HIRAGANA · CHARACTER GUIDE
ふ (fu) in hiragana
Fu in hiragana is ふ (also written hu): a curve with a mark on top and one at each side.
On this page
How ふ is written, and how it differs from ら.
The full model: 4 strokes, numbered in order.
start end
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Memory hook: Picture a dancing fool: a cap on top, a twisting body in the middle and a hand out on each side. Make your own · All 46 hiragana mnemonics
More hiragana activities
WRITE IT
How to write ふ: stroke order
Is ふ 4 strokes, even when print joins them? Yes: by hand, write a mark on top, the curve, then a mark at each side. Many serif (mincho) fonts join them into fewer lines; copy the four-stroke model.
Shape: A triangle, a little wider than tall: a mark at the top, a curve down the middle, and a short mark at each lower corner.
In this model, strokes 1 and 3 end in a hook, stroke 2 sweeps and stroke 4 stops. Japanese schools name three kinds of ending: Ending: Stop とめ, Ending: Hook はね, Ending: Sweep はらい. Textbooks and teachers differ on some.
Stroke 1Ending: Hook はね
Starts left of the vertical center line, near the top. A short line slanting down to the right, across the center line; then hook back down to the left, ending on the center line, toward where stroke 2 begins.
Stroke 2Ending: Sweep はらい
Starts left of the vertical center line, a little above the horizontal one, below stroke 1. Down to the right across the center line, swing out in a round curve to the right, then come back to the left along the bottom, ending left of center, near the bottom.
Stroke 3Ending: Hook はね
Starts far left, below the horizontal center line. A short line down, then flick up to the right, ending well left of the vertical center line.
Stroke 4Ending: Stop とめ
Starts well right of the vertical center line, a little below the horizontal one and higher than stroke 3. A short slant down to the right, ending above the bottom of strokes 2 and 3. The model turns back a little as it ends; write a firm stop there, not a flick.
One mistake to avoid: strokes 3 and 4
- Watch for
- Stroke 4 sits as low as stroke 3, so the two side marks are level at the bottom.
- Fix
- Start stroke 4 higher than stroke 3, and end it above the bottom of the curve, as in the model.
Stroke diagrams adapted from KanjiVG, © Ulrich Apel and contributors, CC BY-SA 3.0. License and attribution.
READ IT
Read ふ in print and in words.
ふ in handwriting and three typefaces
Handwriting model Textbook style Print, plain (gothic) Print, serif (mincho)
Serif (mincho) fonts often join ふ’s strokes, as the serif sample here does: the top mark runs into the curve, and the two side marks become one line across it. Copy the four-stroke model.
Find ふ inside a word.
- さいふsaifuwallet. Up to the H row
- ふたつfutatsutwo (things). Up to the H row
- とうふtoufutofuThe う makes the o long: said tō-fu.. Up to the H row
- ふゆfuyuwinter
“Up to the H row” marks a word written only with kana from the vowels to the H row of the chart, so you can read it if you learn the chart in order.
In everyday writing these words use kanji (さいふ is 財布, ふたつ 二つ, とうふ 豆腐, ふゆ 冬); here they are in hiragana for reading practice.
TELL THEM APART
ふ or ら?
Look at the lower corners: ふ has a short mark on each side, and ら has none. Both start with a short mark that hooks back toward the curve below, but ら’s curve begins with a line down the left.
A quick check
Four models, two by hand and two in print: ふ or ら? Only your first answer to each model counts. The models are pictures; each one is described in words after you answer.
This check changed in another tab. It now shows your latest answers.
Which reading matches this model?
Check finished.
A short practice with pictures of the shapes. It does not test pronunciation, listening or long-term recall.
SOUND AND SPELLING
Saying and typing ふ.
Sound: Say ふ by blowing gently through lips held close together, without your top teeth touching your lower lip: a soft sound between f and h.
Typing: The romaji on this site (Hepburn) writes ふ as fu; on a keyboard fu and hu both give ふ.
MARKED FORMS: DAKUTEN AND HANDAKUTEN
ぶ (bu) and ぷ (pu): ふ with dakuten, and with a small circle.
ぶ (bu): ふ with dakuten
Two short marks at the upper right, called dakuten, change fu to bu. They sit right of the top mark; write them last, the left one first.
Type bu.
