Lesson 10: Katakana 2: H, M, Y, R, W and ン

The last 21 katakana. After this lesson you can read all 46. A bonus: ヒマラヤ (Himalaya, हिमालय) is written entirely with characters from this lesson.

Same sounds as hiragana Lesson 5. ヲ is read o and is rare.

Listen and repeat

And the lone nasal sound: ン n ▶

ン is written with two short strokes; ソ is steeper.

Stroke data: KanjiVG, © Ulrich Apel and contributors, CC BY-SA 3.0 (kanjivg.tagaini.net). The sheet images are shared under the same licence.

Look-alikes to watch

• ン (n) / ソ (so) and シ (shi) / ツ (tsu): see Lesson 9.
• ミ (mi) has three horizontal-leaning strokes; シ has two dots and a sweep.
• ラ (ra) and フ (fu): ラ has a short stroke above; フ is a single hook.
• ワ (wa) and ウ (u): ウ has a short stroke on top.

Words you can read now

Katakana you can read anywhere

Shop signs, menus and product packages use katakana. Start to read every katakana word you see, even if you do not know the English word: sound it out, and it often turns out to be one you know.

Every ▶ button plays a clear computer voice, which is good for learning sounds and rhythm but is not a native speaker. Pitch (the rise and fall of the voice) can sound a little flat. Also listen to real Japanese as often as you can: videos, news for learners (NHK Easy), and Japanese people around you.

Check yourself

Try to answer every question before you look at the answers.

1. Read: ヒマラヤ.
2. Read: ホテル.
3. Read: ミルク.
4. Read: コーヒー.
5. Read: レモン.
6. Write ra in katakana.
7. Write the lone nasal sound n in katakana.
8. Which katakana looks like ソ but is read n?
9. What does メール mean?
10. How is the long vowel in ラーメン written?

Answers

Count your correct answers. If you got fewer than 7 out of 10, read the lesson again and listen to the audio once more.

1. himaraya: Himalaya.
2. hoteru: hotel.
3. miruku: milk.
4. koohii: coffee.
5. remon: lemon.
6. ラ.
7. ン.
8. ン.
9. Email or a message.
10. With ー (the long-vowel mark).