Hiragana stroke order chart: all 46 basic characters

Use this complete hiragana chart to choose a character and watch how it is written. Each link opens free stroke-by-stroke practice with a moving direction marker. You can also practice a whole row or print it as a handwriting worksheet.

46 basic hiragana, with practice links

Read each row from left to right: a, i, u, e, o. Some rows have gaps. The final ん is a sound on its own, not another vowel syllable. The labels use familiar romanizations such as shi, chi, tsu and fu. Each count is the number of pen movements in the linked KanjiVG model, not the number of crossings. Tap a character to watch the order and direction; a count alone cannot show either.

Start with the five vowels

Watch あいうえお below. For each character, count the separate pen movements, copy it once on paper, then cover the model and try again. A crossing is not automatically the end of a stroke: keep following the red marker until that stroke finishes.

How to turn the chart into a worksheet

1. Choose a character above, or open the vowel row.
2. In the practice desk, edit the sentence to the characters you want to write.
3. Choose Worksheet. Keep the tracing copies for a first attempt, or choose Write from memory for blank practice boxes.
4. Use your browser's Print / Save as PDF option. Scan the printed QR code when you want to see the movement again.

A small set is easier to check carefully than a full page of unfamiliar shapes. When one row feels comfortable, mix it with an earlier row so that you have to identify each character again.

Marks and small hiragana

The basic chart is a starting point. Two short marks, called dakuten, change sounds in rows such as か→が and さ→ざ. A small circle changes the h-row to the p-row, as in は→ぱ. You can enter these marked characters into the practice desk as well.

Small ゃ, ゅ and ょ combine with a preceding character, as in きゃ. Small っ has a different role: it commonly marks a doubled consonant, as in きって. Size matters, so avoid writing a small character as large as its neighbor.

Three details worth checking

• Printed and handwritten forms can differ. In handwriting, き and さ may have a separate finishing part even when a font connects the shape. Use the animated model when checking the pen movements.
• A loop belongs to its stroke. Do not add a separate circle at the end of ぬ. Compare ぬ and め if their endings keep getting mixed up.
• Some particles have special pronunciations. は is pronounced wa when used as the topic particle; へ is pronounced e as a directional particle; を is normally pronounced o. The chart's character label does not replace reading a word in context.

A short recall exercise

Write a, i, u, e, o in hiragana without looking. Then write neko and inu. Check only after making an attempt.

For an independent reference, the Japan Foundation's kana chart includes hiragana and katakana with optional romanization. Continue with the katakana stroke-order chart when you want to connect the same sounds to another script.