Katakana Reading Practice – Can you read these?

Have you learned all the Katakana letters? Great! Now is the time to try Katakana reading practice. Let’s see how well you can read Katakana words.

What’s the bar “ー” for?

You may sometimes see a Katakana word with a bar like this.

The bar indicates long vowels (double vowels). So, in the example above, you have to make the vowel [e] longer and pronounce it [ke e ki].

You do the same regardless of the vowel. For instance, the カ in カーテン has the vowel [a], right? Then, you double the [a] because of the bar follows and pronounce the word [ka a te n].

Katakana Reading Practice 1 – Long Vowels

Let’s practice reading Katakana words with double vowels. Play the video below and see how many words you can pronounce.

Small ヤ、ユ、ヨ

Now, let’s move onto another type of spelling that requires small ヤユヨ.

This is not peculiar to Katakana words. We have the same spelling rules for Hiragana words too. When you encounter a combination of a regular-sized Katakana and small-sized ヤ or ユ or ヨ as below, remember to pronounce the two sounds together.

In the example of シャツ above, you have to pronounce the sound [shi] and [ya] together and say [sha] for シャ.

The combination is called Glides or Contracted Sounds.

Katakana Reading Practice 2 – Glides

Let’s try reading Katakana words with Glides. (Small ヤユヨ) Play the lesson video and see if you can figure out how to pronounce each Katakana word.

After you finish the lesson above, you will know how to spell his name in Katakana. 🙂

Katakana Reading Practice 3 – Small ツ

The next lesson is Katakana words with Double Consonants. (Small ツ) Can you read these words and know how to pronounce it? Even though we don’t pronounce the small ツ in the word, it still take ONE BEAT in pronunciation.

Try the drill below. It’s a good Katakana reading practice with small ツ.

Small ア、イ、エ、オ

We have adapted so many foreign words into Japanese and as a result, we had to come up with new ways to spell some foreign sounds that we don’t have in Japanese. That’s why new spelling rules were created with small-sized Katakana アイエオ.

Small アイエオ are used in the combinations below. They are particular to Katakana words and we never use small あいえお in Hiragana words.

Download the PDF version of the chart above.

Katakana Reading Practice 4 – Small アイエオ

Let’s try Katakana reading practice with small-sized アイエオ.

Try Katakana Quiz!

Are you getting comfortable with Katakana words? Let’s test the accuracy of your Katakana spelling.

Go to Katakana Quizzes and check your ability!

Your name in Katakana

Katakana letters are used to spell loan words (words that we imported from foreign languages). Therefore, your name has to be in Katakana, not in Hiragana which is used to spell Japanese-origin words.

Are you curious how to spell your name in Katakana? For me to help you with that, I need to hear the exact pronunciation of your name in your language.

Since I don’t get to talk with you in person, I cannot assist you with the spelling of your name. However, I’ve found a useful website which may help you to figure out how to spell your name in Katakana. You may want to try the site: Japanese Name Converter

Are you still learning to write Katakana accurately? Try my complete Katakana lesson!

I hope you enjoyed this Katakana lesson. Leave me comments if you have any questions! では、また。

裕子先生（ゆうこせんせい）Yuko sensei