Katakana stroke order chart: all 46 basic characters
Choose any katakana in this 46-character chart to see animated stroke order. Practice it with the direction marker, replay one stroke, or make a printable sheet from your own words. The practice desk is free and needs no account.
The basic katakana chart
Katakana represents the same basic sound set as hiragana, but the shapes are different. It is commonly used for borrowed words, foreign names, and other purposes such as emphasis. The chart leaves empty positions in the y- and w-rows; these are not missing downloads.
| Row | a | i | u | e | o |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| vowels | アa | イi | ウu | エe | オo |
| k | カka | キki | クku | ケke | コko |
| s | サsa | シshi | スsu | セse | ソso |
| t | タta | チchi | ツtsu | テte | トto |
| n | ナna | ニni | ヌnu | ネne | ノno |
| h | ハha | ヒhi | フfu | ヘhe | ホho |
| m | マma | ミmi | ムmu | メme | モmo |
| y | ヤya | — | ユyu | — | ヨyo |
| r | ラra | リri | ルru | レre | ロro |
| w | ワwa | — | — | — | ヲwo |
| n alone | ンn | — | — | — | — |
See the vowels being written
Begin with アイウエオ. Each change from one numbered stroke to the next means a pen lift. The red marker shows which direction the current stroke travels; do not infer the movement only from the final outline.
Two pairs need special attention
シ and ツ can look similar when the short marks are crowded. Watch the long stroke: シ rises from the lower left, while ツ starts nearer the upper right and moves down and left. For ソ and ン, a similar change in starting point and movement helps keep the characters distinct. Read the separate comparison guides for playable models and recall exercises.
Compare the four lookalikes →Practice real words, not only rows
- パン pan — bread
- The small circle on ハ changes ha to pa. Keep the mark visible without making it as large as a full character.
- コーヒー kōhī — coffee
- The long mark ー lengthens the preceding vowel. It belongs in the word; dropping it changes how the word is read.
- カップ kappu — cup
- The small ッ commonly represents a doubled consonant. Compare its size with the full-size ツ in the chart.
- ソファ sofa — sofa
- The small ァ combines with フ to make fa. Write the small kana lower and smaller than the full-size フ in horizontal writing.
Make a katakana handwriting sheet
Open a word above and choose Worksheet in the practice desk. The sheet places a numbered model beside tracing copies and empty boxes. Try tracing once, then write the same word in an empty space without watching. Use the QR code to return to the animation if the direction is unclear.
For a name, check its established Japanese spelling before practicing. A foreign name is adapted to Japanese sounds, so replacing each Latin letter with a kana is not a reliable spelling method.
Check yourself
Write pan, kōhī and kappu from memory. Which word needs a small circle? Which needs a small ッ? Which needs the vowel-length mark?
Show the answers
パン uses the small circle on パ. カップ has small ッ and the circle on プ. コーヒー has two vowel-length marks.
Compare your work with the Japan Foundation's independent kana chart. For the other script, open our hiragana chart and writing practice.