Katakana

Introduction

Wahoo for progress! We're at katakana now, which means we're two out of three! Once we're done with this one, you just need to practice recognizing kana and you can start learning some real vocabulary. Isn't that amazing?

Or as the kids say these days: isn't it lit?!

... Yeah, I cringed too. But I tried and I—you know what, I'm sorry, let's just get back to learning Japanese. 😔

Katakana

As you know, katakana is very similar to hiragana. They make the same sounds, and only differ in how their characters look. The rules of tenten, contracted sounds, and double consonants are also pretty much the same. So why learn another set of characters if they're basically carbon copies?

Well, because katakana is used for very specific purposes!

When is katakana used?

Glad you asked! Katakana is used in all sorts of situations. Such as...

For loan words

There are a lot of loan words in Japanese. From English to even German, all borrowed terms are written in katakana. This makes deciphering which words in a sentence are loan words a piece of cake.

For Emphasis

This is much like using italics in text. Emphasis is easy to take for granted when we speak, but when we read, it becomes incredibly important as it can change the meaning of a sentence.

"That person is going there."

"That person is going there."

"That person is going there."

See how differently we understand those sentences even though they're all basically the same? Since Japanese doesn’t have these handy italics, it uses katakana instead!

For Onomatopoeia

It may be hard to spell, but it's not anything complicated! Onomatopoeias are just sound effects. Y'know, stuff like “boom!” or "buzz-buzz”? Japanese language has those too! In fact, Japanese has waaay more than English! To easily differentiate them in text, we also use katakana.

Here's an easy one to learn right now: ピカピカ (pikapika)! This describes something glittery, shiny, or sparkly. Does the word remind you of someone? Of some... Pokémon? Wink wink.

To represent Japanese spoken incorrectly or with an accent

You’ll sometimes see this in Japanese subtitles or other text where someone is speaking strangely/with an accent or makes a mistake.

With all the uses revealed, you must be itching to see some katakana already, aren't you? Let's get to it then!

Disclaimer: In case you skipped hiragana or forgot how we teach kana, you don't have to worry about memorizing the following chart all at once. The following few lessons will cover each set of characters in seven batches, and you'll be able to drill them all to mastery using our kana minigame!

The Katakana Chart

This chart is read the same as its hiragana version. Right to left, it first shows the five vowels, and then what sound is formed when they combine with the nine consonants.

You might have immediately noticed that katakana is not as rounded as hiragana. It's angular. You could even call it sharp, and precise. I mean, would you want any of those corners near your eye? Me neither!

It's this easy distinction that makes reading in Japanese a little less difficult. The two kana scripts have plenty in common, but you can visually differentiate them easy-peasy. Even if you don't know the words yet, knowing which one is hiragana and katakana is already something!

For example, between みどり and ピンク, which one do you think is the loan word?

Yup, the one on the right because it's in katakana!

Oh, and as I mentioned, we can form the tenten versions of katakana in just the same way as with hiragana! Here's that chart for you:

And of course, there's the "p" sounds as well:

Now comes the part where you have to take the time to memorize this new set of characters. Just like before, we're going to teach you every single one of them with the help of mnemonics, so no worries!

Yeah, I know, another set of characters to learn. It's definitely a heck of a grind, but it'll be all worth it! Don't worry, you're doing great. You've already learned some hiragana, right? That's some good-lookin' progress. Let's make some more!

Summary

• 

  Tenten, contracted sounds, and double consonants are also used when writing in katakana.

• 

  Katakana is used for loan words, emphasis/italicization, onomatopoeia, to represent accents/mistakes, and at times as a replacement for rare kanji.

• 

  Appearance-wise, katakana is sharp and angular compared to hiragana. This makes distinguishing the two kana easier.