Unsure about a symbol? Check the full katakana chart. Want to review the other script? Try the hiragana quiz.
How the katakana quiz works
This quiz shows a random katakana and you type how it is read in romaji. The set has 104 characters: 46 basic ones, 25 with dakuten or handakuten and 33 combinations with ャ, ュ and ョ. Every miss reveals the solution and resets your streak.
The ⇄ button in the header switches direction: you see the romaji and type the katakana. Answers follow Hepburn romanization; for ヂ and ヅ, di and du work too. On the card you will see your correct answers, current streak and best streak.
Since katakana appears in loanwords and foreign names, it helps to practise with words you already know, such as ホテル or テレビ. Short, frequent sessions work best. Read each sound out loud and compare look-alike symbols in the chart, such as シ and ツ.
Frequently asked questions
Which katakana does the quiz cover?
The same 104 characters as the katakana chart: 46 basic ones, 25 with dakuten or handakuten (ガ, パ…) and 33 combined with ャ, ュ or ョ (キャ, シャ…). It does not include the long vowel mark ー or the extended combinations for foreign sounds, such as ティ or ファ.
Does the quiz keep my score?
It stores your best streak, the practice mode and your latest answers in your browser; it uses no accounts. Correct answers and the current streak reset when you reload the page. Each script keeps its own best streak, and if you clear the site data in your browser, what was saved is lost.
When is katakana used?
Katakana is mostly used for words of foreign origin, such as ホテル, for names of people and places from other countries, for onomatopoeia and to add emphasis to a word. It is not a rule without exceptions: it depends on context and on the style of the text. It pays to recognise it as easily as hiragana.