Hiragana · k row
け (ke): hiragana stroke order and pronunciation
け is the hiragana for ke, the e sound of the k row. It is written with 3 strokes. Its katakana twin is ケ (ke).
- Romaji
- ke
- Strokes
- 3
- Listen
- Play ke
How to write け, stroke by stroke
Each frame adds one stroke. The number sits where the stroke starts; strokes run left to right and top to bottom.
- stroke 1
- stroke 2
- stroke 3
How to say ke
Tip: like 'ke' in 'kept'
け in a word
The course introduces け with いけ (pond).
The k row
The k row keeps one consonant and runs through the five vowels, so け differs from its neighbours only in the vowel. Reading the row as a set fixes the pattern:
け in a sentence
From the beginner stories, where け turns up in running text rather than on its own.
けど、ユミは いない。
But Yumi isn't there. from Two o'clock at the station
けど、きってが ない。
But I have no stamp. from The letter to Tom
Rules that involve け
Dakuten — the voicing mark
Two small strokes (゛) on a kana voice it: the shape stays the same but your vocal cords buzz. You'll meet 5 of these in the k→g row.
- か → がvoiced k becomes g
- き → ぎvoiced k becomes g
Built from け
With dakuten
- げge
The same sound in katakana
Stroke-order data from KanjiVG by Ulrich Apel, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0.
Practice this in Open Lingo
The Open Lingo Japanese course teaches け with tracing practice, a listening drill and spaced review, then uses it in real words within the same lesson.
Keep going
- ChartKatakana chartAll 46 basic katakana plus voiced and yōon combinations, with romaji, stroke-order diagrams, example loanwords and audio.
- Word listGreetings and polite phrasesEssential Japanese greetings and polite phrases for beginners, with hiragana, romaji, meaning and audio, taken from the Open Lingo course.
- Word listNumbersJapanese numbers for beginners: Sino-Japanese いち, に, さん, the native ひとつ, ふたつ counting set, and hundreds, thousands and 万, with audio.
- ToolNumbers 1 to 100 and converterJapanese numbers 0 to 100 in kana, kanji and romaji, a converter up to 999,999, and the rules for 4, 7, 9, sound-changing hundreds and 万.