# Romaji to Hiragana and Katakana Converter

> Convert romaji spellings to hiragana or katakana, and convert kana back to romaji. Handles common kana combinations without translating meaning.

Canonical: https://studyjapanese101.com/tools/romaji-kana-converter
Last updated: 2026-11-12

Type a Japanese spelling in romaji to see hiragana or katakana, or turn kana into romaji. This tool converts writing, not English words into Japanese.

Published: 2026-11-12

3 min read

## What the converter does

The converter covers basic, marked and common combined kana. It leaves unfamiliar characters in place, but English words entered as romaji may be partly converted. Kana-to-romaji output is kana by kana, without word spaces or particle pronunciation. Some spellings cannot be converted back to the exact original kana.

A word’s meaning and the correct kanji depend on context. Use a [Japanese dictionary](https://studyjapanese101.com/resources/jisho) to check them. To practise recognizing the characters, try the [kana quiz](https://studyjapanese101.com/tools/kana-quiz).

## Frequently asked questions

### Does this translate English into Japanese?

No. It converts a Japanese pronunciation written in romaji to kana, or kana to romaji. Use a dictionary to look up a word’s meaning.

### How do I enter an n before a vowel?

Use an apostrophe after n when you need to separate it from the following vowel or y sound. For example, kan'i becomes かんい, while kani becomes かに.

### How do I type long vowels and small kana?

Spell long vowels as they appear in kana, such as toukyou. A hyphen after kana adds the long-vowel mark, such as ko-hi- for コーヒー. Use x or l for small kana, such as texi for てぃ. The hyphen is for a long vowel, so remove hyphens used to join words. Words with macron or circumflex vowels are left unchanged.

### Why does romaji show ha for は?

The output spells kana one by one. When は, へ or を is a particle, its pronunciation depends on how it is used. The converter does not add word spaces or identify particles. When you enter romaji, wa, e and o become わ, え and お; type ha, he and wo for the particles は, へ and を.

### Can this read kanji?

No. Kanji and other unrecognized characters stay in the result unchanged. Use a dictionary for kanji readings.

## Evidence and sources

Product details can change. Evidence pages and their individual check dates appear below. Page updated 2026-11-12.

- [Japanese romanization table](https://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/romanization/japanese.pdf) - official docs · checked 2026-11-12 · Reference kana and Latin-letter sound correspondences.
- [Unicode normalization forms](https://www.unicode.org/reports/tr15/) - official docs · checked 2026-11-12 · Normalization of halfwidth and fullwidth katakana.

## Related

- [Hiragana and katakana quiz](https://studyjapanese101.com/tools/kana-quiz) - Drill hiragana and katakana in the browser. No account. Misses stay on this device so you can review the weak rows next.
- [Jisho](https://studyjapanese101.com/resources/jisho) - A free Japanese-English dictionary you can search from English, romaji, or kanji.
- [Hiragana and Katakana Resources for a Two-Week Start](https://studyjapanese101.com/best/hiragana-and-katakana-learning-resources) - Learn hiragana, then katakana, with one drill and one review loop. Inku fits prepared cards with audio on iPhone. Real Kana fits typed recall. A textbook or Irodori can teach the same script inside a course.
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- [A beginner Japanese path that does not start with Anki](https://studyjapanese101.com/blog/a-beginner-path-that-does-not-start-with-anki) - Anki is a powerful memory engine. It is a poor first app if you do not yet know what to put on the cards.