Free tool · Japanese
Hiragana Quiz
Master the 46 basic hiragana characters with quick multiple-choice questions. Tap I know this only if you can read the sound without peeking.
The core hiragana every learner starts with.
Master the 46 basic hiragana characters with quick multiple-choice questions. Tap I know this only if you can read the sound without peeking.
The core hiragana every learner starts with.
Hiragana (ひらがな) is one of the three Japanese scripts, alongside katakana and kanji. It's a syllabary — each character represents a sound, not a meaning — and it's the script you'll see most often in everyday Japanese: native words, particles, verb endings and the furigana hints written above kanji. Learning all 46 basic characters is the single fastest unlock in Japanese: once you have them, you can read the structure of almost any sentence even if you don't know every word.
The 46 basic hiragana, laid out by consonant row and vowel column. Use the quiz above to drill recognition until every cell is automatic.
| · | a | i | u | e | o |
| · | あ | い | う | え | お |
| k | か | き | く | け | こ |
| s | さ | し | す | せ | そ |
| t | た | ち | つ | て | と |
| n | な | に | ぬ | ね | の |
| h | は | ひ | ふ | へ | ほ |
| m | ま | み | む | め | も |
| y | や | · | ゆ | · | よ |
| r | ら | り | る | れ | ろ |
| w | わ | · | · | · | を |
| n | ん | · | · | · | · |
Most learners can recognise all 46 basic hiragana within 1–2 weeks of daily practice (10–15 minutes a day). The quiz on this page is designed for short, repeated sessions so the characters stick.
Hiragana first. It's used for native Japanese grammar and word endings, so almost every sentence you'll read uses it. Katakana mostly handles loanwords and comes second.
They cover five vowels (a i u e o), the k, s, t, n, h, m, y, r and w rows of consonant + vowel combinations, plus the standalone ん (n). Tap any answer in the quiz to see the romaji and hear the sound.
Stroke order helps you read messy handwriting and remember characters faster, but it's not required for reading. Start with recognition (this quiz), add writing once you can read all 46.