Learn hiragana and katakana
Hiragana
The fundamental Japanese phonetic script used for native words, particles, and verb conjugations.
Learn hiragana and katakanaKatakana
Used for foreign loanwords, emphasis, and technical terms in Japanese writing.
Learn Katakana →Learn kana, one station at a time
Seven stations from the first あ to katakana — every station is a kana quiz, a chart row and a short practice.
- 01Seion ① — あ・か・さ rowsRead and write あいうえお, かきくけこ and さしすせそ, one row at a time.あいうえおか…
- 02Seion ② — た・な・は rowsAdd たちつてと, なにぬねの and はひふへほ to your reading.たちつてとな…
- 03Seion ③ — ま・や・ら・わ rows and んFinish the seion with まみむめも, やゆよ, らりるれろ, わを and ん.まみむめもや…
- 04Dakuten and handakutenHear the difference between か and が, は and ば／ぱ, and read all 25 voiced kana.がぎぐげござ…
- 05Yōon — small ゃ・ゅ・ょBlend a consonant with ゃ, ゅ or ょ: きゃ, しゅ, ちょ and the rest.きゃきゅきょしゃしゅしょ…
- 06Special sounds — っ, ー, んSokuon (small っ), long vowels and the moraic ん in real words.ん
- 07Katakana and loanwordsRead loanwords like コーヒー and ファン, plus combinations such as ティ and ウィ.アイウエオカ…
How the kana quiz works
Three steps, no setup. The quiz remembers what you get wrong and asks it again.
Pick a row
Start with あ・か・さ, or jump to the row you are studying. Every unit maps to one row of the gojūon table.
Answer and hear it
Each question shows the correct kana and romaji immediately, with the sound, so a wrong answer is a lesson rather than a dead end.
Return to weak kana
The quiz weights characters you answered incorrectly and keeps a mastery record in your browser — no account needed.
Learn hiragana and katakana with more tools
Four ways to practise, all free and all without an account.
Learn kana: learning guides
Longer reads for the parts that need more than a quiz: stroke order, usage, pronunciation and practice routines.
- Hiragana Basics GuideLearn the fundamentals of Hiragana, including writing rules and pronunciation
- How to Write Hiragana: Stroke Order BasicsLearn the stroke-order rules and seven model characters (あいうえお か さ) for writing Hiragana by hand
- When to Use Hiragana vs KatakanaUnderstanding the differences and appropriate usage of Hiragana and Katakana
- How to Add Hiragana Above KanjiLearn how to write and use Furigana (reading aids) above Kanji characters
Learn kana: hiragana and katakana quiz FAQ
What can I practise with this kana quiz?
This kana quiz covers hiragana and katakana, alone or together. Choose a kana group (seion, dakuon or yōon) and a quiz mode, then answer ten questions with instant feedback on the correct kana and romaji.
What makes this hiragana and katakana quiz different from other kana tools?
Not through a full spaced-repetition algorithm. The quiz does weight characters you have answered incorrectly more heavily, and you can see how many characters you have practised and mastered in this browser.
How often should I take the hiragana and katakana quiz?
Practise for 15–20 minutes a day rather than one long session. Short, repeated rounds of the kana quiz beat cramming, and your browser keeps a record of which kana you have answered correctly.
Does it teach stroke order?
Stroke order is not part of the hiragana and katakana quiz; the written guides cover stroke order, and the quiz focuses on recognition, listening, matching and spelling.
How is this different from other kana tools?
Most learners can learn hiragana and katakana in three to six weeks with short daily sessions. The kana quiz weights the characters you get wrong, so practice time goes where it is needed.
Can I track my progress?
Yes — accuracy and per-character mastery are stored in your browser local storage, so they survive a refresh but do not sync between devices or browsers.
Do I need to create an account to learn kana?
No. The whole course and the hiragana and katakana quiz work without an account, and progress is stored in your browser. An account only matters if you want to carry progress between devices.
How long does it take to learn hiragana and katakana?
Most beginners need three to six weeks of short daily sessions to read both scripts comfortably. Writing them from memory takes longer; the kana quiz trains recognition first, which is what reading requires.
Learn kana with あ
No account, no download. Ten questions of the hiragana and katakana quiz and you already know more kana than five minutes ago.
Learn kana with interactive quizzes, a complete kana chart and an AI tutor. No account needed to start.
Start the kana quiz