Katakana
カタカナ
Guidelines on how to
create katakana words accurately
When is Katakana used?
Katakana represents
Oborrowed words from foreign languages (mostly English
but also Dutch, French, German, Portuguese, and some
Chinese)
Oonomatopoeic words eg. meiow, twinkle, knock knock,
ト ント ン
Why is ‘Japanese English’ so
different?
Japanese has a much simpler sound system than English.
Borrowed words need to be adjusted to suit the Japanese
sound system. The result is ‘Japanese English’. Many
words sound completely different to the original borrowed
English word.
Example:
table = テーブル （ teeburu ）
Consonants
In English words can have up to 3 consonants in a row.
ie. stream. But, in Japanese all consonants are followed
by a vowel (except for ‘n’). Change English words into
Katakana by adding a vowel after consonants:
OConsonants ‘t’ or ‘d’ add ‘o’ = to, do
OConsonant ‘k’ add ‘u’ or ‘i’ = ki, ku
OAll other single consonants add ‘u’.= ru, su, bu,mu etc.
Example:
class = クラス (kurasu)
Practice - Consonants
How would you say/write these words in katakana?
Oclub
Ohome
Ocake
Osteak
Can you read these:
ジム
ガス
ANSWER - Consonants
How would you say/write these words in katakana?
Oclub クラブ (kurabu)
Ohome ホーム (hoomu)
Ocake ケーキ (keeki)
Osteak ステーキ (suteeki)
Can you read these:
ジム jimu (gym)
ガス gasu (gass)
Long vowel sounds
Some English vowels sound longer. ie. live vs leave
Long vowel sounds are changed into Katakana by adding
the symbol “ ー” .
Example:
cheese = チーズ (chiizu)
Practice – Long vowel sounds
How would you say/write these words in katakana?
Osneaker
Oski
Oicecream
Otenis
Opiano
Can you read these:
ゲーム
コーヒー
ANSWERS – Long vowel sounds
How would you say/write these words in katakana?
Osneaker スニーカー (suniikaa)
Oski スキー (sukii)
Oicecream アイスクリーム (aisukuriimu)
Otenis テニス (tenisu)
Opiano ピアノ (piano)
Can you read these:
ゲーム geemu (game)
コーヒー koohii (coffee)
Vowel + R
A vowel followed by ‘r’ is written as a long vowel sound in
Katakana. The vowel before the ‘r’ is lengthened by
adding the symbol “ ー” .
Example:
girlfriend = ガールフレンド (gaarufurendo)
Practice – Vowel + R
How would you say/write these words in katakana?
Ocourse
Ocircus
Ogirl
Can you read this:
アパート
ANSWERS – Vowel + R
How would you say/write these words in katakana?
Ocourse コース (koosu)
Ocircus サーカス (saakisu)
Ogirl ガール (gaaru)
Can you read this:
アパート apaato
(apartment)
Hard consonant sounds
When an English syllable ends with a hard sounding
consonant (p, b, t, d, k, g, s, sh) these are changed into
Katakana by adding a small ‘ ッ (tsu) before the hard
consonant. (Remember the
small tsu creates
a pause before
the next sound.)
Example:
truck = トラック (torakku)
Practice – Hard consonant sounds
How would you say/write these words in katakana?
Oegg
Obed
Ohigh tech
Obag
Obread
Can you read these:
グッドラック
ロボット
ANSWERS – Hard consonant sounds
How would you say/write these words in katakana?
Oegg エッグ (eggu)
Obed ベッド (beddo)
Ohigh tech ハイテック (haitekku)
Obag バッグ (baggu)
Obread ブレッド (bureddo)
Can you read these:
グッドラック guddorakku (good luck)
ロボット robotto (robot)
J in Katakana
The ‘j’ sound, when it doesn’t have a vowel sound after it,
changes to ‘ シ ji’.
Example:
orange = オレンジ (orenji)
Practice – J in Katakana
How would you say/write these words in katakana?
Ochallenge
OGeorge
Can you read this:
オレンジジュース
ANSWERS – J in Katakana
How would you say/write these words in katakana?
Ochallenge チャレンジ (charenji)
OGeorge ジヨージ (jooji)
Can you read this:
オレンジジュース orenjijuusu
(orange juice)
F in Katakana
F by itself or followed by a ‘u’ sound is represented by ‘ フ
fu’. F followed by other vowels are written with ‘ フ fu’
and small ァ a ィ i ェ e ォ o
ie. fa ファ fi フィ fe フェ fo フォ
Example:
family = ファミリー (famirii)
Practice – F in Katakana
How would you say/write these words in katakana?
OFrance
Ofootball
Odolphin
Oferry
Can you read these:
フィルム
カリフォルニア
ANSWERS – F in Katakana
How would you say/write these words in katakana?
