あHirakata
か Stroke order

Hiragana K-Row stroke order: か き く け こ

The K-row is where "small marks last" really shows up. か ends with its short dash on the right, and き and さ (from the next row) are built the same way: crossbars first, then the slanted line through them, then the curve at the bottom. Get this order right here and the S-row comes almost for free.

K-Row characters

(ka) 3 strokes

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3

Start with the hooked stroke on the left, then the slanted line through it, then the small dash on the right.

(ki) 4 strokes

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4

Two crossbars, then the slanted stroke through them, then the bottom curve. Many fonts join the bottom curve to the slanted line, but in handwriting they are separate strokes.

(ku) 1 stroke

  1. 1

One stroke: down-left to the point, then down-right. Keep the angle sharp.

(ke) 3 strokes

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3

Left vertical first. Then the crossbar, then the long stroke that sweeps down through it.

(ko) 2 strokes

  1. 1
  2. 2

Two strokes, top then bottom. The top one ends with a slight hook toward the bottom stroke.

Dakuten and handakuten

が ぎ ぐ げ ご are written exactly like the characters above, then finished with two short ticks (dakuten) at the top right. The left tick comes first, and both always come after the rest of the character.

(ga) 5 strokes

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5

(gi) 6 strokes

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6

(gu) 3 strokes

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3

(ge) 5 strokes

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5

(go) 4 strokes

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4

Contracted sounds

Contracted sounds are two characters: the full-size base followed by a small ゃ, ゅ, ょ. Write the base exactly as usual, then the small character in the lower half of the next square, at about half size. Its strokes are the same as the full-size version, just smaller.

(kya) 7 strokes

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7

(kyu) 6 strokes

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6

(kyo) 6 strokes

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6

(gya) 9 strokes

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9

(gyu) 8 strokes

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8

(gyo) 8 strokes

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8

Keep going

Learn what each character looks like and how to remember it in the hiragana K-Row mnemonics article, then drill recognition with K-Row flashcards. The same row in katakana is here.

Previous rowVowels: あ い う え お
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