Ka Ki Ku

Katakana 1

Chapter 3 · Ka Ki Ku

🌿 The K Row and the Long-Vowel Mark — カ キ ク ー

Your first consonant row: カ キ ク (ka, ki, ku). You'll also learn a mark that isn't a character but that katakana can't live without: the long-vowel mark ー. With it you'll read five real words today. Romaji is shown for everything.

✨ Your Three New Characters — カ キ ク

カ
ka
like "ka" in karate ("kah")
2 strokes · stroke order ▸
Memory hook: a karate chop: a bent arm swinging down with a flick. Hiragana twin: か.
キ
ki
like "key", but short ("kee")
3 strokes · stroke order ▸
Memory hook: a key: two bars across a long shaft. キ is literally the word キー (key) you'll read today. Hiragana twin: き.
ク
ku
like "coo", but short and relaxed ("koo")
2 strokes · stroke order ▸
Memory hook: a cuckoo's head and beak: a small hook and a big swoop. Hiragana twin: く.
KatakanaHiragana twinRomaji
ka
ki
ku
The Pair to Watch: カ and 力 カ looks almost identical to the kanji 力 (chikara, "power"), and that's its origin: カ is a simplified piece of it. In loanwords it will always be the sound ka. Also, later in the course you'll meet タ (ta), which can look like ク. For now, ク has no extra stroke inside.

〰️ The Long-Vowel Mark — ー

In hiragana a long vowel is written by adding a vowel character (おかあさん). In katakana, long vowels are written with a single line, ー. It means: hold the previous vowel for one more beat.

  • キー = ki + ー = "ki-i", two beats, written kī in romaji.
  • カー = ka + ー = "ka-a", two beats, written kā.
  • In horizontal text ー is a horizontal line; in vertical text it turns into a vertical line.
  • It is not a character of its own, it has no sound by itself, and it never starts a word. It always follows a katakana and stretches it.
  • Length matters: キ (one beat) and キー (two beats) are different words, just like the long and short sounds you may know from Japanese already.
Don't Confuse ー with 一 The kanji 一 ("one") looks very similar to ー, but it appears in ordinary Japanese text, not inside katakana words. If a horizontal line sits right after a katakana, it's the long-vowel mark.

📖 Read It — Real Words at Last

#WordRomajiEnglishNote
1kīkeylong ī: two beats, ki-i
2kācarlong ā: ka-a; as in カーナビ (car navigation) later
3kākīkhakia colour word
4ōkuoakthe tree (also an orc in fantasy games)
5ēkāacree-e-ka-a: four beats
6kū(drill)a drill: ku-u
7āku(drill)a drill: a-a-ku
Count the Beats Each katakana is one beat and ー adds one more. So カーキ is three beats (ka-a-ki) and エーカー is four (e-e-ka-a). Count each ー as a full beat and the rhythm falls into place.

✍️ Try It Yourself — れんしゅう

Say each answer out loud first, then click to check.

1. Read aloud: · ·

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ka · ki · ku

2. What does the mark ー do?

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It lengthens the vowel before it by one beat. It is not a character and has no sound of its own.

3. Read aloud and translate: ·

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kī (key) · kā (car)

4. Read aloud and translate: ·

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kākī (khaki) · ōku (oak)

5. How many beats are in エーカー?

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Four: エ · ー · カ · ー (e-e-ka-a).

6. Write in katakana: kī · kā · ōku (check stroke order).

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· ·

Coming Up in Chapter 4 Two more K sounds: ケ (ke) and コ (ko). You'll be able to read ケーキ (cake) and ココア (cocoa).