Katakana II: Unlocking Every Loanword
You can read basic katakana — now let's give it the full toolkit. Modern Japanese contains thousands of loanwords (外来語, gairaigo), mostly from English, and katakana has developed clever extensions to capture foreign sounds that classic Japanese never had — like "fa", "ti", "we" and "vo". Master this chapter and you will be able to sound out virtually any word on a Japanese menu, sign, or website.
1. The Marks You Already Know
Everything from Hiragana II transfers directly — same marks, same rules:
| Tool | Hiragana | Katakana | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dakuten ゛ | が ga | ガ ga | ガス (gasu) — gas |
| Handakuten ゜ | ぱ pa | パ pa | パン (pan) — bread |
| Small ャュョ | きゃ kya | キャ kya | キャンプ (kyanpu) — camping |
| Small ッ | きって kitte | ロック (rokku) | double consonant — rock (music) |
For reference, the voiced rows in katakana: ガギグゲゴ (ga-gi-gu-ge-go), ザジズゼゾ (za-ji-zu-ze-zo), ダヂヅデド (da-ji-zu-de-do), バビブベボ (ba-bi-bu-be-bo), パピプペポ (pa-pi-pu-pe-po). The combination sounds also mirror hiragana perfectly: シャ sha, シュ shu, ショ sho, ジャ ja, チャ cha, リョ ryo, and so on.
2. The Long-Vowel Mark ー
Katakana's best friend is the chōonpu (ー), a simple dash that stretches the previous vowel by one beat. Where hiragana writes おかあさん with an extra あ, katakana just draws a line:
| Katakana | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| コーヒー | kōhī | coffee (two long vowels!) |
| ケーキ | kēki | cake |
| スーパー | sūpā | supermarket |
| メール | mēru | |
| ビール | bīru | beer |
Watch out for meaning changes: ビル (biru) = building, but ビール (bīru) = beer. Order carefully!
Tip: in vertical Japanese writing (books, signs), the dash rotates to vertical too — it always follows the direction of the text.
3. Extended Combinations: Sounds Japanese Didn't Have
Classic kana cannot write "fa", "ti", "we"… so katakana invented combos: take a kana for the consonant, then attach a small vowel (ァィゥェォ). The small vowel replaces the original vowel sound:
| Combo | Sound | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ファ・フィ・フェ・フォ | fa, fi, fe, fo | ファミリー (famirī, family), フォーク (fōku, fork) |
| ティ・ディ | ti, di | パーティー (pātī, party), ディズニー (Dizunī, Disney) |
| ウィ・ウェ・ウォ | wi, we, wo | ウィスキー (wisukī, whisky), ウェブ (webu, web) |
| シェ・ジェ | she, je | シェフ (shefu, chef), ジェット (jetto, jet) |
| チェ | che | チェック (chekku, check) |
| ツァ・ツェ・ツォ | tsa, tse, tso | モーツァルト (Mōtsaruto, Mozart) |
| デュ・テュ | dyu, tyu | デュエット (dyuetto, duet) |
| ヴ (ウ+゛) | v | ヴァイオリン (vaiorin, violin) — though バイオリン with "b" is more common! |
You do not need to memorize these as a list — they follow an obvious logic (consonant + small vowel), and you will absorb them naturally as you read real words.
4. How English Becomes Katakana: The Conversion Rules
Ever wondered why "McDonald's" becomes the six-beat マクドナルド (Makudonarudo)? Japanese syllables must (almost) always end in a vowel, so English words get adapted with predictable rules. Learn these five and you can often guess the katakana form of an English word — and decode unknown katakana back into English:
- Add vowels after lone consonants. Usually u: "milk" → ミルク (miruku). After t/d, use o: "hint" → ヒント (hinto), "bed" → ベッド (beddo).
- L becomes R. Japanese has no "l": "hotel" → ホテル (hoteru), "salad" → サラダ (sarada).
- V becomes B. "video" → ビデオ (bideo), "elevator" → エレベーター (erebētā).
- TH becomes S or Z. "birthday" → バースデー (bāsudē), "the" → ザ (za).
- -er / -or / -ar endings become ー (long ā). "computer" → コンピューター (konpyūtā), "soccer" → サッカー (sakkā).
Also: short punchy English syllables often gain a small ッ — "cup" → カップ (kappu), "bag" → バッグ (baggu).
Practice the decoding skill. Sound the katakana out loud, at natural speed, and listen for the English hiding inside: アイスコーヒー (aisu kōhī)… "ice coffee"! バスケットボール (basukettobōru)… "basketball"!
5. Beware of False Friends (和製英語)
Some katakana words look English but have shifted meaning — or were invented in Japan (wasei-eigo, "made-in-Japan English"). A few famous ones:
| Katakana | Reading | Actually means | Not… |
|---|---|---|---|
| マンション | manshon | apartment / condo | a mansion! |
| コンセント | konsento | electrical outlet | consent |
| アルバイト | arubaito | part-time job (from German Arbeit) | — |
| パン | pan | bread (from Portuguese pão) | a cooking pan |
| サラリーマン | sararīman | male office worker | "salary man" isn't English! |
| ホッチキス | hotchikisu | stapler (from the Hotchkiss brand) | — |
Did you know? Not all loanwords come from English — Japan's first European contacts were Portuguese and Dutch traders in the 1500-1600s, and German was the language of medicine in the Meiji era. That's why "part-time job" is German and "bread" is Portuguese!
6. Your Name in Katakana
Foreign names are written in katakana by sound, not spelling. Some examples:
- Emma → エマ (Ema)
- David → デイビッド (Deibiddo)
- Maria → マリア (Maria)
- Alex → アレックス (Arekkusu)
- Sophie → ソフィー (Sofī)
Try converting your own name using the rules from section 4: break it into Japanese-friendly syllables, replace l→r and v→b, and add vowels where consonants stand alone. You will need this for the self-introduction chapter later — and for every form you ever fill in in Japan!
7. Reading Practice: The Menu Test
You walk into a Japanese café and see this menu. Read it aloud, then check:
| Menu item | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ホットコーヒー | hotto kōhī | hot coffee |
| カフェラテ | kaferate | café latte |
| オレンジジュース | orenji jūsu | orange juice |
| チーズケーキ | chīzukēki | cheesecake |
| チョコレートパフェ | chokorēto pafe | chocolate parfait |
| サンドイッチ | sandoitchi | sandwich |
| フライドポテト | furaido poteto | french fries ("fried potato") |
| ソフトクリーム | sofuto kurīmu | soft-serve ice cream |
Congratulations — you just read a real Japanese menu with zero vocabulary study. That is the magic of katakana!
Summary & Key Takeaways
- Dakuten, handakuten, small ャュョ and small ッ work in katakana exactly as in hiragana.
- The ー mark stretches the previous vowel one beat: コーヒー (kōhī). ビル building vs ビール beer!
- Extended combos (consonant + small ァィゥェォ) write foreign sounds: ファ fa, ティ ti, ウェ we, チェ che, ヴ v.
- Conversion rules: add u/o after lone consonants, l→r, v→b, th→s/z, -er→ー. Use them to decode words back into English.
- Watch for false friends: マンション is an apartment, コンセント is a power outlet.
- Practice by reading real-world katakana everywhere — menus, brand names, station signs. Next up: your first kanji!