Kana quiz
You got 0 of 20
Want this as a daily plan? Kana Challenge is a free 30-day hiragana and katakana course with a kana quiz and speaking practice, on Android, iPhone and the web.
In short
- Hiragana and katakana each have 46 basic characters that stand for the same sounds.
- Learn hiragana first: grammar endings and particles are written in it.
- Short daily rounds beat one long session. Retry the characters you miss the same day, then again the next day.
How to use this quiz to learn kana
- Start with picking, hiragana, basic 46. Picking from four options lets you learn while you test.
- Retry your misses straight away. The result screen lists every character you got wrong; the retry button quizzes only those.
- Switch to typing at about 90%. Typing the romaji forces full recall, which is closer to reading real text.
- Add katakana, then the voiced forms. が, ざ, だ, ば and ぱ are the basic characters with two small marks (dakuten) or a small circle (handakuten), so they come quickly once the basics are solid.
If you have not seen the characters before, read the hiragana and katakana guide first, and the rule for when Japanese uses each script. For how to write each character, see the hiragana stroke order guide.
Hiragana and katakana chart
Each cell shows the hiragana, the katakana and the romaji the quiz expects. Rows follow the standard gojūon order used in Japanese dictionaries.
| Row | a | i | u | e | o |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| vowels | あ アa | い イi | う ウu | え エe | お オo |
| k- | か カka | き キki | く クku | け ケke | こ コko |
| s- | さ サsa | し シshi | す スsu | せ セse | そ ソso |
| t- | た タta | ち チchi | つ ツtsu | て テte | と トto |
| n- | な ナna | に ニni | ぬ ヌnu | ね ネne | の ノno |
| h- | は ハha | ひ ヒhi | ふ フfu | へ ヘhe | ほ ホho |
| m- | ま マma | み ミmi | む ムmu | め メme | も モmo |
| y- | や ヤya | ゆ ユyu | よ ヨyo | ||
| r- | ら ラra | り リri | る ルru | れ レre | ろ ロro |
| w- | わ ワwa | を ヲwo | |||
| n- | ん ンn |
Voiced kana (dakuten and handakuten)
| Row | a | i | u | e | o |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| g- | が ガga | ぎ ギgi | ぐ グgu | げ ゲge | ご ゴgo |
| z- | ざ ザza | じ ジji | ず ズzu | ぜ ゼze | ぞ ゾzo |
| d- | だ ダda | ぢ ヂji | づ ヅzu | で デde | ど ドdo |
| b- | ば バba | び ビbi | ぶ ブbu | べ ベbe | ぼ ボbo |
| p- | ぱ パpa | ぴ ピpi | ぷ プpu | ぺ ペpe | ぽ ポpo |
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to learn hiragana and katakana?
It depends on how much you practise each day. Short daily rounds that retry the characters you miss work better than long sessions; structured courses such as Kana Challenge spread both scripts over 30 days. A 20-question round of this quiz takes a couple of minutes, so a few rounds a day fit easily.
Should I type romaji or pick from a list?
Typing romaji is the harder test, because you have to recall the sound with no hints. Multiple choice is easier and works better on a phone or when you are just starting. Switch to typing once you score above 90% on multiple choice.
Which spellings does the quiz accept?
It accepts both common romanizations: shi or si for し, chi or ti for ち, tsu or tu for つ, fu or hu for ふ, ji or zi for じ, wo or o for を, and n or nn for ん. ぢ and づ accept ji, di, zu and du.
Why do ぢ and じ (or づ and ず) have the same answer?
In modern standard Japanese they are pronounced the same: ぢ sounds like じ (ji) and づ sounds like ず (zu). ぢ and づ appear in only a small set of words, such as はなぢ (nosebleed) and つづく (to continue).
Does this quiz cover yōon like きゃ and しゅ?
Not yet. It covers the 46 basic characters of each script and the 25 voiced forms with dakuten and handakuten (が, ぱ and so on). Yōon combinations are made from characters you already know plus a small ゃ, ゅ or ょ, so learn the basic set first.