Katakana Flashcards Plan: Learn Katakana in 5 Days
Know hiragana? Learn katakana in five days with flashcards: what carries over, what's new, a day-by-day plan and loanwords to read.
Already know hiragana? Then katakana is the easy part. With katakana flashcards and a 5-day plan, you can learn all 46 basic characters plus the dakuten in under a week.
This guide shows you what carries over from hiragana, what's new, and exactly what to study each day.
What Is Katakana?
Katakana is Japan's second kana script. It has 46 basic characters, and it's used mainly for words borrowed from other languages, like テレビ (terebi, TV), and for foreign names.
It uses the same sounds as hiragana, just in sharper, straighter shapes. New to both? Start with Katakana Flashcards: How to Learn Katakana Fast.
Where will you see katakana?
Everywhere you go in Japan. A few everyday examples, with audio:
| Where | Example |
|---|---|
| On menus | メニュー (menyuu, menu) |
| In shops | レジ (reji, till) |
| At stations | タクシー (takushii, taxi) |
| On packaging | チョコレート (chokoreeto, chocolate) |
What Carries Over From Hiragana?
Almost everything. Here's what stays the same and the two things that are new. Press play to hear each example.
| What | Katakana vs hiragana | Example |
|---|---|---|
| The sounds | Exactly the same | あ / ア (a) |
| The chart order | Exactly the same | か / カ (ka) |
| Dakuten, the little dots | Exactly the same | が / ガ (ga) |
| Combinations | Exactly the same | きゃ / キャ (kya) |
| Long vowels | New: a dash, ー | コーヒー (koohii, coffee) |
| Foreign sounds | New: extended sounds | ファイル (fairu, file) |
Some katakana even look like their hiragana twins, which gives you a head start:
| Japanese | Romaji | English |
|---|---|---|
か / カ | ka | Near twins: カ drops the small stroke on the right |
へ / ヘ | he | Almost identical |
り / リ | ri | The same idea, straightened out |
せ / セ | se | Close: セ is the angular version |
あ / ア | a | Different shapes, same sound |
ね / ネ | ne | Different shapes, same sound |
Why Do Katakana Flashcards Work So Well?
Flashcards make you recall each character before you see the answer. That effort is what makes it stick. Because you already know the sounds, every card is really one question: what's this new shape called?
That's why katakana goes so fast with flashcards. Short daily rounds, shuffled, with the misses coming back, and the shapes are yours within days.
The 5-Day Katakana Plan
Here's the week. Two or three rows a day, then a day to put it all together.
| Day | New rows | Characters | Words to read |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | ア, カ, サ | 15 | アイス (ice cream), スキー (skiing) |
| Day 2 | タ, ナ, ハ | 15 | テニス (tennis), ナイフ (knife), ノート (notebook) |
| Day 3 | マ, ヤ, ラ, ワ, ン | 16 | カメラ (camera), ホテル (hotel), ワイン (wine) |
| Day 4 | Dakuten rows: ガ, ザ, ダ, バ, パ | 25 | バス (bus), テレビ (TV), ゲーム (game) |
| Day 5 | Everything, shuffled | 71 | Katakana Words, a few minutes |
The words for each day use only the rows you've learned so far. There's a table of them with audio further down.
How should each session go?
- Review first. Drill yesterday's rows before anything new.
- Meet the new rows. Look at each new character next to its hiragana twin, and say the sound out loud.
- Drill them. In the katakana flashcards, tick today's rows plus yesterday's, press Begin Test, and type the romaji.
- Read the day's words. Sound each one out and work out the English.
- 15 minutes a day for five days.
- Review yesterday's rows first.
- Add two or three new rows.
- Compare each new character with its hiragana twin.
- Say each sound out loud and write it three times.
- Read the day's loanwords.
How Can You Make Katakana Stick?
Use the hiragana twins
か (ka) and カ (ka), り (ri) and リ (ri), へ (he) and ヘ (he) are near twins. Learn them first; they're free points.
