B 01
KATAKANA
How does KATAKANA
work?
Index
• Useful Websites for Katakana learning
• What is Katakana?
• Katakana 1: Katakana Characters
How does it work? How can I learn it? Quizzes
• Katakana 2: Katakana Words
How do Katakana words work? Tips
Welcome to the Katakana World
Useful Websites for Katakana Learning
Okochama Yochien
Katakana drawing movies with sounds
http://okochama.jp/youtien/
What is Katakana?
Katakana is one of the three Japanese character sets, along
with Hiragana and Kanji. Here are some examples of
Katakana.
カ
タ
カ
ナ
So, Katakana is a set of characters just like Hiragana.
Katakana is used to spell words from overseas (for Japan)
such as Europe and America. In other words, Katakana is
used for loan/borrowed words.
Can you think of any loan words in English? Sushi, futon,
karaoke are English loan words from Japanese. English
didn’t have those concepts so has spelt those words in
English characters as they sound in their original language.
What is Katakana?
Japanese does the same. They use loan words. The following concepts,
for example, didn’t really exist in Japan when they came into Japan.
original words
Japanese sounds
Japanese spellings
kangaroo
kangaruu
カンガルー
pizza
piza
ピザ
computer
kompuutaa
コンピューター
So they sounded out these words as they sound in their original
language. But in the Japanese sound system.
With spelling of those loan words, Japanese has decided to
use Katakana. So that they stand out from Hiragana and
Kanji and it makes people go “Wow, it’s a new thing!”.
Katakana 1: Katakana characters
How does Katakana work?
Katakana works exactly the same as Hiragana. It’s in the
same chart, each character represents a syllable, and a set
of 46 characters.
W
R
Y
M
H
N
T
S
K
ワ
ラ
ヤ
マ
ハ
ナ
タ
サ
カ
ア
a
ミ
ヒ
ニ
チ
シ
キ
イ
I
ム
フ
ヌ
ツ
ス
ク
ウ
u
メ
ヘ
ネ
テ
セ
ケ
エ
e
モ
ホ
ノ
ト
ソ
コ
オ
o
リ
ンn ル
ユ
レ
ヲ
ロ
ヨ
Katakana is pronounced exactly the same way as Hiragana.
Katakana 1: Katakana characters
So, how can I learn Katakana?
Well, once you’ve learnt Hiragana, learning Katakana is so much easier.
The word “Katakana” literally means “a part of kana”. Most of the
Katakana is made out of its partner Hiragana. Some of Katanaka
characters are even almost identical to their partner Hiragana.
き
Hiragana “Ki”
キ
Take out a
part of it…
に
Hiragana “Ni”
Now it’s
Katakana “Ki”!
ニ
Take out a
part of it…
Now it’s
Katakana “Ni”!
Katakana 1: Katakana characters
Which ones are easy to learn?
So, here is a quick game! In ONE minute, find 16 Katakana characters that are
a part of their partner Hiragana (including “identical” pairs).
* “partner Hiragana” is a Hiragana that represents the same sound.
W
R
Y
M
H
N
T
S
K
ワ
ラ
ヤ
マ
ハ
ナ
タ
サ
カ
ア
a
ミ
ヒ
ニ
チ
シ
キ
イ
I
ム
フ
ヌ
ツ
ス
ク
ウ
u
メ
ヘ
ネ
テ
セ
ケ
エ
e
モ
ホ
ノ
ト
ソ
コ
オ
o
リ
ンn ル
ユ
レ
ヲ
ロ
ヨ
W
R
Y
M
H
N
T
S
K
わ
ら
や
ま
は
な
た
さ
か
あ
a
み
ひ
に
ち
し
き
い
I
む
ふ
ぬ
つ
す
く
う
u
め
へ
ね
て
せ
け
え
e
も
ほ
の
と
そ
こ
お
o
り
ん
る
ゆ
れ
を1
ろ
よ
Katakana 1: Katakana characters
Which ones are easy to learn?
The ones in RED. Can you see the “Katakana part” in the Hiragana? You might
find even more.
