The first thing to learn is hiragana (平仮名、ひらがな), since it's the most commonly used writing system and the easiest to learn. Hiragana and katakana are syllabic writing systems. Below you can find the tables of the basic hiragana, known to the Japanese as the gojuon-zu (五十音図), or "the table of the 50 sounds", and its variations. As a point of interest, hiragana have evolved from kanji. Intermediate forms, called hentaigana, are still used on occasion on diplomas, official invitations, or on shop signs.

The order in which the characters are placed may seem a bit odd, but this is the order in which the Japanese alphabetize. It's a good idea to get used to this order.

Hiragana

Dakuten / handakuten
Hiragana have variations and combinations. Make yourself acquainted with the standard hiragana before tackling these variations.

The hiragana variations work according to a system. The consonants are changed to voiced consonnants, called nigori (濁り) or dakuon (濁音), through adding a dakuten (濁点): ゛or a handakuten (半濁点): ゜.

Here is an example of voiced hiragana

Hiragana - combinations
The kana combinations also work according to a system. Kana from the "i" column can be combined with kana from the "y" row. The "y" kana are then written in smaller print to show the relation to the "i" kana. This may sound very difficult, but when you look at the tables below, you will quickly understand how this works.

Note that there is a profound difference between the following uses of small and full size hiragana.

Small "tsu"

Here is an example of the small "tsu"