Nothing beats old-fashioned flash cards when learning a new language. So we've made free, printable hiragana and katakana flashcards for you. They come as part of our free Hiragana & Katakana Survival Kit, along with cheat sheets and writing practice worksheets.
Download your free printable kana flashcards
Get the flashcards plus the full Survival Kit as free PDFs. Print, cut and start learning today.
| Download | What it's for |
|---|---|
| Printable kana flashcards | Cut-out hiragana and katakana cards to test yourself |
| Hiragana & katakana cheat sheets | A one-page reference chart for your desk |
| Hiragana practice worksheet | Handwriting practice with stroke order |
| Katakana practice worksheet | Handwriting practice with stroke order |
| Workbook excerpt | A taste of the Dr. Moku mnemonic system |
How to get the most out of printable flashcards
1. Print on thick paper. Card stock or heavy paper lasts much longer than normal printer paper, and you can't see through it to the answer.
2. Learn in small batches. Hiragana has 46 basic characters. Take one row a day, like あ い う え お (a i u e o), instead of trying to learn everything at once.
3. Say it, then write it. Say each sound out loud, then write the character once from memory. Using your voice and your hand makes it stick far better than just looking.
4. Use the three-pile method. Sort your cards into "know it", "almost" and "no idea". Review the "no idea" pile every day, the "almost" pile every few days, and the "know it" pile once a week.
5. Use a picture for every character. This is the Dr. Moku secret: link each shape to an image and a sound, and you'll remember it after seeing it once or twice.
Want flashcards that last?
Our oversized, glossy Hiragana and Katakana Flash Cards have a mnemonic picture on every card, so the characters stick first time.
