English← Back to selectionEnglish← Back to selectionChapter 3 · Lesson 3 — Katakana
Katakana carries the same 46 sounds as hiragana, drawn with crisp, angular strokes. Begin with ten signs, notice what changes, then use them to read a first name.
You already know ka and ki. Katakana gives each sound a firmer silhouette.
Kai has two clear beats: ka and i. Give each beat its katakana sign.
Answers: Aki · Kei · Coco.
Most names need sounds from the next pages. Keep the method: listen → split into beats → choose katakana.
Katakana II — and a happy shortcut
Three more families, the long-vowel bar — and then the best news in this whole book: thousands of English words are already Japanese, just wearing katakana.
Read the katakana, stretch the long marks, and the English pops out. You’re not memorising — you’re recognising.
“アイスクリーム is literally just… ice cream?! I love this language.” — Marina 🍦
Katakana III — the home stretch
Finish the katakana families (the same marks apply as in hiragana), then turn your new power on the signs all around you.
Foreign sounds use small kana too: ファ (fa), ティ (ti), ヴ (vu), ジェ (je) — that’s how コーヒー fits café words and your name.
Kanji Story Cards · No. 2 & 3
Two new recruits — and one of them shares a certain classmate’s name…
Hi — the Sun Square
Sun · day
A bright square window in the sky, with one line for the light inside. The sun rises, the sun sets — so the very same character also means “day.”
Visual hook: a sun caught in a window. ☀️
Tsuki — the Moon
Moon · month
A slim crescent hung in the dark, drawn as a curved frame with two inner lines. Twelve moons make a year — so 月 also counts the months. (And yes: our own Tsuki is named for this very moon.)
Visual hook: a crescent in the night. 🌙
Dialogue · the café menu
A real café menu is mostly katakana. Read it, and watch Tsuki trip on the シ/ツ twins one more time.
Real Japan · notice → decode → use → recall
A convenience store gives your katakana somewhere useful to land: read the shelves, choose one thing, then finish one tiny exchange at the register.
Warm shelves, a familiar rhythm and one simple exchange at the register make the コンビニ an easy place to begin. Many residents quietly find their courage here, one small success at a time.
Cover the two replies. Hear the question once in your head, then answer it without borrowing English.