# Japanese Kana to Romaji Converter

> Transliterate hiragana and katakana into romaji (Latin letters) using Hepburn spelling.

- Page: https://decoder.tools/kana-romaji-converter
- Category: Data, Radix & String
- Status: live, runs in the browser
- Last reviewed: 2026-10-23

A kana to romaji converter rewrites Japanese hiragana and katakana in Latin letters, syllable by syllable. ありがとう becomes `arigatou`, and カタカナ becomes `katakana`.

## Example

```text Input
ありがとう
```

```text Output
arigatou
```

## Kana and romaji

Japanese uses two syllabaries alongside kanji. **Hiragana** (ひらがな) is used for grammatical endings and native words. **Katakana** (カタカナ) is used for loanwords, names and emphasis. Both have the same set of 46 basic sounds, so a converter can treat them the same way.

**Romaji** is Japanese written in the Latin alphabet. This tool follows **Hepburn** spelling, the system most English speakers know: し is `shi`, ち is `chi`, つ is `tsu` and ふ is `fu`. Combined syllables such as きゃ (`kya`) and しょ (`sho`) are handled.

The converter is deliberately simple. Some things need a human reading:

- **Long vowels** are written letter by letter (`arigatou`, not `arigatō`).
- **Small っ (sokuon)**, which doubles the next consonant (きって is `kitte`), is not converted yet and passes through unchanged.
- **Kanji** can't be converted. Their reading depends on context, so they pass through unchanged.
- **は and へ as particles** are pronounced `wa` and `e` but are spelled `ha` and `he` here.

## Basic hiragana chart

| | a | i | u | e | o |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | あ a | い i | う u | え e | お o |
| k | か ka | き ki | く ku | け ke | こ ko |
| s | さ sa | し shi | す su | せ se | そ so |
| t | た ta | ち chi | つ tsu | て te | と to |
| n | な na | に ni | ぬ nu | ね ne | の no |
| h | は ha | ひ hi | ふ fu | へ he | ほ ho |
| m | ま ma | み mi | む mu | め me | も mo |
| y | や ya | | ゆ yu | | よ yo |
| r | ら ra | り ri | る ru | れ re | ろ ro |
| w | わ wa | | | | を wo |
| | ん n | | | | |

## How to use the converter

1. Paste hiragana, katakana or a mix of both.
2. Read the romaji in the output.
3. Check the result for long vowels, small っ and particles, which need manual adjustment.

## Kana to romaji at a glance

| | |
|---|---|
| Scripts | Hiragana (U+3040–309F), katakana (U+30A0–30FF) |
| Romanization | Hepburn |
| Combined syllables | Yes, for example きゃ kya |
| Not handled | Kanji, small っ, long-vowel macrons |

## FAQ

### What is the difference between Hepburn and Kunrei romaji?

Hepburn spells words the way English speakers would pronounce them (`shi`, `chi`, `tsu`, `fu`). Kunrei-shiki, Japan's official system for schools, keeps the spelling regular instead (`si`, `ti`, `tu`, `hu`). Hepburn is used on signs, passports and in most textbooks.

### Why does katakana convert the same as hiragana?

They represent the same sounds. カ and か are both `ka`. The tool maps katakana onto hiragana first and then converts.

### Can it convert kanji like 日本?

No. A kanji can have several readings that depend on the word it's in (日 can be `nichi`, `hi` or `ni`), so converting kanji needs a dictionary. Kanji characters are passed through unchanged.