Yukigo
Katakana: the complete chart
Katakana is the second Japanese syllabary: it is used for foreign loanwords (コーヒー kōhī, “coffee”), non-Japanese proper names, onomatopoeia and emphasis.
The sounds are the same as hiragana: 46 base kana in the same grid (gojūon). Only the shapes change — sharper and more angular.
Tap any kana to hear its pronunciation and watch its stroke order, animated stroke by stroke.
The 46 base katakana (gojūon)
Dakuten and handakuten
Just like hiragana: the dakuten ( ゛) voices the consonant (カ ka → ガ ga), the handakuten ( ゜) turns the H row into P (ハ ha → パ pa).
Combinations (yōon)
An I-column kana followed by a small ャ, ュ or ョ forms a single sound: キ + ャ = キャ kya.
Take the chart with you
The complete katakana chart as a free PDF — print it and keep it where you study.
How to memorize katakana
If you already know hiragana you're halfway there: the sounds are identical. Focus on the lookalike pairs (シ shi / ツ tsu, ン n / ソ so) by writing them by hand. Yukigo teaches them with tracing, audio and spaced repetition, for free.
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Frequently asked questions
46 base characters, same as hiragana, plus dakuten, handakuten and combinations — the sounds are exactly the same.
They split the work: hiragana for native words and grammar, katakana for foreign loanwords, proper names, onomatopoeia and emphasis.
The chōonpu: it lengthens the previous vowel, as in コーヒー kōhī. In katakana it's the standard way to write long vowels.
Look at the stroke orientation: in シ (shi) they're more horizontal, in ツ (tsu) more vertical. Writing them in the correct stroke order fixes them better than any mnemonic.
Each kana is written in a set order, usually top to bottom and left to right. Tap any kana in the chart to watch its strokes drawn one by one.
Yes: the free PDF includes gojūon, dakuten and yōon laid out for A4 printing, with romaji readings.
Looking for the other syllabary? Hiragana chart →
Stroke order data: KanjiVG © Ulrich Apel · CC BY-SA 3.0.