Hiragana is 46 characters. It is the first thing every Japanese learner needs, and it is smaller than it looks: five vowels, then rows of consonant + vowel. With ten to fifteen minutes a day, most of the work fits into a week. This is the order that works, and the free tools for each step.
Before you start: the shape of the chart
Every hiragana is a syllable. The chart is a grid: five vowels across (a, i, u, e, o) and consonant rows down (k, s, t, n, h, m, y, r, w), plus ん. Learn it row by row and each new row reuses the vowels you already know. Keep the hiragana chart open — tap any character to hear it.
The 7-day plan
- Day 1 — vowels and K: あ い う え お, か き く け こ. Say each one aloud as you write it.
- Day 2 — S and T: さ し す せ そ, た ち つ て と. Watch the exceptions: し is shi, ち is chi, つ is tsu.
- Day 3 — N and H: な に ぬ ね の, は ひ ふ へ ほ. ふ is fu.
- Day 4 — M, Y, R: ま み む め も, や ゆ よ, ら り る れ ろ.
- Day 5 — W, ん, and the lookalikes: わ を ん. Then drill the pairs people mix up: ぬ/め, ね/れ/わ, さ/ち, は/ほ, る/ろ.
- Day 6 — voiced sounds: two small marks (゛ ゜) turn か into が and は into ば or ぱ. No new shapes, just a rule.
- Day 7 — combinations and a real test: きゃ, しゅ, ちょ… a small や ゆ よ joins the syllable before it. Then take a full quiz and see what is left.
What to do each day (15 minutes)
- 5 minutes — learn the new row from the chart: look, say it, write it three times. A printable tracing worksheet helps if you like paper.
- 5 minutes — recall, not re-reading. Play a round of the hiragana quiz games. Recalling a character is what makes it stick; looking at the chart again does very little.
- 5 minutes — the ones you missed. The quiz keeps track of the characters you get wrong and brings them back when they are about to fade. Clear those before adding a new row.
Why most people stall — and how to avoid it
- Learning all 46 at once. Five a day is faster than forty-six in one sitting, because the review is what does the work.
- Romaji crutches. Once a row is learned, stop reading the romaji under it. Read words instead: ねこ (cat), さくら (cherry blossom), すし.
- Skipping the lookalikes. ぬ and め, or ね, れ and わ, are where almost everyone loses time. Drill them as pairs on day 5.
After hiragana
Katakana uses the same sounds with different shapes (it writes foreign words — try your own name in katakana). The free Hiragana course walks through the same rows with short lessons, and the katakana chart and katakana quiz are next. When both are solid, the JLPT N5 practice test shows where you stand.