Japanese Romaji Quick Reference Chart

Japanese romaji is the pronunciation notation system for Japanese, using Latin letters to represent Japanese syllables. One romaji corresponds to both hiragana and katakana written forms. For example, ka corresponds to 「か」 and 「カ」. As the most internationally recognized romanization system, Japanese romaji is not only widely used in Japanese language education but is also the standard in passport names, road signs, and computer input methods. It does not distinguish between hiragana and katakana and only focuses on pronunciation itself, which is why this chart only displays pronunciation symbols. Mastering Japanese romaji is the foundation of learning Japanese, and this page provides the most comprehensive Japanese romaji quick reference tool, covering seion, dakuon, handakuon, and yōon, helping learners quickly master romanization rules.

Detailed Introduction to Japanese Romaji Symbols

Each cell in this chart is a Japanese romaji symbol representing a Japanese syllable. The name, attributes, and pronunciation points of each romanization symbol are introduced one by one below.

a is a vowel, an open low vowel, pronounced similar to "ah" in English, and is one of the five basic vowels; i is a vowel, a close front vowel, pronounced similar to "ee" in "see", with the corners of the mouth spread to the sides; u is a vowel, a close back vowel, pronounced similar to "oo" in "food" but with unrounded, flatter lips; e is a vowel, a mid-open vowel, pronounced similar to "e" in "bed", between "ee" and "ay"; o is a vowel, a mid-close back vowel, pronounced similar to "o" in "go", with rounded lips.

ka is a seion, the consonant [k] combined with the vowel a, pronounced "kah", with no vocal cord vibration; ki is a seion, the consonant [k] combined with the vowel i, pronounced "kee"; ku is a seion, the consonant [k] combined with the vowel u, pronounced "koo"; ke is a seion, the consonant [k] combined with the vowel e, pronounced "keh"; ko is a seion, the consonant [k] combined with the vowel o, pronounced "koh".

sa is a seion, the consonant [s] combined with the vowel a, pronounced "sah"; shi is a seion, the consonant [ɕ] (similar to English "sh") combined with the vowel i, pronounced "shee", note that it is not "si"; su is a seion, the consonant [s] combined with the vowel u, pronounced "soo"; se is a seion, the consonant [s] combined with the vowel e, pronounced "seh"; so is a seion, the consonant [s] combined with the vowel o, pronounced "soh".

ta is a seion, the consonant [t] combined with the vowel a, pronounced "tah"; chi is a seion, the consonant [tɕ] (similar to English "ch") combined with the vowel i, pronounced "chee", note that it is not "ti"; tsu is a seion, the consonant [ts] combined with the vowel u, pronounced "tsoo", note that it is not "tu"; te is a seion, the consonant [t] combined with the vowel e, pronounced "teh"; to is a seion, the consonant [t] combined with the vowel o, pronounced "toh".

na is a seion, the consonant [n] combined with the vowel a, pronounced "nah"; ni is a seion, the consonant [n] combined with the vowel i, pronounced "nee"; nu is a seion, the consonant [n] combined with the vowel u, pronounced "noo"; ne is a seion, the consonant [n] combined with the vowel e, pronounced "neh"; no is a seion, the consonant [n] combined with the vowel o, pronounced "noh".

ha is a seion, the consonant [h] combined with the vowel a, pronounced "hah", and is read as "wa" when used as a particle; hi is a seion, the consonant [ç] (close to the consonant in the English word "hue") combined with the vowel i, pronounced "hee"; fu is a seion, the consonant [ɸ] (bilabial fricative) combined with the vowel u, pronounced between "foo" and "hoo", note that it is not "hu"; he is a seion, the consonant [h] combined with the vowel e, pronounced "heh", and is read as "e" when used as a particle; ho is a seion, the consonant [h] combined with the vowel o, pronounced "hoh".

ma is a seion, the consonant [m] combined with the vowel a, pronounced "mah"; mi is a seion, the consonant [m] combined with the vowel i, pronounced "mee"; mu is a seion, the consonant [m] combined with the vowel u, pronounced "moo"; me is a seion, the consonant [m] combined with the vowel e, pronounced "meh"; mo is a seion, the consonant [m] combined with the vowel o, pronounced "moh".

ya is a seion, a compound vowel, pronounced "yah", formed by i+a; yu is a seion, a compound vowel, pronounced "yoo", formed by i+u; yo is a seion, a compound vowel, pronounced "yoh", formed by i+o.

ra is a seion, the consonant [ɾ] (a flap sound, between r and l) combined with the vowel a, pronounced close to "rah" but with a light tongue tap; ri is a seion, the consonant [ɾ] combined with the vowel i, pronounced close to "ree"; ru is a seion, the consonant [ɾ] combined with the vowel u, pronounced close to "roo"; re is a seion, the consonant [ɾ] combined with the vowel e, pronounced close to "reh"; ro is a seion, the consonant [ɾ] combined with the vowel o, pronounced close to "roh".

wa is a seion, the consonant [w] combined with the vowel a, pronounced "wah", and is the only remaining sound in this row in modern Japanese; wo is a seion, the consonant [w] combined with the vowel o, but actually pronounced the same as "o" and used only as a particle.

n (the moraic nasal) is an independent syllable whose pronunciation varies depending on the following sound, similar to the English nasal sound, such as "n" in "san" for 「ん」.

