Hiragana な (na)
な is the hiragana character for "na", pronounced n followed by ah (ah as in "father"). It takes 4 strokes. Hiragana is the rounded Japanese script used for grammar, endings and native words that have no kanji. The shape on this page follows the stroke order taught in Japanese schools: strokes run from top to bottom and left to right.
Its katakana counterpart is ナ. Learning both gives you the same 46 sounds written two ways.
Stroke by stroke
- Start around the middle at the left side. Draw a straight line across to the right, ending around the middle at the middle.
- Lift your pen and start again around the middle at the middle. Draw a straight line straight down, ending near the bottom at the left side.
- Lift your pen and start again around the middle at the right side. Curve down and to the right, ending around the middle at the right side.
- Lift your pen and start again around the middle at the middle. Sweep straight down and make a loop that crosses your own line, ending near the bottom at the right side.
Look-alikes and pitfalls
Stroke direction matters more than stroke count in kana. Follow the numbered start dots and the arrows, and keep the pen moving the way the animation shows; the end of a stroke is often a quick flick or a stop, and the difference is what separates look-alike characters.
In a word
なつ (natsu), summer
Practice
Trace on screen first: press Trace it above and follow the grey letter. Then print the sheet and write the same letter on paper. Writing on paper is what builds the habit.
More about な
な is character 21 of 46 in the standard gojuon table, in the n row, which has 5 characters: な に ぬ ね の.
Hiragana was developed from simplified cursive forms of kanji, mostly by women writers in the Heian period. That is why the shapes are flowing and curved.
Dakuten (two small ticks) and handakuten (a small circle) can be added to many kana to change the sound, for example か becomes が and は becomes ぱ. Those are written as the base character plus the marks.
Questions about hiragana な
How many strokes is hiragana な?
4 strokes.
How do you say な?
な is "na", pronounced n followed by ah (ah as in "father").
Where do I start な?
Start around the middle at the left side. Draw a straight line across to the right, ending around the middle at the middle.
What is the katakana version of な?
ナ. It is read the same way; only the script changes.
When do I use hiragana?
Use hiragana for native Japanese words, verb endings and particles, and for words that have no kanji or that you cannot write in kanji yet.
Stroke data derived from KanjiVG by Ulrich Apel, used under CC BY-SA 3.0.