Extended Katakana Chart: A Katakana Flashcards Guide

Japanese didn't have sounds like fa, ti or v, so katakana invented a way to write them. These are the extended katakana, and they're in loanwords you'll see every day, like パーティー (paatii, party) and フォーク (fooku, fork).

This guide shows you how they work, lists every one with audio, and explains how to add them to your katakana flashcards practice.

What Is Extended Katakana?

Extended katakana pairs a normal character with a small vowel. The small vowel replaces the vowel of the character in front, and you say the two as one beat.

That one rule covers every combination below. If you already know the small ャ (ya), ュ (yu) and ョ (yo) combinations, like キャ (kya), this works the same way, just with vowels.

Why Did Japanese Need New Sounds?

Japanese has a fixed set of sounds, and every katakana character is one of them. When Japanese borrowed words with sounds it didn't have, writers first squeezed them into the nearest native sound. That's why radio became ラジオ (rajio).

Over time, more and more loanwords arrived, and writers wanted spellings closer to the original. Small vowels gave them a way to do that without inventing new characters.

Where will you see them?

On signs, menus and websites every day. A few examples, with audio:

Which Extended Sounds Should You Learn First?

Japan's official rules for writing loanwords list the extended sounds in two tables. Table 1 holds the ones in everyday use. Learn these first.

Here they are in real words you'll see often:

What About the Rarer Ones?

Table 2 holds sounds used to stay closer to the original language, especially in names and places. You'll see them less often.

Some of these also have a simpler spelling. ウィスキー (wisukii, whisky) is also written ウイスキー (uisukii), and ヴァイオリン (vaiorin, violin) is also バイオリン (baiorin).

Why Do Some Spellings Vary?

The official rules don't override established spellings. Words that settled before an extended spelling caught on often keep the older form.

So if a word doesn't use the extended spelling you expect, it's probably not a mistake. Names vary too: see Your Name in Katakana.

How Do You Say Them?

• ファ (fa), フィ (fi), フェ (fe), フォ (fo): start with the soft f of フ (fu), made by blowing gently through your lips, then go straight into the vowel.
• ティ (ti) and ディ (di): like the start of "tea" and "dinner". Keep your tongue where it is for テ (te) and デ (de).
• シェ (she), チェ (che), ジェ (je): like "shed", "check" and "jet", without the final consonant.
• ウィ (wi), ウェ (we), ウォ (wo): a quick w sound into the vowel, as in "we" and "web".

Play the audio in the tables above and copy it. Your mouth gets used to these sounds faster than you'd think.

How Do You Add These to Your Katakana Flashcards?

1. Make sure the basics are solid. Run a clean round of the basic rows in the katakana flashcards first.
2. Learn Table 1 first. ファ (fa), ティ (ti), シェ (she) and the rest are in everyday words.
3. Learn them in words. パーティー (paatii) sticks better than ティ (ti) on its own.
4. Leave Table 2 for later. You'll pick most of them up from names.

Any Tips to Remember Them?

• Small vowel, one beat. Say ファ (fa), not fu-a.
• The small vowel is the answer. Read the small character first to know the vowel: ティ (ti) ends in i because of the small ィ (i).
• Think of the English. If a word sounds like "file" or "party", expect ファ (fa) or ティ (ti).

How Long Does It Take to Learn Them?

The everyday Table 1 sounds take three or four short sessions, once your basic katakana is solid. You already know the characters; you're just learning how the small vowels change them.

The Table 2 sounds take longer, mostly because you see them less. Don't drill them hard. Read names and loanwords, and they'll come.

What Mistakes Do Beginners Make?

• Saying two beats. フォーク (fooku) starts with one beat, fo.
• Writing the small vowel full size. フアン (fuan) and ファン (fan) are different words.
• Assuming every v is ヴ (vu). Many words use the バ (ba) row instead.
• Learning Table 2 too early. Focus on the everyday sounds first.
• Typing ti for ティ (ti). On a keyboard, ti gives チ (chi). Type thi instead.
• Expecting one right spelling. Many words have two accepted forms. Learn to read both and you'll never be thrown.

What Comes Next?

• How English words become katakana: English to Katakana.
• Typing ティ (ti) and ウォ (wo): Typing Katakana.
• Reading practice with extended sounds: Katakana Reading Practice.

Where Can You Practise?

The katakana flashcards on JLPTCARDS.com have the extended sounds as part of Premium, along with the combinations. The basic and dakuten sets are free, and the deck below is free too.

Practise the Words

Tap a card to flip it.

Frequently asked questions

Add the Extended Sounds This Week

One rule, a small vowel replacing the one before it, unlocks every extended sound. Learn the everyday ones first and practise them with katakana flashcards and real words.

Open the free katakana flashcards on JLPTCARDS.com, make sure the basics are solid, then start on ファ (fa) and ティ (ti).

References

• Agency for Cultural Affairs (Bunkachō), The Writing of Loanwords (Gairaigo no hyōki), Cabinet Notice No. 2, 1991: Tables 1 and 2 and the notes on established spellings. https://www.bunka.go.jp/kokugo_nihongo/sisaku/joho/joho/kijun/naikaku/gairai/pdf/94380801_03.pdf