Basic Katakana

The easiest way to learn katakana is by using visual mnemonics.

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Quick Links:

• The Vowels

• The K Line

• The S Line

• The T Line

• The N Line

• The H Line

• The M Line

• The Y Line

• The R Line

• The W Line

• The Special Line

The Vowels

A

"Ah" The letter A dismantled and rotated.

I

"Eee" The dot on the i grows.

U

"Ooo!" Similar to hiragana.

E

"Eh" Egg cup.

O

"Oh!" Walking over there.

The K line

KA

"Ka" Similar to hiragana.

KI

"Key" Similar to hiragana.

KU

"Koo" Cook. A chef's hat.

KE

"Ke" Looks like a K.

KO

"Ko" Corners.

The S line

SA

"Sa" Soccer.

SHI

"She" She is cute!

SU

"Su" Skating! 

SE

"Se" Similar to hiragana.

SO

"Sew" Sewing with a needle. 

The T line

TA

"Ta" Checking the taime.

CHI

"Chi" Cheers!

TSU

"Tsu" Two needles.

TE

"Te" A cats Tail.

TO

"Toe" A clocks hands. Tick Tock.

The N line

NA

"Nah" A sharp knife.

NI

"Nee" Knitting needles.

NU

"Noo" Checking out a nude beach.

NE

"Ne" A fish net.

NO

"No" Nose.

The H line

HA

"Ha" He is wearing a hat.

HI

"Hee" He is so lovely.

FU

"Fu" Hoodie.

HE

"He" Same as hiragana.

HO

"Ho" Holy cross.

The M line

MA

"Ma" Munching mam's cookeis.

MI

"Me" Missiles. 

MU

"Moo" The moon's nose!

ME

"Me" The cross sign for medicine.

MO

"Mo" Similar to hiragana.

The Y line

YA

"Ya" Similar to hiragana.

YU

"Yoo" A U turned over.

YO

"Yo" Yo yo yo! Cool guy.

The R line

RA

"Ra" Rat found it's cheese.

RI

"Ri" Similar to hiragana.

RU

"Roo" The root of a tree.

RE

"Re" Lets, go!

RO

"Ro" Loaf of bread

The W line

WA

"Wah" A wine glass.

WO

"Woh" The dog keeps going Woof! Woof!

This katakana is not used often.

The Special line

N

"N" It looks like a one eyed ghost! 

Quiz

Coming soon...

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