Dakuten and Handakuten: Complete Kana Chart and Practice Guide

Dakuten (濁点, だくてん) and handakuten (半濁点, はんだくてん) are the two marks that turn familiar kana into new sounds. Dakuten is the two-stroke mark ゛: か becomes が. Handakuten is the small circle ゜: は becomes ぱ.

The quickest way to learn them is not to memorize 50 disconnected symbols. Learn five sound changes, then read them inside words:

K → G    か → が    カ → ガ
S → Z    さ → ざ    サ → ザ
T → D    た → だ    タ → ダ
H → B    は → ば    ハ → バ
H → P    は → ぱ    ハ → パ

This guide gives you the complete beginner chart for hiragana and katakana, explains the awkward じ/ぢ and ず/づ spellings, and shows how the marks appear in manga, game menus, and ordinary vocabulary.

If the 46 basic shapes are not familiar yet, begin with how to learn kana. You can also practise the scripts directly on LevelKana’s public hiragana page and katakana page.

Quick answer: what is the difference between dakuten and handakuten?

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Dakuten usually marks a voiced consonant. Put two fingers lightly on your throat and compare か with が: the mouth shape is similar, but your vocal folds vibrate for the G sound.

Handakuten is more limited. In ordinary modern kana, it appears on the H row and creates the P row. Put a hand in front of your mouth and compare ば with ぱ: the P sound normally produces a clearer puff of air, while the B sound is voiced.

The traditional label “semi-voiced” survives in the name 半濁点. As a beginner, the useful rule is simply circle means P.

Here is the complete core set in one compact chart. Use the detailed tables below when you want readings and example words.

       Hiragana       Katakana
G      がぎぐげご      ガギグゲゴ
Z/J    ざじずぜぞ      ザジズゼゾ
D      だぢづでど      ダヂヅデド
B      ばびぶべぼ      バビブベボ
P      ぱぴぷぺぽ      パピプペポ

The complete hiragana dakuten chart

K row becomes G

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S row becomes Z or J

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The row is called the Z row, but し → じ is normally written ji in learner romanization, not zi. Listen to Japanese audio rather than forcing every sound into an English Z.

T row becomes D

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ぢ and づ are real kana, but they are much less common than じ and ず. Do not invent a different sound every time you see them. Learn the spelling of the whole word; the special cases are explained below.

H row becomes B

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The complete hiragana handakuten chart

Handakuten changes only the H row in the core modern chart:

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Hiragana P-row vocabulary often includes mimetic words such as ぴかぴか and ぽかぽか. In loanwords, names, menus, and game text, you will see the katakana P row even more often.

The complete katakana dakuten and handakuten chart

The sound changes are the same in katakana. Only the shapes differ.

Here are useful words that turn the chart into reading practice:

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This is why dakuten and handakuten matter early for learners who like games. A beginner may know every unmarked katakana and still hesitate on ゲーム, ダメージ, セーブ, or ボス if the sound marks were treated as an optional extra.

Why じ and ぢ sound alike—and ず and づ do too

In widely taught standard Japanese, じ and ぢ are normally pronounced alike, and ず and づ are normally pronounced alike. Regional speech can preserve distinctions, but most beginners should focus on spelling, not on manufacturing four sharply different sounds.

Use じ and ず as the default spellings you expect to meet:

じかん    time
じしょ    dictionary
みず      water
むずかしい difficult

Learn ぢ and づ in the words where standard spelling requires them. Two useful patterns are:

1. The second sound reflects an original ち or つ in a compound.
2. A ち or つ sound repeats and becomes voiced.

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These are tendencies, not a license to guess every compound. Some established words use じ or ず, so check a dictionary when spelling matters. Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs lists the modern exceptions and conventions in its official 現代仮名遣い guidance.

A practical learner rule is:

Read all four confidently, expect じ/ず most often, and memorize ぢ/づ as part of the word.

Dakuten in compounds: a first look at rendaku

Sometimes a word begins with an unvoiced kana alone but becomes voiced inside a compound:

かみ → てがみ
paper → letter

ひ → はなび
fire → fireworks

かさ → あまがさ
umbrella → rain umbrella

This process is called rendaku (連濁, れんだく), often translated as sequential voicing. It helps explain why a dictionary form and a compound can show different kana.

