Katakana

Q: What type of writing system is Katakana?

Katakana is a Syllabary used in the East Asian region. It reads Left-to-right and contains 321 characters in Unicode.

Q: How many languages use the Katakana script?

1 language use the Katakana script according to Unicode CLDR data.

Q: What direction does Katakana read?

Katakana is written Left-to-right, meaning text flows from left to right.

カタカナ

Kana Left-to-right Living Syllabary East Asian

Sample Text

コンニチハ

Sample Characters

ァアィイゥウェエォオカガキギクグケゲコゴサザシジスズセゼソゾタダチヂッツヅテデトドナニヌネノハバ

First 48 characters from Katakana (U+30A1–U+30FF)

About Katakana

Katakana (カタカナ) is the more angular of Japan's two syllabaries (the other being Hiragana). It was derived in the 9th century CE from parts of Chinese characters, originally used by Buddhist monks as phonetic annotations.

Katakana is primarily used in modern Japanese to write foreign loanwords (e.g. コーヒー for 'coffee'), scientific and technical terminology, onomatopoeia, and for emphasis. All three Japanese scripts — Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji — are used together in standard Japanese text.

Data sourced from the ISO 15924 registry, Unicode CLDR, and the Unicode Character Database.

Script Family & Lineage

Ancestor Chain

Han (Hanzi, Kanji, Hanja) › Katakana

Languages Using Katakana 1

ryu

Frequently Asked Questions

What type of writing system is Katakana?

Katakana is a Syllabary. Syllabaries assign one symbol per syllable rather than per sound.

What direction does Katakana read?

Katakana is written Left-to-right, the same direction as most European scripts.

How many languages use the Katakana script?

1 language use Katakana according to Unicode CLDR data.

When was the Katakana script created?

The Katakana script originated around 900 CE.

Does Katakana have uppercase and lowercase letters?

Katakana does not have separate uppercase and lowercase forms. All vowels are written explicitly.

Compare Katakana With Another Script

Direction, characters, languages — side by side.

Key Facts

ISO Code: Kana
ISO Number: 411
Script Type: Syllabary
Direction: Left-to-right
Status: Living
Region: East Asian
Characters: 321
Introduced: 900 CE
Languages: 1

Unicode Ranges

Katakana

U+30A1–U+30FF
Katakana Phonetic Extensions

U+31F0–U+31FF
Enclosed CJK Letters and Months

U+32D0–U+32FE
CJK Compatibility

U+3300–U+3357
Halfwidth and Fullwidth Forms

U+FF66–U+FF9D
Kana Extended-B

U+1AFF0–U+1AFFE
Kana Supplement

U+1B000–U+1B000
Kana Extended-A

U+1B120–U+1B122
Small Kana Extension

U+1B155–U+1B167

Script Properties

Has Case: No
Cursive: No
Vowels: full