HIRAGANA · CHARACTER GUIDE
お (o) in hiragana
O in hiragana is お. A short separate mark at the upper right tells it apart from あ.
- Reading
- o
- Type
o- Katakana
- オ
- Strokes
- 3
- Audio
- see listening section
On this page
How お is written, and why it is not あ.
The full model: 3 strokes, numbered in order.
start end
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Memory hook: Picture a wide oval that grows from the foot of a pole through a crossbar, with a little star at the top right. Make your own · All 46 hiragana mnemonics
More hiragana activities
WRITE IT
How to write お: stroke order
Is お 3 strokes or 4? Three: the upright and the loop are one stroke, and the short mark at the upper right is the third.
Shape: About square and fairly large: a straight upright left of center, a big round loop on its right, and a short mark at the upper right.
In this model, strokes 1 and 3 stop. Sources differ on how stroke 2 ends, so no ending is marked: copy the model. 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: Stop とめ
Starts far left of the vertical center line, well above the horizontal one. A short line rising gently to the right, stopping at the vertical center line, so the top right stays free for stroke 3.
Stroke 2
Starts left of the vertical center line, near the top, higher than stroke 1. Straight down through stroke 1 to near the bottom; a sharp turn up to the left, making a small triangle, then up to the right through its own upright, round in a big loop on the right, and down and back to the left, ending level with the foot of the upright.
Stroke 3Ending: Stop とめ
Starts right of the vertical center line, near the top, higher than the end of stroke 1. A short, firm slant down to the right, apart from the other strokes.
One mistake to avoid: stroke 2
- Watch for
- Drawing the loop as a separate stroke that crosses the upright twice, as in あ.
- Fix
- Draw the upright and the loop in one stroke: come down, turn at the bottom, then go up and round. The short mark at the upper right comes last.
Stroke diagrams adapted from KanjiVG, © Ulrich Apel and contributors, CC BY-SA 3.0. License and attribution.
READ IT
Read お in print and in words.
お in handwriting and three typefaces
Handwriting model Textbook style Print, plain (gothic) Print, serif (mincho)
In every typeface お keeps its short mark at the upper right. Copy the handwriting model.
Find お inside a word.
- あおいaoiblue. Vowels only
- おおいooimany; a lotOne of a few words that write a long o as おお, like おおきい (ookii); most write it おう, as in おとうさん (otousan).. Vowels only
- かおkaoface
- おいしいoishiidelicious
“Vowels only” marks a word written only with the five vowels, あ い う え お.
おいしい is usually written in hiragana; in everyday writing おおい is 多い, あおい 青い and かお 顔. The others are in hiragana here for reading practice.
TELL THEM APART
お or あ?
Check the upper right: お has a short separate mark there, and あ does not. In あ the loop is its own stroke and crosses the upright twice.
A quick check
Four models, handwritten and printed: is each one お or あ? 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
Same sound as the particle を.
Same sound: The object particle を is read o, the same sound as お, but it is still written を. In the word かお, write お, not を: かお, not かを.
Typing: Type o for お; the particle を is typed wo.
YOUR NEXT STEP
Practice お with あ.
A short round of お and あ, the shapes this page compares.
Practice all five vowels: あ い う え おIt includes い, う and え, which this page does not teach.
Learn お with its group in lesson 1 · 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): お
- z-shogei calligraphy school: お
- Matsumoto Shoeido calligraphy school: お
- Matsumoto Shoeido calligraphy school: お
- 100tenkids: お in a square with center lines
- Japanese-Lesson.com: あ い う え お
- ryohkei.com: お
- Kotobank (デジタル大辞泉 and others): を
- Agency for Cultural Affairs: Modern Kana Usage, particle rules
- 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
お · o
O in hiragana is お. A short separate mark at the upper right tells it apart from あ.
Write it, stroke by stroke.
- Starts far left, above the middle; rises gently, stops at the center. — stop (とめ)
- Starts left of center, near the top; down, small turn, back up, big loop.
- Starts upper right, higher than stroke 1; a short, firm slant down right. — stop (とめ)
Sources differ on how stroke 2 ends, so no ending is marked: copy the model.
Watch for: Drawing the loop as a separate stroke that crosses the upright twice, as in あ. Fix: Draw the upright and the loop in one stroke: come down, turn at the bottom, then go up and round. The short mark at the upper right comes last.
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/o/
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
- お o
Example words
- あおい blue
- かお face
- おおい many; a lot
- おいしい delicious