Learn Katakana with Mnemonics

An antenna on a rooftop — the diagonal stroke sticks up like an aerial.

A sharp diagonal slash with a horizontal base — an antenna.

A person leaning — like the letter I tilted with a diagonal support.

Two strokes meeting at the top, like a leaning figure.

A box with a lid — like looking down into an open container. "Ooh, what's inside?"

A flat top stroke (lid) with walls going down.

An I-beam — the steel beam shape used in construction. Like an elevator shaft.

Top line, middle pillar, bottom line — a steel girder cross-section.

A cross with a tail — like someone doing a big "Oh!" stretch with arms out.

A horizontal stroke, a vertical stroke, and a diagonal kick — arms wide.

A blade cutting — just like hiragana か but sharper and more angular.

The angular version of か — same katana, sharper edge.

A key — same as hiragana き but the horizontal lines are disconnected.

Two horizontal bars and a vertical shaft — a key with clear-cut teeth.

A corner or a cook's knife — a sharp angle pointing left.

An angular shape, like the corner of a box or a chef's knife.

A crooked gate — the vertical and diagonal form a gate post that leans.

Like a letter K without curves — angular and direct.

A corner — two lines forming a right angle, like a corner shelf.

The simplest katakana — just a right-angle bracket open to the left.

A saw cutting — two vertical teeth on a horizontal blade.

The strokes look like a small hand saw.

A smiley face — two dots for eyes and a curved stroke for the smile.

Two dots + one curve = a happy face tilted sideways. Compare with ツ (tsu).

A ski slope — a diagonal line going down then curving at the bottom.

Imagine skiing down: straight slope, then a curve at the base.

A sail — the vertical mast with a curved sail catching wind.

A straight vertical stroke with angular strokes — a sailboat mast.

Two drops falling — like so much rain pouring down. Compare with ン (n).

Two strokes dropping from top-left to bottom-right. Don't confuse with ン!

A tilted cross — like a tag hanging from a hanger, angled down.

Like カ (ka) but with an extra cross stroke.

A cheerleader doing a split — a horizontal bar with a number 5 shape below.

Looks like the number 5 with a flat top — a gymnast in action.

Two eyes and a nose — a surprised face. The dots sit higher than シ (shi).

Three strokes pointing down. Compare: シ smiles sideways, ツ looks down.

A telephone pole — a flat top bar with a vertical post going down.

A horizontal bar on top with a short vertical below — a T-shape.

A totem pole — a vertical stroke with a small horizontal branch to the right.

The simplest two-stroke character — a post with a branch.

A knife — a horizontal blade with a diagonal handle below.

A simple cross that looks like a kitchen knife from above.

Two horizontal lines — like the number 2 written with straight strokes.

Just two parallel horizontal bars. Also looks like an equals sign.

Chopsticks crossing — two strokes crossing like chopsticks picking up noodles.

An X-like cross with a curve — chopsticks in action.

A net — the vertical post with crossing lines form a net frame.

A cross with extra strokes — like a net or fence.

A nose in profile — one single diagonal stroke, like a nose from the side.

The simplest katakana — just one diagonal stroke.

A hat — two strokes spreading outward like the brim of a wide hat.

Two diagonal strokes going outward — like an open V or hat brim.

A heel of a shoe — the angular shape looks like a shoe from the side.

An angular curve — like the outline of a high-heeled shoe.

A rooftop — one clean stroke forming a peaked roof shape.

A single stroke arching over — like the silhouette of a roof or hood.

Same as hiragana へ — a peak shape. Identical in both scripts!

This character is the same in hiragana and katakana — a simple peak.

A holy cross — a vertical beam with horizontal arms and two small strokes.

A cross with extra dashes — like a decorated flagpole.

A mask — a horizontal bar with a curve below, like a face mask from the side.

A flat top with a hook below — like a carnival mask on a stick.

Three lines — like the Roman numeral III. Think "me, myself, and I" — three.

Three parallel strokes, slightly angled. Like the number 3 in tally marks.

A cow mooing — the angular shape looks like a cow's head from above.

A triangular shape with a kick at the end — a stylized moo.

An X mark — like crossing something out. X marks the spot!

Two strokes crossing — a simple X shape.

More lines — three horizontal bars stacked, like asking for more.

Horizontal lines with a curve — like a shelf with multiple levels.

A yak horn — a strong diagonal with a curved hook, like an animal horn.

Angular version of hiragana や — a sharp horn shape.

A U-pipe — the shape looks like a plumbing U-bend or a bucket.

A horizontal bar on top with a U-shape below — a pipe or container.

A yogurt cup — a container with horizontal shelves inside.

Three horizontal bars inside a vertical frame — like looking into a cup.

A rabbit ear — a horizontal bar with a diagonal dropping down.

A flat top with a long slanting stroke — like a drooping ear.

Two reeds — two vertical strokes side by side, like river reeds.

Two simple vertical strokes — one short, one long with a curve.

A route sign — two strokes forming a path that splits at the bottom.

Like a tree trunk that splits into two roots at the base.

A razor — one single stroke with a sharp angle, like a straight razor.

One stroke going down then kicking up — like a blade's edge.

A room — a simple rectangle, like looking at a room from above.

A clean rectangle — the simplest box shape. ロ also means 'mouth' in kanji.

A wine glass — a vertical stem with a curved bowl on top.

An angular cup shape — like a wine glass from the side.

A wobbly table — a horizontal top with an angled leg below.

Rarely used in modern Japanese — mainly for the particle を in older text.

A tilted smiley — two strokes going from bottom-left to top-right. Compare with ソ (so).

Like ソ but the strokes go the opposite direction. The loner of katakana.