Hi, everyone! Learning Hiragana is an exciting first step for kids who want to explore the Japanese language! But just like any new skill, practice makes perfect. To make learning easier and more fun, I’ve created a free printable Hiragana worksheet that you can download and use right away. Plus, I’ll share some easy and engaging ways to help your child get started with Hiragana.
Why Learn Hiragana?
Hiragana is one of the fundamental building blocks of Japanese. It’s used for native Japanese words, grammar particles, and even as a phonetic guide for beginners. If your child is interested in learning Japanese, mastering Hiragana is the best place to start!
Fun & Easy Ways to Practice Hiragana
- Daily Writing Practice – Encourage your child to practice a few characters each day. Start with simple ones like あ (a), い (i), う (u), え (e), お (o).
- Make it a Game! – Instead of just writing, try Karuta, Hiragana wordsearch or flashcards to keep things exciting.
- Use Everyday Items – Label household objects with Hiragana characters to help reinforce learning in a natural way.
- Sing Hiragana Songs – Kids love music! There are plenty of fun Hiragana songs on YouTube to help with memorization.
- Download the Free Printable Hiragana Worksheet Below!
Dairy Writing Practice
Everyday practice is important when it comes to learning. It helps memorize what you’ve learned and also solidifies the knowledge for the future to reduce the risk of forgetting. Especially for smaller kids, it is hard for them to stay focused for a long time. This is why I recommend practicing each day even for a short period of time.
Make it a Game!
If your child is having a hard time to sit and write, try Japanese learning games instead! I would like to introduce one of the most popular and traditional Hiragana learning game among kids. Karuta “かるた” is a picture and message card matching game. Place the picture cards with Hiragana Characters on the floor and one person will read the message cards out loud. Players will search for the card with the Hiragana on it and whoever gets the most cards will win the game. It is such a fun game to play and especially effective for kids who are competitive.
Use Everyday Items
Labeling household objects with Hiragana is another fun idea to help kids memorize Hiragana and Japanese words. You can simply take a sticky note to write the name of the item and stick it on it! You can also write the words with your child so they are involved in an activity. As they see the Hiragana words more and more each day, the reading speed will be faster and help them remember the words for a long time.
Sing Hiragana Songs
Who doesn’t like to sing? Songs are also fantastic ways to learn Hiragana and Japanese for kids. There are tons of Hiragana songs available on YouTube, and one of the channels I would like to recommend is called “Shimajiro Channel”. Shimajiro is a main character of Benesse Holdings, Inc. and they provide education and publishing for a variety of age groups for many years. They have their own cartoon shows too so your child can expand the vocabularies by watching it.
Download the Free Printable Hiragana Worksheet Below
I’ve created a Basic Hiragana Chart and Mini Practice Sheets for you!
These worksheets include:
- A full Hiragana chart with all 46 basic characters and extra variations https://stepintojapanese.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Hiragana-Chart.pdf
- Mini Traceable Hiragana Practice Sheets to help your child learning Hiragana https://stepintojapanese.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Mini-Hiragana-Practice-Sheet.pdf
Want More Japanese Learning Resources?
If you found this worksheet helpful, be sure to check back for more free printable worksheet, learning tips, and fun activities!
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Hiragana is the key to unlocking the Japanese language, and with fun practice tools, kids can enjoy the journey! I’d love to hear how your child is enjoying the worksheets—feel free to share your feedback in the comments or connect with me on Pinterest!
Happy Learning!
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