HIRAGANA · CHARACTER GUIDE
ひ (hi) in hiragana
The syllable hi in hiragana is ひ: it starts like a small て, then climbs to a peak.
On this page
How ひ is written, and how it differs from て.
The full model: one stroke.
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Memory hook: Picture someone giggling “hee hee” with a wide grin: a short flat start, a deep dip, then a peak on the right and a slope down. Make your own · All 46 hiragana mnemonics
More hiragana activities
WRITE IT
How to write ひ: stroke order
Is ひ one stroke? Yes: the short line, the bowl, the peak and the slope down are one stroke. In some handwriting the climb and the slope do not quite meet at the peak; copy the one-stroke model.
Shape: Wider than tall, like a leaf: a short line at the upper left, a deep round bowl, and a peak on the right that slopes down.
In this model, the stroke 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.
One strokeEnding: Stop とめ
Starts far left, well above the horizontal center line. A short line rising gently to the right; just short of the vertical center line, fold sharply back and curve down the left side into a deep, round bowl, turning at the bottom a little left of the center line. Climb to the right to a sharp peak, about as high as the short line, then come down steeply to the right, ending far right, at the middle.
One mistake to avoid: stroke 1
- Watch for
- The bowl turns at the bottom on or past the vertical center line, so the peak has too little room on the right.
- Fix
- Turn at the bottom a little left of the vertical center line, then climb to the right, as in the model.
Stroke diagrams adapted from KanjiVG, © Ulrich Apel and contributors, CC BY-SA 3.0. License and attribution.
READ IT
Read ひ in print and in words.
ひ in handwriting and three typefaces
Handwriting model Textbook style Print, plain (gothic) Print, serif (mincho)
In every typeface ひ keeps its short line at the upper left, its deep bowl and its peak on the right. Copy the handwriting model.
Find ひ inside a word.
- ひとhitoperson. Up to the H row
- ひとつhitotsuone (thing)As in ひとつください (hitotsu kudasai), “One, please.”. Up to the H row
- ひくいhikuilow. Up to the H row
- ひるごはんhirugohanlunchひる (hiru), midday, and ごはん (gohan), a meal.
“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 (ひと is 人, ひとつ 一つ, ひくい 低い, ひるごはん 昼ごはん); here they are in hiragana for reading practice.
TELL THEM APART
ひ or て?
Look at the right side: after its deep bowl, ひ climbs back up to a peak and slopes down, while て ends low, with no peak. Both start with a line that folds sharply back into the curve; in て it is a long line across the top.
A quick check
Two handwritten models and two printed ones: is each one ひ or て? 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
A rough “hee” vowel cue, unlike English “hi”.
Sound: For a rough vowel cue for ひ, use the “ee” of “heat”, kept short. English comparisons do not reproduce the Japanese consonant exactly. The English word hi uses a different vowel. To say hello, Japanese uses こんにちは (konnichiwa); its final は is read wa.
MARKED FORMS: DAKUTEN AND HANDAKUTEN
び (bi) and ぴ (pi): ひ with dakuten, and with a small circle.
び (bi): ひ with dakuten
Two short marks at the upper right, called dakuten, change hi to bi. They sit right of the peak, near the top; write them last, the left one first.
Type bi.
- はなび hanabi · fireworks From はな (hana), flower, and ひ (hi), fire: the ひ becomes び.
- えび ebi · shrimp
ぴ (pi): ひ with a small circle
A small circle in the same place, called handakuten, changes hi to pi; write it last, in one stroke. In everyday hiragana words, ぴ comes after ん or a small っ (which doubles the next sound), as in these two, or starts a sound word such as ぴかぴか (pikapika, shiny).
Type pi.
- えんぴつ enpitsu · pencil
- いっぴき ippiki · one (small animal) Small animals such as cats are counted with ひき (hiki), which changes with the number before it: いっぴき (ippiki, one), にひき (nihiki, two), さんびき (sanbiki, three).
YOUR NEXT STEP
Practice ひ with て.
A short round of ひ and て, the shapes this page compares.
Practice the whole H row: は ひ ふ へ ほIt includes は, ふ, へ and ほ, which this page does not teach.
Learn ひ 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): ひ
- z-shogei calligraphy school: は, ひ and ふ
- Matsumoto Shoeido calligraphy school: ひ
- Matsumoto Shoeido calligraphy school: ひ
- Matsumoto Shoeido calligraphy school: ひ, two pen styles
- Matsumoto Shoeido calligraphy school: dakuten
- Matsumoto Shoeido calligraphy school: handakuten
- Japanese-Lesson.com: は ひ ふ へ ほ
- ryohkei.com: ひ, び and ぴ
- にほんご教師ピック (Japanese-teacher materials): how to write each hiragana
- Tofugu, Learn Hiragana: ひ said like the English word “he”
- 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
ひ · hi
The syllable hi in hiragana is ひ: it starts like a small て, then climbs to a peak.
Write it, stroke by stroke.
- Starts far left, high; folds back, a deep bowl, up to a peak, then down. — stop (とめ)
Watch for: The bowl turns at the bottom on or past the vertical center line, so the peak has too little room on the right. Fix: Turn at the bottom a little left of the vertical center line, then climb to the right, 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/hi/
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
- ひ hi
Example words
- ひとつ one (thing)
- ひるごはん lunch
- えんぴつ pencil
- ひと person
- ひくい low