Do not turn rendaku into a rule that “the second word always gets dakuten.” It does not happen in every compound, and its constraints are a larger topic. At this stage, notice the relationship:

かみ / がみ
ひ / び
かさ / がさ

The mark is carrying real information about the word you are reading, not decorating the kana.

The extra katakana form ヴ

Katakana also uses dakuten with ウ to write ヴ, conventionally used for a V-like sound in some foreign names and loanwords:

ヴァ  va
ヴィ  vi
ヴ    vu
ヴェ  ve
ヴォ  vo

You may see forms such as ヴィーガン (vegan), ヴォイス (voice), or foreign names written with ヴ. You will also see established spellings that use the B row instead, such as バイオリン for violin. Actual pronunciation varies by speaker and word; the spelling does not guarantee an English-style V.

Japan’s official guidance on loanword spelling includes the ヴ series while allowing established and general Japanese spellings to remain in use; see the Agency for Cultural Affairs’ 外来語の表記 guidance.

Treat ヴ as a useful extension, not as a sixth core row. Rare historical katakana such as ヷ do not belong on a beginner review list.

How one mark can change the word

Dakuten is not cosmetic. If you miss it, you may read a different word. Compare these ordinary pairs and groups:

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Some entries have several meanings because kana alone does not show the kanji or pitch accent. That is part of the lesson: first identify the written sounds accurately, then use the sentence and kanji to choose the meaning.

Do not practise these by chanting English pairs forever. Read a short line:

かごの ふたを あける。
Open the basket's lid.

ばらを かびんに いれる。
Put the roses in a vase.

においを かぐ。
Smell the scent.

The mark should become a fast reading cue inside the word, not a translation puzzle by itself.

How dakuten changes words you meet in games and manga

The useful unit is not か→が by itself. It is the word or effect whose reading changes because of the mark.

Game menu and battle words

ぶきを そうびする。
Equip a weapon.

ダメージを うけた。
Took damage.

ポーションを つかう。
Use a potion.

ゲームを セーブする。
Save the game.

ボスとの バトルが はじまる。
The battle with the boss begins.

These are constructed teaching lines, not quotations from a particular game. They show how several marked kana can appear in one familiar context.

Manga effects

ドン！      heavy impact or dramatic arrival
バキッ！    a sharp crack
ガン！      a hard bang or clang
ゴゴゴ…     ominous rumbling or pressure
ピカッ！    a sudden flash

Voicing can make an effect feel heavier or rougher, but it is not a mechanical volume switch. Compare the whole effect and the panel. The Japanese manga onomatopoeia guide explains how dakuten interacts with repetition, small ッ, stretched vowels, typography, and scene context.

How to write and spot the marks clearly

Write dakuten or handakuten at the upper right of the base kana. Keep it close enough that it obviously belongs to that kana, but do not let it collide with the main strokes:

か  が  not a new base shape
は  ば  ぱ
カ  ガ
ハ  バ  パ

Three habits prevent most handwriting mistakes:

1. Write the base kana first.
2. Add two short, distinct strokes for dakuten or one small circle for handakuten.
3. Reread the completed kana with the changed consonant before moving on.

In manga and stylized game fonts, the marks may be thick, tilted, square, or squeezed by vertical text. Anchor on the base shape first, then inspect the upper-right corner. If a dramatic font makes バ, パ, or ガ look unfamiliar, compare it with the unmarked kana rather than trying to memorize the font as a new alphabet.

Dakuten resembles a small quotation mark, but Japanese quotation marks are 「 」 and occupy their own space around text. A dakuten mark attaches to a kana and changes its sound.

How to type dakuten and handakuten

On a normal Japanese IME, type the changed sound rather than adding the mark manually.

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If you type ji, you normally get じ; di gives ぢ. If you type zu, you normally get ず; du gives づ. This is useful for spelling, but the romanization is an input tool, not a pronunciation lesson.

You may encounter standalone marks or combining Unicode characters when copying text from unusual sources. For ordinary study and typing, enter the whole kana through the IME and let it produce the correct character.

Common mistakes and how to fix them

Mistake 1: reading the base kana and ignoring the mark

If you see が and still say ka, pause before reading the whole word:

か → が → かぎ
ka → ga → key

Train the transformation for one second, then return to the word. Do not restart the whole kana chart.

Mistake 2: treating every marked kana as a new shape

ぼ is not unrelated to ほ. Compare them side by side:

ほ → ぼ → ぽ
ホ → ボ → ポ

The base shape carries most of the recognition work. The mark changes the consonant.

