Japanese Typing Guide
Learn how to type Hiragana and Katakana with romaji. This guide covers the two main romanization systems used in Kana Hana — Hepburn and Kunrei-shiki — plus a complete hiragana chart, katakana chart, and special typing rules.
Romaji (ローマ字) is the representation of Japanese sounds using the Latin alphabet. It is the main way most keyboards input Japanese kana: you type the roman letters and the IME converts them into ひらがな or カタカナ.
There are several romanization systems, but the two most relevant for typing are:
- Hepburn romanization — designed to show pronunciation for English speakers. It is the system used on most street signs, passports, and Japanese-learning resources outside Japan.
- Kunrei-shiki romanization — the system taught in Japanese schools. It is more regular and maps one-to-one to the kana table, but the spellings can look unusual to English speakers.
| Kana | Hepburn | Kunrei-shiki |
|---|---|---|
| し / シ | shi | si |
| ち / チ | chi | ti |
| つ / ツ | tsu | tu |
| ふ / フ | fu | hu |
| じ / ジ | ji | zi |
| ぢ / ヂ | ji | di |
| づ / ヅ | zu | du |
The main 46 kana. Romaji is Hepburn; Kunrei spelling appears in parentheses where it differs.
| a | i | u | e | o | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | あア a | いイ i | うウ u | えエ e | おオ o | Practise |
| k | かカ ka | きキ ki | くク ku | けケ ke | こコ ko | Practise |
| s | さサ sa | しシ shi(si) | すス su | せセ se | そソ so | Practise |
| t | たタ ta | ちチ chi(ti) | つツ tsu(tu) | てテ te | とト to | Practise |
| n | なナ na | にニ ni | ぬヌ nu | ねネ ne | のノ no | Practise |
| h | はハ ha | ひヒ hi | ふフ fu(hu) | へヘ he | ほホ ho | Practise |
| m | まマ ma | みミ mi | むム mu | めメ me | もモ mo | Practise |
| y | やヤ ya | ゆユ yu | よヨ yo | Practise | ||
| r | らラ ra | りリ ri | るル ru | れレ re | ろロ ro | Practise |
| w | わワ wa | ゐヰ wi | ゑヱ we | をヲ wo(o) | Practise | |
| n | んン n / nn | Practise |
Particles は and へ
As particles, は is pronounced wa and へ is pronounced e. In Kana Hana story mode these are typed by their actual reading.
わたしは → watashiwa
The ん / ン character
Type a single n before consonants, but type nn before a vowel or y-row to avoid confusion with な/に etc.
こんにちは → konnichiwa
Sokuon: small っ / ッ
A small tsu doubles the next consonant. Type the consonant twice.
かっぱ → kappa, せっけん → sekken
Long vowels: ー
In katakana, ー extends the previous vowel. Type the same vowel letter again.
コーヒー → koohii, メール → meeru
Yōon: small ゃゅょ
Type the consonant + i, then x or l for the small vowel: e.g. きゃ = kixya. Most IMEs also accept kya directly.
Switching systems
Kana Hana accepts both Hepburn and Kunrei spellings when “Both” is selected. Choose one system in settings to practice a specific style.
Kana Hana lets you apply what you learn here immediately. Open the settings panel and pick:
- Script — practice Hiragana, Katakana, or both together.
- Romanization — choose Hepburn, Kunrei-shiki, or accept either.
- Mode — Word Lists for focused vocabulary, or Story Mode for longer Japanese text.
- Timed / Untimed — build accuracy first, then speed.
The game tracks your accuracy and WPM so you can see your progress as you internalize the chart.
Try the typing game