |
|
| R row | |||
| ら | ra | らいねん (rainen) next year |
|
| り | ri | りんご (ringo) apple |
|
| る | ru | るす (rusu) absence |
|
| れ | re | れんしゅう (renshuu) practice |
|
| ろ | ro | ろうそく (rousoku) candle |
|
| W row and n | |||
| わ | wa | わたし (watashi) I / me |
|
| を | o (particle only) | ほんをよむ read a book |
|
| ん | n | ほん (hon) book |
|
| Hiragana | Romaji | Example word | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|
| G row | |||
| が | ga | がっこう (gakkou) school |
|
| ぎ | gi | ぎんこう (ginkou) bank |
|
| ぐ | gu | ぐあい (guai) condition |
|
| げ | ge | げんき (genki) energetic |
|
| ご | go | ごはん (gohan) rice / meal |
|
| Z row | |||
| ざ | za | ざっし (zasshi) magazine |
|
| じ | ji | じかん (jikan) time |
|
| ず | zu | ずつう (zutsuu) headache |
|
| ぜ | ze | ぜんぶ (zenbu) everything |
|
| ぞ | zo | ぞう (zou) elephant |
|
| D row | |||
| だ | da | だいがく (daigaku) university |
|
| で | de | でんしゃ (densha) train |
|
| ど | do | どこ (doko) where |
|
| B row | |||
| ば | ba | ばしょ (basho) place |
|
| び | bi | びょういん (byouin) hospital |
|
| ぶ | bu | ぶた (buta) pig |
|
| べ | be | べんとう (bentou) lunchbox |
|
| ぼ | bo | ぼうし (boushi) hat |
|
| P row (handakuten only) | |||
| ぱ | pa | ぱん (pan) bread |
|
| ぴ | pi | ぴかぴか (pikapika) shiny |
|
| ぷ | pu | ぷーる (puuru) pool |
|
| ぺ | pe | ぺん (pen) pen |
|
| ぽ | po | ぽけっと (poketto) pocket |
|
Hiragana Reading Practice: Stories with Audio for Beginners
Hiragana reading practice works best with complete stories.
The three stories below are written in hiragana with romaji and translation.
Read the hiragana aloud first, then check your reading, then listen to the audio. On a second listen, follow along in hiragana only.
Story 1 : Morning routine
Romaji
Kenji wa mainichi shichi-ji ni okimasu.
Kao wo aratte, asagohan wo tabemasu.
Gohan to tamago desu.
Oishii desu.
Hiragana
けんじはまいにちしちじにおきます。
かおをあらって、あさごはんをたべます。
ごはんとたまごです。
おいしいです。
Kenji wakes up every day at 7. He washes his face and eats breakfast. Rice and eggs. It’s delicious.
Story 2 : At the train station
Romaji
Sumimasen, Shinjuku-eki wa doko desu ka?
Ano eki desu.
Arigatou gozaimasu.
Kippu wo katte, densha ni norimasu.
Hiragana
すみません、しんじゅくえきはどこですか？
あのえきです。
ありがとうございます。
きっぷをかって、でんしゃにのります。
Excuse me, where is Shinjuku station? It’s that station over there. Thank you. I buy a ticket and get on the train.
Story 3 : At a restaurant
Romaji
Kyou wa tomodachi to resutoran ni ikimasu.
Menyu wo mite, raamen wo chuumon shimasu.
Totemo oishikatta desu.
Mata kitai desu.
Hiragana
きょうはともだちとレストランにいきます。
メニューをみて、ラーメンをちゅうもんします。
とてもおいしかったです。
またきたいです。
Today I go to a restaurant with a friend. We look at the menu and order ramen. It was really delicious. I want to come back.