Learn to write Japanese properly, one stroke at a time. This printable workbook takes you from your first あ to reading and writing simple words in both scripts.

What's inside (47 pages, the same pages in A4 and US Letter)

• Hiragana and katakana charts: all 46 basic sounds in each script, with romaji.

• 92 practice blocks, 4 kana per page. Each block has:

– a large stroke-order diagram with numbered strokes

– a stroke-by-stroke strip, with the newest stroke shown in red

– 1 model and 4 grey characters to trace, then empty squares with a guide cross

– a second row for writing from memory

• Dakuten and handakuten (が, ぱ…) and combination sounds (きゃ, しょ…): charts plus tracing rows for both scripts.

• A katakana extras page: the long-vowel mark ー, small ッ, and sounds such as ティ and ファ.

• 28 beginner words (14 hiragana, 14 katakana) to read, trace and write, each with romaji and meaning.

• 4 quizzes (sound → kana and kana → romaji, for each script) with answer keys.

• A progress tracker for all 92 kana.

• Genkōyōshi (Japanese manuscript paper, 20 × 20) plus 15 mm and 10 mm practice paper, so you can keep practising.

Good for

Self-learners starting Japanese, JLPT N5 beginners, anime and travel fans, homeschoolers, and teachers or tutors who need ready-to-print handouts. A commercial licence is included, so you can print it for your own classes.

How to use

Print at 100% / "Actual size" in black and white, or write on the pages in GoodNotes, Notability or any PDF annotation app. A suggested pace (one row of 5 kana a day) is included.

Notes

Romanization is modified Hepburn (shi, chi, tsu, fu). Stroke-order diagrams are adapted from KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0, credited inside). Fonts are Klee One and Source Sans Pro (SIL OFL). This is a digital download; nothing is shipped.