ga is a dakuon, the consonant [g] combined with the vowel a, pronounced "gah", with vocal cord vibration; gi is a dakuon, pronounced "gee"; gu is a dakuon, pronounced "goo"; ge is a dakuon, pronounced "geh"; go is a dakuon, pronounced "goh".

za is a dakuon, the consonant [z] combined with the vowel a, pronounced "zah"; ji is a dakuon, the consonant [dʑ] (similar to English "j") combined with the vowel i, pronounced "jee", and is the same as the "d" row "ji"; zu is a dakuon, the consonant [z] combined with the vowel u, pronounced "zoo", and is the same as the "d" row "zu"; ze is a dakuon, pronounced "zeh"; zo is a dakuon, pronounced "zoh".

da is a dakuon, the consonant [d] combined with the vowel a, pronounced "dah"; ji is a dakuon, pronounced "jee", and is the same as the "z" row "ji"; zu is a dakuon, pronounced "zoo", and is the same as the "z" row "zu"; de is a dakuon, pronounced "deh"; do is a dakuon, pronounced "doh".

ba is a dakuon, the consonant [b] combined with the vowel a, pronounced "bah"; bi is a dakuon, pronounced "bee"; bu is a dakuon, pronounced "boo"; be is a dakuon, pronounced "beh"; bo is a dakuon, pronounced "boh".

pa is a handakuon, the consonant [p] combined with the vowel a, pronounced "pah", with weaker aspiration; pi is a handakuon, pronounced "pee"; pu is a handakuon, pronounced "poo"; pe is a handakuon, pronounced "peh"; po is a handakuon, pronounced "poh".

kya is a yōon, the consonant [k] combined with y+a, pronounced "kyah"; kyu is a yōon, pronounced "kyoo"; kyo is a yōon, pronounced "kyoh".

sha is a yōon, the consonant [ɕ] combined with y+a, pronounced "shah"; shu is a yōon, pronounced "shoo"; sho is a yōon, pronounced "shoh".

cha is a yōon, the consonant [tɕ] combined with y+a, pronounced "chah"; chu is a yōon, pronounced "choo"; cho is a yōon, pronounced "choh".

nya is a yōon, the consonant [n] combined with y+a, pronounced "nyah"; nyu is a yōon, pronounced "nyoo"; nyo is a yōon, pronounced "nyoh".

hya is a yōon, the consonant [ç] combined with y+a, pronounced "hyah"; hyu is a yōon, pronounced "hyoo"; hyo is a yōon, pronounced "hyoh".

mya is a yōon, the consonant [m] combined with y+a, pronounced "myah"; myu is a yōon, pronounced "myoo"; myo is a yōon, pronounced "myoh".

rya is a yōon, the consonant [ɾ] combined with y+a, pronounced "ryah"; ryu is a yōon, pronounced "ryoo"; ryo is a yōon, pronounced "ryoh".

gya is a yōon, the consonant [g] combined with y+a, pronounced "gyah"; gyu is a yōon, pronounced "gyoo"; gyo is a yōon, pronounced "gyoh".

ja is a yōon, the consonant [dʑ] combined with y+a, pronounced "jah"; ju is a yōon, pronounced "joo"; jo is a yōon, pronounced "joh".

bya is a yōon, the consonant [b] combined with y+a, pronounced "byah"; byu is a yōon, pronounced "byoo"; byo is a yōon, pronounced "byoh".

pya is a yōon, the consonant [p] combined with y+a, pronounced "pyah"; pyu is a yōon, pronounced "pyoo"; pyo is a yōon, pronounced "pyoh".

Detailed Introduction to the Japanese Romaji Quick Reference Tool

This tool presents all basic pronunciations of Japanese romaji in a grid table format. The top of the page shows the vowel columns (a, i, u, e, o), and the left side shows the consonant rows (∅, k, s, t, n, h, m, y, r, w, n). The intersecting cells show the corresponding romanized pronunciation. For example, the intersection of the "k" row and "a" column gives "ka". The dakuon section includes the g, z, d, and b rows, the handakuon section is the p row, and yōon are formed by consonants combined with y (such as ky, sh, ch, etc.). The entire chart contains 104 pronunciation entries, fully compliant with Hepburn romanization standards, and is an essential reference for Japanese language beginners.

Hepburn Romanization Principles

This chart uses the Hepburn romanization system. The differences from the Kunrei-shiki system are: し→shi (not si), ち→chi (not ti), つ→tsu (not tu), ふ→fu (not hu). Hepburn romanization is closer to English pronunciation habits and is therefore the most widely used internationally. After mastering these rules, you will be able to accurately pronounce unfamiliar words based on their romanization.

How to Use the Japanese Romaji Quick Reference Chart

Step 1: Determine the voicing type of the pronunciation you need (seion, dakuon, handakuon, or yōon).
Step 2: Find the intersection of the consonant row and vowel column in the corresponding table.
Step 3: Read the romanization directly from the cell. For example, to look up the romaji for "し", find "shi" at the intersection of the s row and i column in the seion table.
For offline use, click the "Download PDF" button in the upper right corner to save the complete chart.

Special Pronunciations and Notes

Special pronunciations: は→ha (read as "wa" when used as a particle), へ→he (read as "e" when used as a particle), を→wo (actually pronounced the same as "o"), ん→n. Additionally, the "j" row in the yōon table actually corresponds to 「じゃ、じゅ、じょ」, and its pronunciation partially overlaps with the "d" row. Please understand this in conjunction with the kana chart.