Meet Katakana

The sounds you know in new shapes, and the bar that makes a vowel long.

Katakana spells the same sounds as hiragana, with different shapes.

It is used for words borrowed from other languages, for foreign names, and for sound effects.

You already know every sound, and several of the shapes as well.

あHiraganaThe round one. It carries the grammar and the everyday words.

アKatakanaThe pointy one. It is used for words borrowed from other languages.

漢KanjiThe picture one. It came from Chinese, and one character carries the meaning of a word.

Each of these katakana is close enough to its hiragana to read straight away.

Tap either side of a pair. Both play the same sound.

Commonly Confused

ラ has a flat lid on top, and う has just a tick.

Commonly Confused

モ has two separate crossbars, and そ is one zigzag.

ム is the exception. It does not look like む, but it keeps the same sound and the same picture.

In katakana, a bar holds the vowel before it for longer. That length can change the word: ビル is a building, and ビール is beer.

Practice What You Learned

カリウムTap to check — can you read it?

ヘリセカウラモメム