- しんぶん shinbun · newspaper
- ぶどう budou · grapes Usually written in kana. The う makes the o long: said bu-dō.
ぷ (pu): ふ with a small circle
A small circle in the same place, called handakuten, changes fu to pu; write it last, in one stroke. In everyday hiragana words, ぷ comes after ん or a small っ, as in these two, or starts a sound word such as ぷかぷか (pukapuka, bobbing).
Type pu.
- てんぷら tenpura · tempura
- きっぷ kippu · ticket The small っ doubles the p: kip-pu, with a short pause before it.
YOUR NEXT STEP
Practice ふ with ら.
A short round of ふ and ら, the shapes this page compares.
Practice the whole H row: は ひ ふ へ ほIt includes は, ひ, へ and ほ, which this page does not teach.
Learn ふ with its group in lesson 6 · Try it on the hiragana keyboard
Sources, artwork and review status
Teaching content on this page is a draft: a Japanese educator has not reviewed it yet. Generated pronunciation audio is available in the listening section.
Stroke models and drawings: KanjiVG, © Ulrich Apel and contributors, CC BY-SA 3.0. License and attribution.
Two typefaces are served from this site: Klee One and Noto Serif JP (SIL Open Font License). The gothic sample uses this device’s own font.
- Japan Foundation: MARUGOTO-NO-KOTOBA vocabulary (readings and meanings)
- Jisho.org (JMdict): readings and common spellings
- syoka-koyoblog (penmanship): ふ
- z-shogei calligraphy school: は, ひ and ふ
- Matsumoto Shoeido calligraphy school: ふ
- Matsumoto Shoeido calligraphy school: ふ
- Matsumoto Shoeido calligraphy school: ふ, two pen styles
- Matsumoto Shoeido calligraphy school: dakuten
- Matsumoto Shoeido calligraphy school: handakuten
- Japanese-Lesson.com: は ひ ふ へ ほ
- ryohkei.com: ふ, ぶ and ぷ
- にほんご教師ピック (Japanese-teacher materials): how to write each hiragana
- JapanKnowledge, 日本語、どうでしょう？ 第54回: print vs textbook kana
- University of Texas at Austin, JOSHU: similar-hiragana quiz (は〜ん)
- Wikipedia: the voiceless bilabial fricative, in Japanese ふ
- Tofugu, Learn Hiragana: ふ between f and h
- Wikipedia: Kunrei-shiki romanization (ふ as hu; Hepburn the standard from December 2025)
- Mozc (open-source Google Japanese Input): romaji table
- Japan Foundation’s Irodori kana materials (spelling reference)
Draft teaching content · Japanese educator review pending · Approved generated audio is available in the listening section; romaji is a reading aid, not a pronunciation guide.
minimachi · HIRAGANA CHARACTER CARD
ふ · fu
Fu in hiragana is ふ (also written hu): a curve with a mark on top and one at each side.
Write it, stroke by stroke.
- Starts near the top, left of center; slants down right, hooks back left. — hook (はね)
- Starts below stroke 1; down right, a round swing out, then sweeps left. — sweep (はらい)
- Starts far left, low; a short line down, then flicks up to the right. — hook (はね)
- Starts well right, higher than stroke 3; a short slant down to the right. — stop (とめ)
Watch for: Stroke 4 sits as low as stroke 3, so the two side marks are level at the bottom. Fix: Start stroke 4 higher than stroke 3, and end it above the bottom of the curve, as in the model.
Trace, copy, then cover the model and write from memory.
Stroke model: KanjiVG, © Ulrich Apel and contributors · CC BY-SA 3.0 · kanjivg.tagaini.net · license: creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
Draft teaching content; Japanese educator review pending. Generated audio: see full guide.
Full guide and sources: minimachi.com/hiragana/fu/
Listen to the sounds and examples on this page
Generated speech: Google Cloud Text-to-Speech. Checked by a native Japanese speaker. Audio is available only for items with a Listen button. Listen plays at normal speed; Slow gives more listening time at the original pitch. Sound hints are drafts pending educator review.
Kana sounds
- ふ fu
Example words
- てんぷら tempura
- きっぷ ticket
- とうふ tofuSound hint (draft): Commonly sounds like とーふ. Keep the kana spelling とうふ; sustain each long vowel for two beats.
- さいふ wallet
- ふゆ winter
- ふたつ two (things)