Free interactive tool
Katakana Chart
tap to hear every kana.
The full gojūon in katakana — all 46 base characters plus dakuten, handakuten, and combination sounds. Tap any character to hear it spoken, see its romaji, and check the hiragana it pairs with.
Base katakana (gojūon)
The 46 core characters · tap to hear
Dakuten & handakuten
Voiced sounds: ゛ and ゜ marks
Combination sounds (yōon)
Paired with small ャ ュ ョ
Tap a kana to learn it
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Katakana FAQ
When is katakana used in Japanese?
Katakana is mainly used for loanwords from other languages (コーヒー, coffee), foreign names, onomatopoeia and sound effects, scientific terms, and for emphasis — similar to italics in English.
Is katakana harder than hiragana?
Katakana represents the exact same 46 base sounds as hiragana, so if you know one you already know the sounds for the other. Its angular shapes are often easier to write but can be trickier to tell apart, so audio practice helps. Compare them on the hiragana chart.
How many katakana characters are there?
There are 46 base katakana, matching the hiragana gojūon, plus dakuten/handakuten voiced sounds and yōon combinations — around 104 readings in total, all covered on this chart.
How does the audio on this chart work?
Each character plays a real recorded pronunciation — the same natural voice that powers the Kanapow iPhone app, which breaks any word down mora by mora so you can read Japanese out loud.
Hiragana Chart
The same interactive chart for hiragana, with a shape-to-sound mnemonic for every kana.
Romaji ↔ Kana Converter
Type romaji and watch it turn into katakana or hiragana instantly.
Kanapow for iPhone
Read any word mora by mora with tap-to-hear audio. Free to start.
Ready when you are
From chart to real reading.
Kanapow turns any word into kana, mora by mora, with audio you can echo back. Free on iPhone.