Hiragana Extras: Dakuten, Handakuten, Small Kana

Learn voiced sounds, p-sounds, contracted sounds, and the small っ so you can read more common everyday words.

Read voiced kana made with dakuten such as が and ぎ.Read p-sounds made with handakuten such as ぱ and ぴ.Recognize contracted sounds like きゃ and the small っ in common beginner words.

Guided study

Dakuten and handakuten change the sound

Dakuten add voicing, turning か into が and similar pairs across the chart. Handakuten create the p-sounds on the は row. These marks matter because many everyday words depend on them.

がぎぐげご

ga gi gu ge go

These are voiced kana made with dakuten.

ぱぴぷぺぽ

pa pi pu pe po

These are p-sounds made with handakuten.

かぎ

key

This common word shows how a dakuten changes the sound and the word.

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N5 Japanese grammar lessons

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Japanese grammar practice

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Japanese grammar lessons

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