Hiragana or katakana: choosing the script

The idea

Hiragana normally represents Japanese sound units. The 46 basic signs include vowels, consonant–vowel combinations and ん; small signs and marks make further sounds. Hiragana also writes particles and verb endings alongside kanji, such as を and ます. The chart pairs five signs with their katakana counterparts. Katakana represents the same sound system as hiragana. It commonly writes loanwords, many foreign names and sometimes words for emphasis. In コーヒー, each ー lengthens the preceding vowel; compare the kana pairs in the chart before reading the examples.

Examples

• 犬いぬは小ちいさいです。The dog is small.
• 机つくえの上うえに本ほんがあります。There is a book on the desk.
• コーヒーを飲のみます。I drink coffee.
• パンを買かいます。I buy bread.
• バスで駅えきへ行いきます。I go to the station by bus.
• ノートに名前なまえを書かきます。I write my name in a notebook.

Watch out

Katakana is a script, not a promise that a loanword sounds or means exactly like its source. Keep both long marks in コーヒー; a missing mark changes the timing.

Try it yourself

1. 「パン」の書かき方かたは？（ひらがな／カタカナ）

   Show answer or example answer

   カタカナ

   パン is written in katakana, a common choice for loanwords.

2. 「を」の書かき方かたは？（ひらがな／カタカナ）

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   ひらがな

   を is a grammatical particle written in hiragana.

3. 「ます」の書かき方かたは？（ひらがな／カタカナ）

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   ひらがな

   ます is a polite verb ending written in hiragana.

Use it today

Cover the chart. Read two words from the examples aloud, write their readings in kana from memory, then compare them with the furigana and chart.