Unit 1 - Section 6: Katakana - タ行・ナ行・ハ行

Practice Quiz

Katakana - タ行・ナ行・ハ行

Continue learning katakana! The TA, NA, and HA rows contain common characters used in many foreign words and Japanese words.

タ行 (TA Row)

Katakana Hiragana Romaji Memory Tip
タ た ta Looks like a cross or "T" with extra line
チ ち chi Looks like a "T" upside down
ツ つ tsu Looks like a "ツ" or two apostrophes
テ て te Looks like "テ" - like a "T" rotated
ト と to Looks like a "T" - "TO"ne

ナ行 (NA Row)

Katakana Hiragana Romaji Memory Tip
ナ な na Looks like "N" - "NA"vy
ニ に ni Looks like "ニ" - two horizontal lines
ヌ ぬ nu Looks like "ヌ" - "NU"ture
ネ ね ne Looks like "ネ" - like a "N" diagonal
ノ の no Looks like a backslash - "NO" worries

ハ行 (HA Row)

Katakana Hiragana Romaji Memory Tip
ハ は ha Looks like "ハ" - two vertical lines
ヒ ひ hi Looks like "ヒ" - like two vertical strokes
フ ふ fu Looks like a curve - "FU"n
ヘ へ he Looks like a slash - "HE"llo
ホ ほ ho Looks like "ホ" - "HO"me

Common Katakana Words

テーブル
table
チーム
team
ツアー
tour
テスト
test
ハンバーガー
hamburger
ホテル
hotel
ニュース
news
ネット
net/internet
トマト
tomato
チケット
ticket
フット
foot (as in football)
ナイフ
knife

Study Tips

Master These Characters:
  • Sharp angles: Katakana is more angular than hiragana - notice the straight lines
  • Practice pairs: Always practice katakana with its hiragana counterpart
  • Writing stroke order: Pay attention to which strokes connect and which don't
  • Recognition speed: Set a goal to recognize each character in 1 second
  • Foreign words: Read katakana words around you - they're everywhere in Japan!