W
R
Y
M
H
N
T
S
K
ワ
ラ
ヤ
マ
ハ
ナ
タ
サ
カ
ア
a
ミ
ヒ
ニ
チ
シ
キ
イ
I
ム
フ
ヌ
ツ
ス
ク
ウ
u
メ
ヘ
ネ
テ
セ
ケ
エ
e
モ
ホ
ノ
ト
ソ
コ
オ
o
リ
ンn ル
ユ
レ
ヲ
ロ
ヨ
W
R
Y
M
H
N
T
S
K
わ
ら
や
ま
は
な
た
さ
か
あ
a
み
ひ
に
ち
し
き
い
I
む
ふ
ぬ
つ
す
く
う
u
め
へ
ね
て
せ
け
え
e
も
ほ
の
と
そ
こ
お
o
り
ん
る
ゆ
れ
を1
ろ
よ
Katakana 1: Katakana characters
Which ones are easy to learn?
Let’s put the pairs side by side so that we can see the “part” clearer.
wa
re
ri
ya
mo me
he
hu
no
ni
na
se
ki
ka
o
u
ワ レ リ ヤ モ メ ヘ フ ノ ニ ナ セ キ カ オ ウ
わ れ り や も め へ ふ の に な せ き か お う
So, you’ve already learnt about the half of the Katakana characters already!
What about the other half? Well, you just need to learn them! However, it’s
still easier than learning Hiragana as Katakana character strokes are straighter,
simpler and less in number in general.
Katakana 1: Katakana characters
What’s the difference?
Being simpler in shape, Katakana has some characters which look very similar
to each other. Check the tips to tell the difference.
ア マ
a
ma
“a” goes “Ah!” and
the “tongue”
pokes out.
ク ケ
ナ メ
ku
na
ke
“ke” pokes out
everywhere like
its Hiragana け.
“na” has a straight line like its
Hiragana な. “me” is all curvy like
its Hiragana め.
ス ヌ
テ チ
コ ユ
su
te
ko
nu
chi
me
yu
ウ ワ
u
wa
Well, the difference is clear for these “pairs”. One pokes out and the other
doesn’t!
Katakana 1: Katakana characters
What’s the difference?
Just two more “pairs”. Can you spot the difference?
ソ ン
so
“so” : “tick at the top
of the longer stroke,
drawing top-down
“so” strokes
have more angle
n
“n” strokes are a
little flatter
“n” : “tick at the bottom
of the longer stroke,
drawing bottom-up
ツ シ
tsu
shi
So, the difference is same as the “so”-”n” pair
Add one dot to
“so” and now it’s
“tsu”
Add one dot to
“n” and now it’s
“shi”
Quizzes
Which one is the Katakana’s partner Hiragana?
ナ なna
ヤ やya
ワ わwa
ニ にni
キ きki
メ
リ
りri
めme
ウ うu
モ もmo
ノ
のno
ン んn
セ せse
フ
ふhu
ソ
そso
かka
オ おo
シ しshi
ヘ へhe
レ れre
ツ つtsu
カ
Katakana 2: Katakana Words
How do Katakana words work?
So, now you’ve learnt how Katakana characters work.
Let’s put them together to spell some words.
パース
シドニー
Using the Katakana chart, let’s sound out the two words above. By the way,
the tenten (゛) and maru(゜) work same for Hiragana and Katakana.
What about the dash/bar in those words?
パース
シドニー
A dash in Katakana elongates the vowel before. In other words,
it repeats the vowel before (without a stop). See examples.
ノー
no o
ルー
ru
u
キー
ki
i
エー
e
e
カー
ka
a
Katakana 2: Katakana Words
How do Katakana words work?
So, let’s find the meanings of the two words by sounding them out.
シドニー
shi do
ni
i
パース
pa
a
su
So, it’s sidonii and paasu. Still not sure what they mean? Repeat saying
the words five times each. Don’t they sound like some words you are
familiar with?
Remember, almost all of the Katakana words are from English words. So,
sidonii and paasu are from English. One more hint. They are both names
of some cities.
Yes, you are right! Sidonii is Sydney and paasu is Perth. That’s how they
say Sydny and Perth in the Japanese sound system, writing in Katakana.
