Hiragana Chart for Beginners: Learn the 46 Basic Characters

A hiragana chart arranges 46 basic characters around five vowel positions. Do not begin by copying the whole grid from top to bottom. Read あ・い・う・え・お without romaji, add one consonant row in the same five positions, and use those kana inside a short word.

That first loop is small on purpose: five vowels, one row, one word. Voiced sounds, small っ, and small ゃ・ゅ・ょ matter, but they become easier after the base map is familiar. If the three Japanese scripts are still blending together, start with how Japanese writing works.

The two-card pair is Leo’s practice material, not a label used by the café. He tries the word card before he turns over the separate picture card. He has not memorized 46 forms. He has made one part of the chart usable.

Use the 46-character chart as a five-vowel map

Read each row from left to right. The columns keep the same vowel order: a, i, u, e, o. A dash marks a position with no common modern basic hiragana.

Those rows contain 45 characters. ん is the 46th basic hiragana and sits outside the five-vowel pattern. The y- and w-rows have empty positions in modern basic hiragana. を occupies the historical o position of the w-row and is commonly pronounced like お when it marks a particle.

Romanization labels help you enter the map, but they can also become the answer your eyes retrieve first. Cover the labels during recall practice, then reveal them only to check yourself.

Read the five vowels without romaji

The vowel row is the reusable spine of the chart:

• あ (a) as in あめ (ame, rain)
• い (i) as in いえ (ie, house)
• う (u) as in うみ (umi, sea)
• え (e) as in えき (eki, station)
• お (o) as in おと (oto, sound)

On this page, test visual reading: look at one kana, say its sound, and reveal the romaji only to check. Use a reliable recording and the pronunciation guide when you practice mouth shape, listening, vowel length, and rhythm.

Add one consonant row and read one short word

Keep the vowel order and place one consonant in front of it. The m-row is ま・み・む・め・も (ma, mi, mu, me, mo). Leo does not need a new map for it; he reuses the same five positions.

In まめ (mame, beans), both kana come from the m-row. Leo attempts the sounds before revealing the matching bean picture. You can also combine the m-row with vowels you already know:

Some later rows have labels such as shi, chi, tsu, and fu rather than a simple consonant-plus-vowel spelling. Treat romaji as a check, not an English pronunciation. Add another row only after you can find the current kana out of order and read them in two or three short words.

Recover one hiragana shape you confuse

When two kana blur together, compare one visible feature and then read each inside a word. Do not stare at the pair in isolation for the rest of the session.

• ぬ / め: trace the ending; ぬ closes with a small loop at the lower right, while め does not
• る / ろ: る curls into a loop, while ろ stays open in many printed forms

Fonts and handwriting vary, so compare more than one standard printed form. Neat copying can support recognition, but it does not prove that you can retrieve a sound. Dakuten and handakuten create forms such as が and ぱ; small っ and small ゃ・ゅ・ょ change how words are read. Leave those extensions until the base row is stable, then use the pronunciation lesson for their timing.

Read the hiragana vowel row without romaji

• The basic chart contains 46 hiragana: 45 fit the main five-vowel grid, and ん sits outside that pattern.
• Start with あ・い・う・え・お, then add one consonant row in the same vowel order.
• Cover romaji during retrieval and reveal it only for checking.
• Read kana inside short words before adding another row.

At the café, Leo reads まめ on his own practice card—not every form on the chart. That limited result is the point. He folds the chart back to the m-row and leaves one mark for next time; the next row is now a specific question rather than forty-six forms arriving at once.

Keep adding one hiragana row until the Street Check feels stable. Then open the katakana chart and reuse the same five-vowel map with a second set of shapes.