Kana chart
Tap a kana to hear it. Colors show how well you know each one.
Basic kana
゛ and ゜ marks
The two marks. ◌゙ (dakuten, two little ticks) turns a hard sound into its voiced pair, so the breath keeps going: か→が ka→ga, さ→ざ sa→za, た→だ ta→da and は→ば ha→ba.
◌゚ (handakuten, a small circle) is used on the H column only, turning it into a popped P sound: は→ぱ ha→pa. The kana shape never changes, so once you know か you can read が too.
Combined sounds
Two more marks. A small っ is a short pause that doubles the next consonant: きって = kitte.