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ใซใฟใซใ
Extensible Kana Engine
Katakana (ใซใฟใซใ)
Angular Japanese syllabary primarily used for foreign loanwords, technical terms, onomatopoeia, and visual emphasis.
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๐บ๏ธ Goal-Based Kana Curriculum
Your Japanese Learning Journey
Step-by-step guided milestones from your first vowel to reading authentic Japanese signs, menus, and games.
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๐ก
New to Japanese? What are Gojลซon, Dakuon, and Yลon?
Read the quick visual guide explaining how ten-ten (ใ), maru (ใ), and combo kana create all 100+ Japanese sounds.
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Gojลซon
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Reading & Memory Hook
a
๐ก Mnemonic:
Looks like an axe cutting wood.
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โก The Katakana Trap: Lookalike Characters
ใท (shi) vs ใ (tsu), ใฝ (so) vs ใณ (n), and ใฏ/ใฟ/ใฏ/ใฆ are the #1 hurdle for Japanese learners. Master their stroke directions with these visual rules!
Real Everyday Katakana Loanwords (ๅคๆฅ่ช)
Katakana is almost exclusively used for foreign loanwords. Read these common Japanese words and recognize their English roots!
ใข
a
An axe head cutting wood.
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Palm rejection active โข S-Pen / Stylus pressure sensitivity enabled
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Mastery: โ โ โ โโ
๐ก Memory Hook & Mnemonic
An axe head cutting a block of wood.
Writing & Stroke Practice
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Draw with your mouse or finger inside the box.
Everyday Loanword Examples
๐ Japanese Syllabary Guide
Kana Guide & FAQ: Understanding the Sounds
Everything you need to know about Gojลซon (ไบๅ้ณ), Dakuon (ๆฟ้ณ), Handakuon (ๅๆฟ้ณ), Yลon (ๆ้ณ), Sokuon (ไฟ้ณ), and Chลonpu (้ท้ณ็ฌฆ).
Gojลซon is the traditional table of standard Japanese syllables arranged in a 5 ร 10 grid. It matches 5 pure vowels (a, i, u, e, o) across 10 consonant rows (k, s, t, n, h, m, y, r, w, plus the standalone nasal n).
๐ก Why are there only 46 characters instead of 50?
Over the centuries, redundant sounds like yi, ye, and wu merged into simple vowels, leaving 46 active baseline characters in modern Katakana and Hiragana.
Dakuon are "voiced" sounds made by vibrating your vocal cords. They are written by attaching two small slanted strokes called a Dakuten (ๆฟ็น), colloquially known as ten-ten (็นใ ), to the top-right corner of a kana character.
K-row โ G-row:ใซ (ka) โ ใฌ (ga)
S-row โ Z/J-row:ใต (sa) โ ใถ (za)
T-row โ D-row:ใฟ (ta) โ ใ (da)
H-row โ B-row:ใ (ha) โ ใ (ba)
๐ฏ Vocal Cord Trick: Place two fingers gently on your throat. Say "KA" (no throat vibration at the start), then say "GA" (throat vibrates immediately). That throat buzz is the ten-ten!
Handakuon converts the airy "H" consonant row into crisp, popping "P" sounds. It is created by placing a tiny circle mark called a Handakuten (ๅๆฟ็น), colloquially known as maru (ไธธ = circle), in the upper right.
๐ Memory Hook: The circular maruใ looks like a soap bubble about to POP (P-sound).
๐
Yลon (ๆ้ณ) โ Contracted Combo Sounds
ๆ (Twisted/Bent) + ้ณ (Sound) = 1-Beat Glides
36+ Combos
Yลon are contracted syllables created by pairing an [ i ]-vowel character (ki, shi, chi, ni, hi, mi, ri, gi, ji, bi, pi) with a miniature Ya, Yu, or Yo (ใฃ, ใฅ, ใง in Katakana; ใ, ใ , ใ in Hiragana).
Sokuon is represented by a miniature character ใ (ใฃ in Hiragana). It is not pronounced as "tsu"; instead, it acts as a brief pause or breath-catch that doubles the upcoming consonant.
In Katakana, when a vowel is held for two beats (like in "coffee" or "cake"), it is extended using the horizontal dash ใผ. In vertical text, this bar is written vertically (ไธจ).
Special Modern Kana for English & Foreign Phonetics
Modern Japanese
Native Japanese lacks sounds like "F", "V", "TI", and "DI". To preserve accurate foreign pronunciations, modern Japanese created extended Katakana pairs using full letters combined with miniature vowels (ใก, ใฃ, ใฅ, ใง, ใฉ).
ใใกใปใใฃใปใใงใปใใฉ
fa, fi, fe, fo
ใใฃใปใใฃ
ti (party), di (disk)
ใฆใฃใปใฆใงใปใฆใฉ
wi (wiki), we (web)
ใดใกใปใดใฃใปใดใปใดใง
va, vi, vu, ve
โ๏ธ
When is Katakana used vs. Hiragana vs. Kanji?
The 3 Pillars of Japanese Writing
Big Picture
ใซใฟใซใ (Katakana)
Sharp & angular. Used for loanwords (ใใใซ hotel), foreign names (ใขใกใชใซ America), onomatopoeia, animal taxonomy, and visual emphasis.
ใฒใใใช (Hiragana)
Soft & curvy. Used for native grammar particles (ใฏ, ใ, ใซ, ใ), verb endings (้ฃในใ), and everyday native words.
ๆผขๅญ (Kanji)
Chinese logographic ideograms. Represents the core meaning of nouns, verbs, and adjectives (e.g. ๆฅๆฌ Japan, ่ป car, ้ฃในใ eat).
Level 1
๐ฑ Vowel Pioneer
Vowel Base & First Consonants
Master the pure vowels (a, i, u, e, o) plus K and S consonant rows, and read your first real Japanese words.
Target Characters to Master15 characters
Unlockable Everyday Vocabulary
๐ก Training Strategy:
Lock these characters into muscle memory with pen stroke tracing, or test yourself with flashcards before starting the exam.
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