Japanese Character Converter
Convert between Hiragana, Katakana, and Romaji instantly. Perfect for Japanese learners and writers.
How to Use
- Select your desired conversion type from the dropdown menu
- Type or paste your text in the input field
- The converted text appears instantly in the output field
- Click "Copy to Clipboard" to copy the converted text
Conversion Examples
Hiragana → Katakana
こんにちは → コンニチハ
ありがとう → アリガトウ
Katakana → Hiragana
コンピューター → こんぴゅーたー
カタカナ → かたかな
Romaji → Hiragana
konnichiwa → こんにちは
arigatou → ありがとう
Romaji → Katakana
konpyuutaa → コンピューター
katakana → カタカナ
Understanding Japanese Writing Systems
Japanese is unique in using three distinct writing systems simultaneously: hiragana, katakana, and kanji. Hiragana and katakana are both kana scripts - phonetic alphabets where each character represents a syllable sound. Despite representing identical sounds, they serve different purposes in written Japanese.
Hiragana (ひらがな) consists of 46 basic characters with curved, flowing shapes. It's the first script Japanese children learn and forms the foundation of written Japanese. You'll find hiragana used for native Japanese words, verb endings, grammatical particles (は, を, に), and furigana (pronunciation guides above kanji). When you see a smooth, cursive-looking Japanese text, it's likely hiragana.
Katakana (カタカナ) shares the same 46 basic sounds but features angular, geometric shapes. Its primary use is for foreign loanwords (コーヒー coffee, コンピューター computer), foreign names (アメリカ America, ジョン John), onomatopoeia, scientific terms, and emphasis (similar to italics in English). Modern Japanese uses katakana extensively due to the influx of English loanwords in technology, business, and pop culture.
Romaji isn't traditionally part of Japanese writing but serves as a bridge for non-Japanese speakers. It's the romanization of Japanese using Latin letters. While useful for typing and learning, excessive reliance on romaji can impede proper Japanese literacy. It's best used temporarily while mastering hiragana and katakana.
Which Converter Should You Use?
Hiragana → Katakana
Use when you need to emphasize text, convert native Japanese words to a more stylized form, or prepare text for design projects. Common in manga for sound effects, advertising for visual impact, or telegrams for clarity.
Katakana → Hiragana
Helpful for language learners who find hiragana easier to read, normalizing text for database searches, or creating educational materials. While culturally unusual to write loanwords in hiragana, it's useful for text processing and accessibility.
Romaji → Hiragana
Essential for typing Japanese without a Japanese keyboard, learning to write hiragana, or drafting Japanese content quickly. Most Japanese input methods work this way - you type romaji and it converts to hiragana (then optionally to kanji).
Romaji → Katakana
Perfect for writing foreign names in Japanese, creating product names and brand identities, or typing technical terminology. Use this when you need Japanese text for foreign words like "smartphone" (スマートフォン) or personal names like "Emily" (エミリー).
Extract Hiragana/Katakana Only
Useful for text analysis, creating study lists, cleaning OCR results, or separating scripts in mixed Japanese text. Language learners can extract one character type to focus their practice, or developers can filter text for specific processing needs.
Cultural and Historical Context
The development of hiragana and katakana from Chinese characters (kanji) is a fascinating example of linguistic evolution. Both scripts emerged around the 9th-10th century as simplified, cursive forms of kanji. Hiragana evolved from the flowing, cursive style of writing kanji (草書 sōsho), while katakana was created by taking fragments of kanji characters for notation purposes.
Historically, hiragana was called "onnade" (女手 - women's hand) because it was primarily used by women who were often excluded from formal Chinese education. Ironically, some of Japan's greatest classical literature, including "The Tale of Genji," was written entirely in hiragana by women of the imperial court. Katakana, meanwhile, was used by Buddhist monks for annotations and by men for official documents.
Today, the distinction has nothing to do with gender. The interplay between the three scripts creates nuance and efficiency in Japanese writing. A single sentence can use kanji for core meaning, hiragana for grammar, and katakana for foreign concepts - something impossible in purely alphabetic languages. This multi-script system, while challenging for learners, provides tremendous flexibility and expressiveness.
Understanding when and why to convert between scripts goes beyond mere translation - it involves cultural literacy. For example, writing your name in katakana (as a foreigner) versus hiragana sends different signals about your identity and relationship to Japanese culture. Similarly, a Japanese restaurant using katakana for a dish name (like パスタ for pasta) versus kanji creates different associations and expectations.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between hiragana and katakana?
Hiragana (ひらがな) and katakana (カタカナ) represent the same sounds but serve different purposes. Hiragana is used for native Japanese words, grammatical particles, and verb endings. Katakana is used for foreign loanwords, foreign names, onomatopoeia, and emphasis. Both are syllabic scripts with 46 basic characters each, plus modified forms.
When should I use hiragana vs. katakana conversion?
Convert to katakana when you want to emphasize text, write foreign loanwords, or create a more modern/technical feel. Convert to hiragana for native Japanese words, learning materials, or making text more accessible to beginners. For language learners, hiragana is typically learned first as it's more commonly used in everyday Japanese.
What is romaji and why would I use it?
Romaji is the romanization of Japanese using Latin letters (e.g., 'konnichiwa' for こんにちは). It's useful for typing Japanese on standard keyboards, learning pronunciation, or for those who haven't mastered hiragana/katakana yet. However, relying too much on romaji can hinder learning proper Japanese writing. Use it as a stepping stone, not a permanent solution.
Can I mix hiragana and katakana in the same text?
Yes! In fact, mixing scripts is standard in Japanese writing. A typical sentence uses kanji (Chinese characters) for content words, hiragana for grammatical elements, and katakana for loanwords or emphasis. For example: 私はコーヒーを飲みます (I drink coffee) uses both hiragana and katakana naturally.
Why doesn't this converter produce kanji?
Kanji are logographic characters (representing meaning, not just sound), so converting from romaji or kana to kanji requires understanding context and meaning, not just phonetics. There are thousands of kanji, and many words have the same pronunciation but different meanings. For kanji conversion, you need input method editors (IMEs) that use AI or dictionaries to suggest the correct kanji based on context.
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