Hiragana · k row
こ (ko): hiragana stroke order and pronunciation
こ is the hiragana for ko, the o sound of the k row. It is written with 2 strokes. Its katakana twin is コ (ko).
- Romaji
- ko
- Strokes
- 2
- Listen
- Play ko
How to write こ, 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
How to say ko
Tip: like 'ko' in 'koala'
こ in a word
The course introduces こ with こえ (voice).
The k row
The k row keeps one consonant and runs through the five vowels, so こ differs from its neighbours only in the vowel. Reading the row as a set fixes the pattern:
Course words written with こ
4 words from the beginner word lists use こ. Each links to the list it belongs to.
- こめkomerice (uncooked)Food and drink vocabulary
- ここのつ九つkokonotsunineNumbers
- こんにちはkonnichiwaHello / good afternoonGreetings and polite phrases
- おんなのこ女の子onnanokogirlFamily words
こ in a sentence
From the beginner stories, where こ turns up in running text rather than on its own.
「これ、ください。」
"This one, please." from At the shop
ここは どこですか。
Where am I? from The wrong train
Rules that involve こ
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 こ
With dakuten
- ごgo
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 こ 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.