Katakana Quiz

Test your katakana reading skills with our free interactive quiz. Choose from multiple choice, typing practice, or katakana flashcards mode. Use this katakana test to track your score and master all 46 characters.

Configure Your Quiz

Choose a mode, select character rows, and set the number of questions.

Quiz Mode

Select Rows

Number of Questions

How to Use This Katakana Quiz

  1. Choose your quiz mode — Multiple choice is great for beginners. Type Romaji mode tests your recall. Flashcard mode lets you self-grade your knowledge.
  2. Select character rows — Pick which rows of the katakana chart to include. Start with the vowels and add rows as you learn more characters.
  3. Answer the questions — Each round shows a katakana character. Select the correct romaji reading, type your answer, or flip the flashcard to check yourself.
  4. Review your results — After finishing, see your score and review any mistakes. Each wrong answer links to a detailed stroke order page so you can study further.

Katakana Reading Practice Tips

Katakana can be trickier than hiragana because many characters look similar — シ (shi) and ツ (tsu), or ソ (so) and ン (n). The key to telling them apart is paying attention to the angle and direction of the strokes. Use our katakana flashcards and quiz daily, focusing on the rows that confuse you most. The typing mode is especially effective for katakana because it forces you to commit to an answer without visual hints.

Once you can recognize individual katakana characters, practice reading real katakana words. Since katakana is used for foreign loanwords, you already know the meanings of many katakana words — you just need to read the characters. Try reading signs, menus, and product names in katakana. Our complete katakana words list has 90+ common English words written in katakana for extra practice. Also try the katakana writing practice tool to reinforce recognition through writing.

Katakana Quick Reference Chart

Use this chart as a quick reference while quizzing. Click any character to view its stroke order guide.

A I U E O
ア a イ i ウ u エ e オ o
K カ ka キ ki ク ku ケ ke コ ko
S サ sa シ shi ス su セ se ソ so
T タ ta チ chi ツ tsu テ te ト to
N ナ na ニ ni ヌ nu ネ ne ノ no
H ハ ha ヒ hi フ fu ヘ he ホ ho
M マ ma ミ mi ム mu メ me モ mo
Y ヤ ya ユ yu ヨ yo
R ラ ra リ ri ル ru レ re ロ ro
W ワ wa ヲ wo
ン n

Frequently Asked Questions about Katakana Quiz

How does this katakana quiz work?

Our katakana quiz shows you a katakana character and asks you to identify it. Choose from three modes: multiple choice (pick from 4 options), typing (type the romaji reading), or flashcards (flip to reveal and self-grade). Select which rows to practice, choose how many questions, and track your score.

Why should I learn katakana?

Katakana is essential for reading foreign loanwords in Japanese, which are everywhere — from restaurant menus (レストラン) to brand names (マクドナルド) to everyday words like テレビ (television). Katakana also appears in anime, manga, and on signs throughout Japan. Learning katakana opens up a large portion of everyday Japanese text.

Is katakana harder than hiragana?

Katakana is not inherently harder, but many learners find it more difficult because they encounter it less frequently during early study. The characters are more angular and can look similar to each other (like シ and ツ, or ソ and ン). Regular practice with this quiz will help you distinguish similar characters quickly.

How can I practice reading katakana words?

After learning individual katakana characters, practice reading real katakana words. Start with common English loanwords like コーヒー (coffee), ピザ (pizza), and タクシー (taxi). Our quiz helps you recognize individual characters, and reading complete words reinforces that knowledge. Check our complete list of common katakana words for more practice material.

What score should I aim for on the katakana quiz?

Aim for at least 90% accuracy before moving on. If you score below 80%, focus on the specific rows you struggled with by selecting only those rows in the quiz settings. Once you consistently score above 90% on all rows in typing mode, you have a solid foundation for reading katakana in real contexts.

Katakana Resources

Katakana Stroke Order Chart  |  Katakana Writing Practice  |  Katakana Keyboard  |  Common Katakana Words  |  Hiragana Quiz