Japanese Kana Reading Practice: 50 Exercises from Beginner to Intermediate

How to Use This Practice Guide

This article gives you 50 kana reading exercises across four levels. Cover the answers, attempt to read each word or sentence aloud, then check. Work at your own pace — the goal is zero hesitation, not speed at first.

Level 1: Basic Hiragana Words (No Dakuten)

Read each word. All are written in basic hiragana with no voiced sounds or special marks.

Level 2: Hiragana with Dakuten and Sokuon

Level 3: Basic Katakana (Loanwords)

Level 4: Mixed Hiragana and Katakana Sentences

Read each sentence aloud. Then check the romaji and translation.

Level 5: Challenge — Longer Passages

Read each passage without stopping. Time yourself if you want to track progress.

Passage A (all hiragana):

わたしは まいにち にほんごを べんきょうします。あさ、コーヒーを のみながら、てきすとを よみます。むずかしい ことばは、じしょで しらべます。

Translation: Every day I study Japanese. In the morning, I read a textbook while drinking coffee. I look up difficult words in a dictionary.

Passage B (mixed):

きのう、ともだちと レストランへ いきました。パスタと サラダを たべました。デザートに ケーキも たべました。とても おいしかったです。

Translation: Yesterday, I went to a restaurant with a friend. We ate pasta and salad. We also had cake for dessert. It was very delicious.

Yuka & Rei Read Real Japanese Kana Text

Learning kana feels abstract until you see how real learners talk about it. Here is Yuka working through the tricky parts — and Rei making the explanations click. Their questions are probably the same ones you have.

Yuka

Rei, I want to read real Japanese text, not just practice sheets. Where should I start?

Rei

Start with children’s books in hiragana — 絵本 (えほん). The vocabulary is simple and the text is often fully in hiragana. NHK Web Easy uses simple Japanese with furigana. Tadoku graded readers start from Level 0 with no kanji at all. All free, all accessible.

Yuka

When I read, I subvocalize every character. Is that slowing me down?

Rei

Subvocalising is fine and normal at the beginner stage — it’s how your brain maps characters to sounds. The goal is to eventually recognise words as visual chunks without sounding out every character. That comes with volume. Read more, read faster, and subvocalisation gradually fades.

5 Practice Examples — Read These Aloud

These examples use the characters from this article in real words. Say each one aloud and try to recall the article’s rules as you read.

1. Reading challenge #1: あさ、おきて、はをみがいて、あさごはんをたべました。
   (Morning: I woke up, brushed my teeth, and ate breakfast.)
2. Reading challenge #2: てんきがよかったので、こうえんをさんぽしました。
   (Because the weather was nice, I took a walk in the park.)
3. Reading challenge #3: にほんごのべんきょうはむずかしいですが、たのしいです。
   (Studying Japanese is difficult, but it’s fun.)
4. Speed test: Time yourself reading challenge #1. Then read again and try to beat your time.
5. Writing test: Copy one sentence from memory without looking at the original.

Your Turn! Write Your Own Example in the Comments

The fastest way to remember kana is to write words you already know in Japanese script. Try writing your name, your hometown, or your favourite food using the characters from this article.

Share what you wrote in the comments — other learners will see it, and writing for an audience makes the learning stick twice as fast. Log in to save your comment history and join the Top Commenters ranking!

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