Katakana · k row
コ (ko): katakana stroke order and pronunciation
コ is the katakana for ko, the o sound of the k row. It is written with 2 strokes. Its hiragana twin is こ (ko).
- Romaji
- ko
- Strokes
- 2
- Listen
- Play ko
How to write コ, 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'
Two corners of a box — you've been reading it in コーヒー since Module 3.
コ in a word
The course introduces コ with コーヒー (coffee).
The k row
The k row keeps one consonant and runs through the five vowels, so コ differs from its neighbours only in the vowel. Reading the row as a set fixes the pattern:
Course words written with コ
One word from the beginner word lists use コ. Each links to the list it belongs to.
- コーヒーkoohiicoffeeFood and drink vocabulary
Built from コ
With dakuten
- ゴgo
The same sound in hiragana
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 コ with tracing practice, a listening drill and spaced review, then uses it in real words within the same lesson.
Keep going
- ChartHiragana chartAll 46 basic hiragana plus dakuten and yōon combinations, each with romaji, stroke-order diagram, a pronunciation tip 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.