Romaji is Japanese written in Roman letters. It's useful for beginners, but you'll want to graduate to reading hiragana directly as soon as possible.
This guide covers the complete romaji-to-hiragana mapping so you can make that transition.
The Basic Pattern
Japanese syllables follow a simple consonant + vowel structure. Each combination maps to one hiragana:
Consonant (k, s, t, n...) + Vowel (a, i, u, e, o) = Hiragana
Exception: The standalone consonant "n" (ん).
Complete Conversion Chart
Vowels (No Consonant)
K-Row
Romaji Hiragana ka か ki き ku く ke け ko こ
S-Row
Romaji Hiragana Notes sa さ si / shi し Both work su す se せ so そ
T-Row
Romaji Hiragana Notes ta た ti / chi ち Both work tu / tsu つ Both work te て to と
N-Row
Romaji Hiragana na な ni に nu ぬ ne ね no の
H-Row
Romaji Hiragana Notes ha は hi ひ hu / fu ふ Both work he へ ho ほ
M-Row
Romaji Hiragana ma ま mi み mu む me め mo も
Y-Row
(No yi or ye in modern Japanese)
R-Row
Romaji Hiragana ra ら ri り ru る re れ ro ろ
W-Row
(を is only used as a particle, pronounced "o")
Standalone N
Voiced Consonants (Dakuten)
Adding ゛ to certain kana voices the consonant:
G-Row (Voiced K)
Romaji Hiragana ga が gi ぎ gu ぐ ge げ go ご
Z-Row (Voiced S)
Romaji Hiragana Notes za ざ zi / ji じ Both work zu ず ze ぜ zo ぞ
D-Row (Voiced T)
Romaji Hiragana Notes da だ di / ji ぢ Rare, usually じ is used du / zu づ Rare, usually ず is used de で do ど
B-Row (Voiced H)
Romaji Hiragana ba ば bi び bu ぶ be べ bo ぼ
P-Row (Semi-Voiced H)
Romaji Hiragana pa ぱ pi ぴ pu ぷ pe ぺ po ぽ
Combination Characters (Yōon)
Small や, ゆ, よ combine with i-column kana:
K + Y
Romaji Hiragana kya きゃ kyu きゅ kyo きょ
S + Y / Sh
Romaji Hiragana sha / sya しゃ shu / syu しゅ sho / syo しょ
T + Y / Ch
Romaji Hiragana cha / tya ちゃ chu / tyu ちゅ cho / tyo ちょ
N + Y
Romaji Hiragana nya にゃ nyu にゅ nyo にょ
H + Y
Romaji Hiragana hya ひゃ hyu ひゅ hyo ひょ
M + Y
Romaji Hiragana mya みゃ myu みゅ myo みょ
R + Y
Romaji Hiragana rya りゃ ryu りゅ ryo りょ
Voiced Combinations
Romaji Hiragana gya ぎゃ ja / jya / zya じゃ bya びゃ pya ぴゃ
(Same pattern for yu and yo variants)
Special Cases
Double Consonants (っ)
Doubled consonant letters create small っ:
Romaji Hiragana Example kk っk sakka → さっか ss っs zasshi → ざっし tt っt kitte → きって pp っp nippon → にっぽん
Long Vowels
Extend the vowel:
Romaji Hiragana aa ああ ii いい uu うう ee ええ or えい oo おお or おう
Note: Long "o" is usually おう (ou), not おお.
The "n" Before Vowels
Before vowels or y, use nn or n':
Romaji Hiragana kan'i かんい shin'you しんよう konna こんな
Without the marker, it becomes a different reading:
kani = かに (crab)
kan'i = かんい (simple)
Romaji Systems
Different systems romanize Japanese differently:
Common Variations
Sound Hepburn Nihon-shiki Kunrei-shiki し shi si si ち chi ti ti つ tsu tu tu ふ fu hu hu じ ji zi zi
Most learning materials and IMEs accept all variants.
Why Move Beyond Romaji
Problems with Romaji
Ambiguity : Multiple ways to write the same soundNot authentic : Japanese isn't written this waySlower reading : Extra mental conversion stepMissed nuances : Word boundaries unclearBad habits : Pronunciation affected by English reading
The Solution
Learn to read hiragana directly. It takes about 2 weeks of focused practice. After that:
Reading becomes faster
Pronunciation improves
Real Japanese text becomes accessible
You can use proper learning materials
Conversion Practice
Exercise 1: Single Characters
Convert these romaji to hiragana:
ka → ?
shi → ?
tsu → ?
ne → ?
fu → ?
Answers: か, し, つ, ね, ふ
Exercise 2: Words
Convert these words:
sakura → ?
nihon → ?
arigatou → ?
sumimasen → ?
konnichiwa → ?
Answers: さくら, にほん, ありがとう, すみません, こんにちは
Exercise 3: With Combinations
kyou → ?
chuugoku → ?
ryokou → ?
jikan → ?
byouin → ?
Answers: きょう, ちゅうごく, りょこう, じかん, びょういん
Practice Resources
Japanese Script Display — See hiragana alongside romaji for any Japanese text. Perfect for learning the conversion. Quick Reference Card
Basic Pattern : consonant + vowel = hiragana
Exceptions to remember :
shi (not si), chi (not ti), tsu (not tu), fu (not hu)
ji for じ (not zi usually)
n before vowels needs nn or n'
Double consonants make っ
Small ya/yu/yo after i-column kana
When in doubt : Try it in a Japanese IME - it will show you what works.
Ready to read hiragana directly? Start with our Hiragana guide and leave romaji behind.