Use mnemonics for the rest
ニ (ni) is two lines, just like the kanji for two, 二 (ni). メ (me) is an X: "X marks me". Make up your own for the ones you keep missing.
Read loanwords early
Sounding out ホテル (hoteru) and realising it's "hotel" is the best reward in katakana. It also trains your reading speed.
Write while you review
Katakana is made of a few straight strokes, so it's quick to write. Writing each new character a few times makes you notice the small details, like the direction of the long stroke in シ (shi) and ツ (tsu).
Space out your reviews
Spaced repetition means reviewing a character just before you'd forget it. In practice: yesterday's rows every day, older rows every few days.
How Long Does Katakana Take?
If you know hiragana, about five days for the basic and dakuten characters, at 15 minutes a day. Reading loanwords comfortably takes another week or two of practice.
Starting from scratch, with no hiragana? Learn hiragana first. It takes one to two weeks, and then katakana takes about a week on top.
Trying to learn both at once usually takes longer, because the two sets of shapes get mixed up. One script at a time, with its own flashcards, is the quicker route.
What Mistakes Do Beginners Make?
- Mixing up シ (shi) and ツ (tsu), or ソ (so) and ン (n). See Katakana Look-Alikes.
- Forgetting the long dash. ビル (biru) is a building; ビール (biiru) is beer.
- Reading katakana as English. Sound it out first, then guess the English.
- Learning katakana and hiragana at the same time. One script at a time is much easier.
What Should You Do on Day 5?
Tick every free row in the flashcards and do one big shuffled round. The characters you miss are your list for the day, and most of them will be look-alikes. Drill those pairs on their own.
Then read some real words in the Katakana Words flashcards. Reading whole words is the real test of what you've learned.
Which Words Can You Read This Week?
These are the words from the plan. Read each one, then press play to check.
| Japanese | Romaji | English |
|---|---|---|
アイス | aisu | ice cream |
スキー | sukii | skiing |
テニス | tenisu | tennis |
ナイフ | naifu | knife |
ノート | nooto | notebook |
カメラ | kamera | camera |
ホテル | hoteru | hotel |
ワイン | wain | wine |
バス | basu | bus |
テレビ | terebi | TV |
ゲーム | geemu | game |
What Comes After the 5 Days?
- The long vowel mark and small ッ (tsu): Katakana Long Vowels and Small Tsu.
- Sounds like ファ (fa) and ティ (ti): Extended Katakana.
- Reading lots of loanwords: Katakana Reading Practice.
Where Can You Get Free Katakana Flashcards?
The katakana flashcards on JLPTCARDS.com are free for the basic and dakuten sets. You tick the rows you want, type the romaji, and the characters you miss keep coming back. Your accuracy is tracked as you go.
For paper practice, print the free printable katakana flashcards.
Practise the Plan Words
Tap a card to flip it.
Frequently asked questions
Can I learn katakana in 5 days?
If you already know hiragana, yes. The sounds and chart order are the same, so you're only learning new shapes, about 15 a day.
Should I learn katakana before hiragana?
No. Learn hiragana first, because it's in every sentence. Katakana is much quicker afterwards.
Which katakana are hardest?
The look-alikes: シ (shi) and ツ (tsu), ソ (so) and ン (n). Drill each pair together until you see the difference straight away.
What is the dash in コーヒー (koohii)?
It's the long vowel mark. It holds the vowel before it for an extra beat. Hiragana adds a vowel instead.
Are the katakana flashcards free?
The basic and dakuten sets on JLPTCARDS.com are free. The combination and extended sound sets are part of Premium.
How do I practise reading katakana?
Read loanwords. Many are English words you already know, like テレビ (terebi, TV), so sounding them out is quick and rewarding.
Start Day 1 Today
Five days, 15 minutes a day, and katakana is done. You already know the sounds, so katakana flashcards just have to teach you the shapes.
Open the free katakana flashcards on JLPTCARDS.com, tick the ア (a), カ (ka) and サ (sa) rows, and start now.