Basic Hiragana Chart and Additionals

The 46 Basic Characters

あ い う え お
vowels
a i u e o

か き く け こ
k-line
ka ki ku ke ko

さ し す せ そ
s-line
sa shi su se so

た ち つ て と
t-line
ta chi tsu te to

な に ぬ ね の
n-line
na ni nu ne no

は ひ ふ へ ほ
h-line
ha hi fu he ho

ま み む め も
m-line
ma mi mu me mo

や ゆ よ
y-line 　 　
ya yu yo

ら り る れ ろ
r-line
ra ri ru re ro

わ を
w-line 　 　 　
wa wo

ん
　 　 　 　 　
n

The above hiragana chart is also called 五十音図 (gojuuonzu), which means diagram of 50 sounds in
Japanese, though it only has 46 sounds.

濁音 (dakuon) and 半濁音 (handakuon)

Additional hiragana are formed by adding double dots ( ゛) and circle ( ゜) to the upper right hand
corner of certain hiragana. By adding double dots or 濁点 (dakuten) to k-line, s-line, t-line and h-line,
we will get the additional hiragana of g-line, z-line, d-line and b-line respectively.
And by adding circle or 半濁点 (handakuten) to the h-line, the p-line is formed. See the additional
hirigana chart below.

が ぎ ぐ げ ご
g-line
ga gi gu ge go

ざ じ ず ぜ ぞ
z-line
za ji zu ze zo

だ ぢ づ で ど
d-line
da ji zu de do

ば び ぶ べ ぼ
b-line
ba bi bu be bo

ぱ ぴ ぷ ぺ ぽ
p-line
pa pi pu pe po

Note: ぢ & づ in the d-line are less commonly used as compared to じ & ず

拗音 (youon)

Another group of additional Japanese hiragana called 拗音 (youon) is formed by adding smaller
version of ya, yu or yo (ゃ, ゅ or ょ) to hiragana ending in vowel i. See the hiragana chart below.

きゃ きゅ きょ
k-line
kya kyu kyo

しゃ しゅ しょ
s-line
sha shu sho

ちゃ ちゅ ちょ
t-line
cha chu cho

にゃ にゅ にょ
n-line
nya nyu nyo

ひゃ ひゅ ひょ
h-line
hya hyu hyo

みゃ みゅ みょ
m-line
mya myu myo

りゃ りゅ りょ
r-line
rya ryu ryo

Below shows the additional hiragana chart of 拗音 (youon) with 濁点 (dakuten) and 半濁点
(handakuten).
 ぎゃ ぎゅ ぎょ
g-line
gya gyu gyo

じゃ じゅ じょ
z-line
ja ju jo

びゃ びゅ びょ
b-line
bya byu byo

ぴゃ ぴゅ ぴょ
p-line
pya pyu pyo

促音 (sokuon)

When a small tsu (っ) called 促音 (sokuon) is added, it means the following consonant is germinated
or doubled (double consonants). This small (っ) forms the double consonants with the following
character.

This also means after we pronounce the previous consonant, we pause for the same amount of time
used to pronounce the consonant, then continue to pronounce the following consonant.

For example, when "と" in おと (oto which means "sound") is germinated, it becomes おっと (otto
which means "husband"), with a pause in between お and と when pronounced.

 おと (oto) → おっと (otto)

However, hiragana from the n-line cannot be germinated, unless the singular consonant ん (n) is
added in front.

Long Vowels 長音 (chouon)

For long vowels, we normally add a second vowel following the first vowel. For examples,

Hiragana Romaji Meaning

おば あ さん o ba a san grandmother/old woman

おじ い さん o ji i san grandfather/old man

すうじ su u ji numeral/figure

おね え さん o ne e san elder sister

えいが e i ga movie

こおり ko o ri ice
ほ う りつ ho u ri tsu law

Although both sokuon and chouon are not in the hiragana charts, they are important in helping to
pronounce Japanese correctly.

Take some time to memorize the above hiragana charts. It really helps when you start to learn kanji.