Free Hiragana Worksheets with Stroke Order
Make printable hiragana practice sheets for any of the 46 characters, or the dakuten forms like が and ぱ. Click characters on the chart, or add a whole row at once, then print. Each character gets numbered stroke steps, its romaji, gray characters to trace and blank squares to write from memory. A4 or US Letter, save as PDF, free and with no signup.
Hiragana chart with stroke counts
These are the 46 basic hiragana in gojūon order, the order Japanese dictionaries and textbooks use. Read across a row for one consonant with the five vowels; read down a column for one vowel. The stroke count is the number of separate pen strokes in the standard form, and it is the same number you will see in the step-by-step diagrams on the worksheet.
| a | i | u | e | o |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| あa3 strokes | いi2 strokes | うu2 strokes | えe2 strokes | おo3 strokes |
| かka3 strokes | きki4 strokes | くku1 stroke | けke3 strokes | こko2 strokes |
| さsa3 strokes | しshi1 stroke | すsu2 strokes | せse3 strokes | そso1 stroke |
| たta4 strokes | ちchi2 strokes | つtsu1 stroke | てte1 stroke | とto2 strokes |
| なna4 strokes | にni3 strokes | ぬnu2 strokes | ねne2 strokes | のno1 stroke |
| はha3 strokes | ひhi1 stroke | ふfu4 strokes | へhe1 stroke | ほho4 strokes |
| まma3 strokes | みmi2 strokes | むmu3 strokes | めme2 strokes | もmo3 strokes |
| やya3 strokes | ゆyu2 strokes | よyo2 strokes | ||
| らra2 strokes | りri2 strokes | るru1 stroke | れre2 strokes | ろro1 stroke |
| わwa2 strokes | をwo3 strokes | |||
| んn1 stroke |
を is romanized wo but is pronounced o in modern Japanese; it is only used as a grammar particle. ん is the only hiragana that is a consonant on its own.
Dakuten and handakuten: が, ざ, だ, ば and ぱ
Two small marks turn existing hiragana into new sounds, so there are no new shapes to learn. The dakuten (゛, two short strokes at the top right) voices the consonant: か ka becomes が ga, さ sa becomes ざ za, た ta becomes だ da and は ha becomes ば ba. The handakuten (゜, a small circle) only goes on the は row and makes it pa. The marks are written last, after the character itself.
| a | i | u | e | o |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| がga5 strokes | ぎgi6 strokes | ぐgu3 strokes | げge5 strokes | ごgo4 strokes |
| ざza5 strokes | じji3 strokes | ずzu4 strokes | ぜze5 strokes | ぞzo3 strokes |
| だda6 strokes | ぢji4 strokes | づzu3 strokes | でde3 strokes | どdo4 strokes |
| ばba5 strokes | びbi3 strokes | ぶbu6 strokes | べbe3 strokes | ぼbo6 strokes |
| ぱpa4 strokes | ぴpi2 strokes | ぷpu5 strokes | ぺpe2 strokes | ぽpo5 strokes |
ぢ and づ sound the same as じ and ず and are rare; you will mostly meet them in a handful of words such as ちぢむ (to shrink) and つづく (to continue).
How to practice with these hiragana worksheets
- One row at a time. Use the “+ row” button to put a single row, such as か き く け こ, on a sheet. Five characters a day, reviewed the next day, gets you through the whole chart in about two weeks.
- Trace, then guide, then write. Each block starts with three gray characters to trace over, then two faint ones to guide you, then blank squares. Do not skip straight to the blank squares: tracing is where the shape and the stroke order go in together.
- Say the sound as you write. Reading the romaji aloud while you write ties the shape to the sound, which is what you need for reading.
- Review in mixed order. After a few rows, paste a short word list into the generator (choose “Paste your own text”) so the characters come in a new order.
Hiragana stroke order rules
Hiragana follow the same basic rules as kanji, which is why learning them carefully pays off later: strokes go from top to bottom and from left to right, and a horizontal stroke usually comes before a vertical one that crosses it, as in た and な. Several hiragana are written with curves in a single stroke, such as の, つ and し, and the loops in ぬ, ね and る are part of one continuous stroke, not added afterwards. The worksheets number every stroke and highlight the new one at each step, so you can check yourself.
Hiragana that look alike
A few pairs cause most beginners' mistakes. Practice them on the same sheet:
- ぬ nu and め me: ぬ ends with a small loop at the bottom right; め does not.
- ね ne, れ re and わ wa: same left stroke; ね ends in a loop, れ in an outward kick, わ in a curve that comes back in.
- は ha and ほ ho: ほ has an extra horizontal line across the top of the right side.
- る ru and ろ ro: る ends in a loop; ろ is open.
- さ sa and ち chi: mirror images of each other.
- い i and り ri, こ ko and に ni: り's second stroke is much longer; に has an extra vertical stroke on the left.
Hiragana worksheets for kids and classrooms
The sheets print cleanly in black and white, with large squares, a name and date line and no advertising. Teachers can build one sheet per lesson row and photocopy freely; parents can print a row a day as short homework. For free-writing practice without stroke diagrams, use the blank Japanese writing paper with practice squares.
After hiragana: katakana and kanji
Most learners move on to katakana next, which has the same 46 sounds with different, more angular shapes; see the free katakana worksheets. Then start kanji with the kanji worksheet generator, beginning with the 79 kanji of JLPT N5. To read Japanese text before you know all its kanji, the kanji to hiragana converter adds hiragana readings above every kanji.
Frequently asked questions
Are these hiragana worksheets free?
Yes. Make and print as many hiragana practice sheets as you like, with no account and no signup. They are free for self-study, for homeschooling and for classroom use, and you may photocopy them for your students.
How many hiragana are there?
There are 46 basic hiragana. Adding the two voicing marks gives 25 more: 20 with dakuten (が, ざ, だ, ば rows) and 5 with handakuten (the ぱ row). Small ゃ, ゅ, ょ and っ are the same shapes written smaller, so learning the 46 covers almost everything.
Can I print the whole hiragana chart on one worksheet?
A worksheet holds up to 30 characters, so the 46 basic hiragana take two: the a-row to the ha-row (30 characters) on the first, and the ma, ya, ra and wa rows with ん (16) on the second. The 25 dakuten forms fit on a third. Most learners find one or two rows per session easier anyway.
What order should I learn hiragana in?
The usual order is the gojūon chart: the vowels あいうえお first, then the ka, sa, ta, na, ha, ma, ya, ra and wa rows, and ん last. Learn the dakuten forms once the basic rows are comfortable; they reuse shapes you already know.
Are the worksheets good for kids?
Yes. The large squares, the three gray characters to trace and the faint guide characters suit young learners, and each sheet has a name and date line. Printing one row per sheet keeps the task short.
How do I save a hiragana worksheet as a PDF?
Click "Create worksheet", then Print on the preview page, and choose "Save as PDF" as the destination in your browser's print dialog. Choose A4 or US Letter on the preview first.
Licenses and credits
The stroke order diagrams are drawn from KanjiVG, copyright Ulrich Apel, released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 license. Everything else on the worksheet, including the layout and the NexaProva branding, is our own.