Ready-made hiragana worksheets (PDF)
One PDF per sheet in style A, for A4 and US Letter, and one file with every sheet. Open one and print it at 100%.
| Sheet | Sounds | A4 | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic rows | |||
| あ row | a i u e o | A4 | Letter |
| か row | ka ki ku ke ko | A4 | Letter |
| さ row | sa shi su se so | A4 | Letter |
| た row | ta chi tsu te to | A4 | Letter |
| な row | na ni nu ne no | A4 | Letter |
| は row | ha hi fu he ho | A4 | Letter |
| ま row | ma mi mu me mo | A4 | Letter |
| や row | ya yu yo | A4 | Letter |
| ら row | ra ri ru re ro | A4 | Letter |
| わ row and ん | wa wo n | A4 | Letter |
| Dakuten | |||
| が row | ga gi gu ge go | A4 | Letter |
| ざ row | za ji zu ze zo | A4 | Letter |
| だ row | da ji zu de do | A4 | Letter |
| ば row | ba bi bu be bo | A4 | Letter |
| ぱ row | pa pi pu pe po | A4 | Letter |
| Yōon | |||
| きゃ しゃ ちゃ groups | kya kyu kyo sha shu sho cha chu cho | A4 | Letter |
| にゃ ひゃ みゃ groups | nya nyu nyo hya hyu hyo mya myu myo | A4 | Letter |
| りゃ ぎゃ じゃ groups | rya ryu ryo gya gyu gyo ja ju jo | A4 | Letter |
| びゃ ぴゃ groups | bya byu byo pya pyu pyo | A4 | Letter |
| Everything | |||
| All rows | 19 pages | A4 | Letter |
How to use the sheets
- Read the model first. The orange numbers show the order of the strokes, each one near where its stroke starts.
- Trace the gray copies slowly, in that order, and say the sound out loud as you write.
- Write in the empty boxes without looking at the model, then compare each one with it. The dotted cross helps you check the balance.
- Do one row a day. Before you start a new row, write yesterday's row once from memory.
Frequently asked questions
How do I print the sheets at the right size?
Press Print or save as PDF, pick the same paper size in the print dialog, and keep the scale at 100% (Default or Actual size, not Fit to page). Boxes then print at 15 mm, or 20 mm with Large boxes. To keep a file, choose Save as PDF as the printer.
Which line style should I start with?
Model, trace, write. Learn the order from the numbered model, trace the gray copies, then write the kana in the empty boxes without looking. Stroke by stroke draws each kana one stroke at a time, which helps when you cannot tell where a stroke starts. With words adds a short word after each kana once you know a few rows.
In what order should I learn the rows?
In the order the sheets use: the あ (a) row, then か (ka), さ (sa), た (ta), な (na), は (ha), ま (ma), や (ya), ら (ra) and わ (wa) with ん (n). After the 46 basic hiragana come the dakuten rows from が (ga) to ぱ (pa), then the yōon such as きゃ (kya). The words in style C follow the same order, so each word uses only kana from rows you have already practiced.
Why do the や (ya) and わ (wa) sheets have only three kana?
Modern Japanese has only や (ya), ゆ (yu) and よ (yo) in that row, and the last sheet holds わ (wa), を (wo) and ん (n). Every sheet fills one page, so these kana get more practice lines than the kana on a five-kana sheet.
Where does the stroke order come from?
From KanjiVG, an open data set of stroke order (CC BY-SA 3.0). The numbers on each model sit near the start of each stroke. To watch the strokes drawn, see hiragana stroke order.