Katakana 2: Katakana Words
How do Katakana words work?
Let’s try some more Katakana words. Sound out the words first and then
guess what they mean. How many can you get right??
FOOD
パスタ
FASHION
pasta
コート
pa su ta
ステーキ
su te
e
co o to
stake
ki
セーター
se e
SPORT
ゴルフ
sa
k ka a
sweater
ta a
TECHNOLOGY
golf
go ru hu
サッカー
coat
テレビ
TV
te re bi
soccer
コンピューター
ko n p
yu u ta a
computer
Katakana 2: Katakana Words
Tip1: Know the sound change
Found some words easy to figure out and some a bit tricky? If you know
how English sounds change in Katakana words (the Japanese sound
system), all Katakana words are easy.
English sound
Katakana sound
“l”e.g. London
“r” e.g. ロンドン (Rondon)
“th”e.g. thunder
“s” e.g. サンダー (Sandaa)
“v”e.g. Victoria
“b” e.g. ビクトリア (Bikutoria)
Also, extra vowels are added to each consonant.
“golf”
ゴルフ (goruhu)
“McDonald’s”
マクドナルド
(makudonarudo)
Katakana 2: Katakana Words
Tip2: Know the types of Katakana words
Knowing what kind of vocabulary tend to be loan words (= written in
Katakana) also helps.
Countries & Cities: e.g. オーストラリア(Australia), ニュージーランド(New
Zealand), メルボルン(Melbourne), フランス(France), バンコク(Bangkok)
* China, Korea, Taiwan and most of cities of them are written in Kanji/ Hiragana.
Food: e.g. ハンバーガー(hamburger), サンドイッチ(sandwich), ジュース
(juice), サラダ(salad), アイスクリーム(ice cream)
Sports: e.g. バスケットボール(basketball), ホッケー(hockey), サッカー
(soccer), クリケット(cricket), ラグビー(rugby)
Fashion: e.g. Tシャツ(T-shirt), バッグ(bag), スニーカー(sneaker), ベルト
(belt), スカート(skirt)
Technology: e.g. コンピューター(computer), テレビ(TV), ビデオ(video),
インターネット(internet), Eメール(email), アドレス(address)
Katakana 2: Katakana Words
Tip3: Know there “other” Katakana words
Knowing that there are “other” Katakana words, which won’t sound like any English
words, therefore no change of guessing would also helps you not to get stuck…
“not quite sound like it” words: e.g. イギリス(igirisu = England), ケーキ(keeki =
cake), チーム(chiimu = team), ラジオ(rajio = radio)
Non English words: From German - アルバイト(arubaito = part-time job), ドイツ
(doitsu = Germany) From French – ズボン(zubon = trousers)
“made-up” words: カラオケ(karaoke), ウォシュレット(woshuretto = wash-let), サ
ラリーマン(sarariiman = salary worker)
Brand names: トヨタ(Toyota), ニンテンドー(Nintendo), ヤマハ(Yamaha)
Shorten words: パソコン(pasokon = personal computer), エアコン(eakon = air
conditioner), リモコン(rimokon = remote controller)
“meant-to-be-in-Hiragana but in Katakana” words: This happens to make words
standing out. Often food and animals. e.g. イヌ(inu = dog), リンゴ(ringo = apple)
Onomatopia: ドキドキ(doki doki = heart beating sound), ガシャン(gashan = glass
breaking sound), スラスラ(sura sura = smooth expression)
Welcome to the Katakana World!
Do you want to try finding some “real” Katakana words? Try the
following website .
1. Can you find any Katakana word?
2. Can you sound them out?
3. Can you find meaning of the Katakana word?
Revise the “tips” all the time. Good luck and have fun in the
Katakana world! It’s full of Katakana!
Japan McDonald’s
http://www.mcdonalds.co.jp/menu/regular/index.html
Japan Olympic Committee
http://www.joc.or.jp/sports/summer.html
Fashion store “UNIQLO”
http://www.uniqlo.com/jp/
Tokyo Disney Land
http://www.tokyodisneyresort.co.jp/tdl/