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HIRAGANA · CHARACTER GUIDE

か (ka) in hiragana

Ka in hiragana is か. At the end of a sentence it often marks a question, as in ですか (desu ka).

Reading
ka
Type
ka
Katakana
カ
Strokes
3
With dakuten
が ga
Audio
see listening section
On this page

How か is written, and how it differs from や.

The full model: 3 strokes, numbered in order.

start end

A similar shape
や · yaIts short mark sits on top, above the curve.

Memory hook: Picture a tired arm reaching right and drooping at the elbow, crossed by a slanting stick, with a drop of sweat on the right. Make your own · All 46 hiragana mnemonics

More hiragana activities

WRITE IT

How to write か: stroke order

Is か the same as the katakana カ? No. The katakana カ, also read ka, has only two strokes and a sharp corner, with nothing at the right. Copy this model’s rounded turn and its separate short stroke.

Shape: About square, a little wider than tall: a bent stroke and a long slanting line cross on the left, and a short stroke stands apart on the right.

In this model, stroke 1 ends in a hook and strokes 2 and 3 stop. Japanese schools name three kinds of ending: Stop とめ, Hook はね, Sweep はらい. Textbooks and teachers differ on some.

  1. Stroke 1Hook はね

    Starts left of the vertical center line, above the horizontal one. A line rising gently to the right; curve round near the center line (many teachers keep the turn just left of it) and go down, leaning slightly left, to near the bottom. End with a short flick up to the left, as in the model.

  2. Stroke 2Stop とめ

    Starts left of the vertical center line, near the top, higher than stroke 1. A long line down to the left, crossing stroke 1 and running roughly parallel to its downward part, ending far left near the bottom, about level with the end of the flick.

  3. Stroke 3Stop とめ

    A separate stroke. Starts right of the vertical center line, a little higher than the top of stroke 1 and well away from it. A short line down to the right, curving slightly, ending at about the height of the horizontal center line.

One mistake to avoid: strokes 1 and 3

Watch for
Stroke 3 is crowded against the turn of stroke 1, so the right side looks squeezed.
Fix
Leave a wide gap: start stroke 3 well to the right of the turn, a little higher than it, as in the model.
Practice writingMake a writing sheetSee it on the stroke-order chart

Stroke diagrams adapted from KanjiVG, © Ulrich Apel and contributors, CC BY-SA 3.0. License and attribution.

READ IT

Read か in print and in words.

か in handwriting and three typefaces

  • Handwriting model
  • Textbook style
  • Print, plain (gothic)
  • Print, serif (mincho)

In every typeface か keeps its short third stroke apart at the right. Copy the handwriting model.

Find か inside a word.

  • akaredUp to the K row
  • kakipersimmonかき also means “oyster”, which is often written カキ; persimmon is 柿.Up to the K row
  • kaimonoshopping
  • chikainear; close

“Up to the K row” marks a word written only with kana from the vowels to the K row of the chart, so you can read it if you learn the chart in order.

In everyday writing these words use kanji (あか is 赤, かき 柿, かいもの 買い物, ちかい 近い); here they are in hiragana for reading practice.

か as the question particle

  • nan desu ka “What is it?”
  • ikura desu ka “How much is it?”

Read more words with か

TELL THEM APART

か or や?

か · kaThe short third stroke stands apart, at the right.
や · yaIts short mark sits on top, above the curve.

Find the short stroke: か keeps it apart at the right; や has its short mark on top, above the curve, and its long line leans down to the right, where か’s leans left.

Open the guide for ya (や)

A quick check

Four models, handwritten and printed: is each one か or や? Only your first answer to each model counts.

SOUND AND SPELLING

Also the question particle.

As a particle: At the end of a sentence, か turns it into a question, as in the sentences above. Written questions often end with a Japanese period (。) rather than a question mark.

WITH DAKUTEN

が (ga): か with dakuten.

か · ka
が · ga

Two short marks, called dakuten, change ka to ga. They sit in the upper right corner, above and to the right of the start of stroke 3; write them last, the left one first. が is also the particle ga, which often marks the subject: いぬが います (inu ga imasu), “There is a dog.”

Type ga.

  • gakkou · school The small っ doubles the k, and the う makes the o long: said gak-kō.
  • ongaku · music

Practice ka and ga together

The spaces in this page’s sentences only help you read; ordinary Japanese has none.

All the marked forms, and small kana

YOUR NEXT STEP

Practice か with や.

A short round of か and や, the shapes this page compares.

Practice か and やFlip them as flash cards

Practice the whole K row: か き く け こIt includes き, く, け and こ, which this page does not teach.

Learn か with its group in lesson 2 · 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.

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

か · ka

Ka in hiragana is か. At the end of a sentence it often marks a question, as in ですか (desu ka).

Writing model
1
2
3

Write it, stroke by stroke.

  1. Starts left, above the middle; rises right, curves round, then flicks up. — hook (はね)
  2. Starts near the top, left of center; a long line down-left across stroke 1. — stop (とめ)
  3. A separate stroke: starts well to the right; a short slant down-right. — stop (とめ)

Watch for: Stroke 3 is crowded against the turn of stroke 1, so the right side looks squeezed. Fix: Leave a wide gap: start stroke 3 well to the right of the turn, a little higher than it, as in the model.

あか · aka · redかき · kaki · persimmonかいもの · kaimono · shopping

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/ka/

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

  • か ka

Example words

  • あか red
  • かき persimmon
  • ちかい near; close
  • かいもの shopping
  • がっこう schoolSound hint (draft): Commonly sounds like がっこー. Keep the kana spelling がっこう; sustain each long vowel for two beats.