Convert Japanese Romaji, Katakana (カタカナ), or English words into Hiragana (ひらがな) instantly as you type, complete with Japanese audio playback, syllable-by-syllable breakdown, and Hepburn / Kunrei-shiki Romaji.
Hiragana (ひらがな) is the foundational phonetic script of Japanese, used for native Japanese words, verb and adjective endings (okurigana), and grammatical particles. Every Hiragana character represents one mora (syllable beat).
When you type Japanese Romaji (such as 'arigatou', 'konnichiwa', or 'sensei') or paste Katakana text (such as 'トウキョウ' or 'カタカナ'), the converter maps each syllable to its exact Hiragana counterpart while also showing the Katakana and Romaji equivalents.
| Input | Hiragana | Romaji | Conversion Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| arigatou | ありがとう | arigatou | Long 'o' vowel in Hiragana is written by adding う (u) |
| gakkou | がっこう | gakkou | Doubled consonant 'kk' produces the small っ (sokuon) |
| sensei | せんせい | sensei | Standalone 'n' before a consonant becomes ん |
| カタカナ | かたかな | katakana | Direct 1-to-1 script conversion from Katakana to Hiragana |
| コーヒー | こーひー | koohii | Keeps the long-vowel mark (ー), as Japanese writers do for loanwords in Hiragana |
When typing Romaji to produce Hiragana, three rules matter most: (1) Double the consonant (kk, tt, pp, ss, tch) to write a small っ (as in きって, kitte). (2) Combine y-sounds like kya (きゃ), shu (しゅ), cho (ちょ), nya (にゃ), and ryo (りょ) for contracted yōon syllables. (3) Before a vowel or y-sound, type 'nn' or "n'" to force syllabic ん (for example, 'konnichiwa' → こんにちは).
If you paste Katakana words that contain the long-vowel mark (ー) or convert an English word into Hiragana, the converter keeps ー just as Japanese writers do (コーヒー → こーひー). Choose “Spell Out Vowels” in Options to write the long vowel out instead (こおひい).
Want to master Hiragana characters, stroke orders, and basic Japanese words without needing a converter? Explore our interactive study guides:
Simply paste any Katakana word or sentence into the input box. The converter automatically detects Katakana (both full-width カタカナ and half-width ｶﾀｶﾅ) and converts every character into Hiragana while leaving any Kanji, numbers, or punctuation untouched.
Native Japanese words written in Hiragana spell long vowels out (おかあさん, とうきょう), while loanwords keep the long-vowel mark ー (chōonpu) even in Hiragana (こーひー, らーめん). By default the Hiragana Converter keeps ー, and you can switch to spelling the vowel out (こおひい) in Options.
Yes. Although foreign words are normally written in Katakana in Japanese, beginners often want to see how English words or phrases are spelled in Hiragana. Our tool converts English words phonetically into both Hiragana and Katakana at the same time.
Type doubled consonants ('kk', 'ss', 'tt', 'pp') for small っ, combinations like 'kya', 'shu', or 'cho' for small ゃ/ゅ/ょ, and 'nn' when 'n' comes before a vowel or 'y' so it converts to ん cleanly.