Mistake 3: learning only the hiragana chart

Katakana uses the same logic, and words such as ゲーム, ダメージ, バトル, and ポーション give the pattern a purpose. Mix the scripts after learning each row.

Mistake 4: overthinking じ/ぢ and ず/づ

Read the word first. For writing, remember the dictionary spelling. You do not need a special accent every time ぢ or づ appears.

Mistake 5: confusing dakuten with small kana

Dakuten changes voicing. Small ゃ/ゅ/ょ creates combined sounds such as きゃ, and small ッ marks a following consonant. They can appear together:

びょういん  hospital
ジャケット  jacket
グッズ      goods; merchandise

Learn which job each mark performs instead of calling every extension “dakuten.”

Quick reading check

Read these before opening the answers:

1. がっこう
2. みず
3. でんわ
4. ぶき
5. ぴかぴか
6. ゲーム
7. ダメージ
8. セーブ
9. ボス
10. ポーション

Answers:

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If the answer was wrong, record the word, not only the kana. ぶき is a better review prompt than an isolated ぶ because the next encounter will also happen inside a word.

A 10-minute dakuten and handakuten practice plan

Use this after you know the base kana but still hesitate on the marks.

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Rotate the rows rather than drilling every form every day:

Day 1: K→G
Day 2: S→Z/J
Day 3: T→D and the spelling exceptions
Day 4: H→B
Day 5: H→P
Day 6: mixed hiragana and katakana
Day 7: reread real words without the chart

For a broader routine that includes basic kana, confusing shapes, short words, and contextual reading, use the daily kana practice plan.

What not to memorize yet

A beginner does not need to memorize:

• every historical kana that has ever carried a mark;
• specialist phonetic uses of handakuten outside ordinary vocabulary;
• a separate English pronunciation rule for every position of が;
• every possible foreign-sound katakana combination;
• or a giant list of isolated transformed symbols.

Learn the complete core chart on this page, the じ/ぢ and ず/づ spelling issue, a few useful katakana extensions, and enough real words to make the transformations automatic.

Where this guide fits in your kana study

Use this page once you can recognize most basic hiragana or katakana but still pause at two strokes, a small circle, ぢ/づ, or a voiced word in a game. Keep the compact chart nearby until you can read the marked form without mentally restarting the whole row.

Choose the next guide for the problem you actually have:

• Use how to learn kana if the base characters are not stable yet.
• Read hiragana vs katakana if you are deciding when to add the second script.
• Follow the daily kana practice plan when you need a repeatable routine for the full kana system.
• Move to what to do after hiragana and katakana when marked kana no longer slow down short words.

FAQ

Are dakuten and handakuten separate kana?

They create distinct written kana and sounds, but you learn them most efficiently as transformations of base kana. Think か→が and は→ば→ぱ, not as three unrelated drawings.

Do dakuten and handakuten work in both hiragana and katakana?

Yes. The core sound changes are the same in both scripts: か→が and カ→ガ, は→ば→ぱ and ハ→バ→パ.

Why is handakuten used only on the H row?

That is the conventional core pattern of modern kana. For beginner reading, memorize H→P. Rare historical or specialist uses do not belong in your first study set.

Are じ and ぢ pronounced differently?

In widely taught standard Japanese, they are usually pronounced alike. The same is true of ず and づ. Some regional varieties distinguish them, but beginners should prioritize reading and correct word spelling.

How do I type ぢ and づ?

With a common Japanese IME, type di for ぢ and du for づ. Type ji for じ and zu for ず.

What should I learn after dakuten and handakuten?

Learn small ゃ/ゅ/ょ, small ッ, long vowels, and mixed-word reading. Then stop treating kana as a chart and use it in short sentences, game menus, manga panels, and beginner vocabulary.

The practical takeaway

Dakuten and handakuten are a small visual change with a large reading payoff.

Remember the five transformations:

K→G　S→Z/J　T→D　H→B　H→P

Read them in both scripts. Learn じ/ぢ and ず/づ by word. Then practise with useful forms such as がっこう, みず, どうぐ, ぶき, ゲーム, ダメージ, セーブ, and ポーション.

Once the marks stop looking like surprises, dozens of words in ordinary Japanese, manga, and games become immediately easier to read.