OFrance フランス (furansu)
Ofootball フットボール (futtobooru)
Odolphin ドルフィン (dorufin)
Oferry フェリー (ferii)
Can you read these:
フィルム firumu (film)
カリフォルニア kariforunia (California)
W in Katakana
The ‘w’ sound in Japanese can occur with ‘a’ and written
in katakana as ‘ ワ wa’. For all other vowels after the ‘w’
sound changes the ‘w’ to ‘ ウ u’ followed by and small ィ
i ェ e ォ o
ie. wi ウィ we ウェ wo ウォ
Example:
water = ウォーター (uootaa)
Practice – W in Katakana
How would you say/write these words in katakana?
Oweek
Owest
Osquare
Owhisky
Can you read these:
ウエーター
ホワイト
ANSWERS – W in Katakana
How would you say/write these words in katakana?
Oweek ウィーク (uiiku)
Owest ウェスト (uesuto)
Osquare スクウェア (sukuuea)
Owhisky ウィスキー (uisukii)
Can you read these:
ウエーター ueetaa (waiter)
ホワイト howaito (white)
L and R in Katakana
L and R are written as ‘r’ in Katakana.
Example:
milk = ミルク (miruku)
Practice – L and R in Katakana
How would you say/write these words in katakana?
Ocola
Oballpen
Ostereo
Otrumpet
Can you read these:
ベルト
ルール
ANSWERS – L and R in Katakana
How would you say/write these words in katakana?
Ocola コーラ (cora)
Oballpen ボールペン (boorupen)
Ostereo ステレオ (sutereo)
Otrumpet トランペット (toranpetto)
Can you read these:
ベルト beruto (belt)
ルール ruuru (rules)
Ti, Di, Tu in Katakana
The ‘ti’ sound changes to ‘ ティ’ (typed texi)
(or traditionally ‘ チ chi’)
The ‘di’ sound changes to ‘ ディ’ (typed dexi)
(or traditionally ‘ ジ ji’)
The ‘tu’ sound changes to ‘ ツ tsu’ or ‘ チュ chu’
Example:
party = パーティー (paatii)
radio = ラジオ (rajio)
Practice – Ti, Di and Tu in
Katakana
How would you say/write these words in katakana?
Oticket
Omusic
Ocandy
Otea
Otulip
Can you read these:
ティシュ
ティアラ
ANSWERS – Ti, Di and Tu in Katakana
How would you say/write these words in katakana?
Oticket チケット (chiketto)
Omusic ミュージック (myuujikku)
Ocandy キャンディー (kyandii)
Otea ティー (tii)
Otulip チューリップ (chuurippu)
Can you read these:
ティシュ tishu (tissue)
ティアラ tiara (tiara)
Th in Katakana
The ‘th’ sound usually changes to ‘s’ (soft ‘th’) or ‘z’
(hard ‘th’) sound (sometimes it changes to just a ‘t’ sound)
Example:
theater = シアター (shiataa)
Practice – Th in Katakana
How would you say/write these words in katakana?
Omother
Othank you
Oaromatherapy
Oleather
Can you read these:
ザ・ビートルズ
ウェサー
ANSWERS – Th in Katakana
How would you say/write these words in katakana?
Omother マザー (mazaa)
Othank you サンキュー (sankyuu)
Oaromatherapy アロマテラピー (aromaterapii)
Oleather レザー (rezaa)
Can you read these:
ザ・ビートルズ za biitoruzu (the beatles)
ウェザー uezaa (weather)
V in Katakana
The ‘v’ sound usually changes to ‘b’.
(recently katakana ‘u’ with a tenten ‘ ヴ vu’ is used)
Example:
valentine’s day = バレンタインデー (barentaindee)
Practice – V in Katakana
How would you say/write these words in katakana?
Oivy
Ovegetable
Oviolin
Can you read these:
ベジャテリアン
ビデオゲーム
ANSWERS – V in Katakana
How would you say/write these words in katakana?
Oivy アイビー (aibii)
Ovegetable ベジタブル (bejitaburu)
Oviolinバイオリン (baiorin)
Can you read these:
ベジャテリアン bejiterian (vegetarian)
ビデオゲーム bideogeemu (video game)
Ye in Katakana
The ‘y’ sound in Japanese only occurs with ‘a, u, o’. There
is no ‘ye’ sound so this is changed into katakana by writing
it as ‘ イエ ie’.
Example:
yellow = イェロー (ieroo)
Practice – Ye in Katakana
How would you say/write these words in katakana?
Oyes
OYale
Oyear
Can you read this:
イエティー
ANSWERS – Ye in Katakana
How would you say/write these words in katakana?
Oyes イエス (iesu)
OYale イエル (ieru)
Oyear イヤー (iyaa)
Can you read these:
イエティー ietii (Yeti-
abominable snow man)
