Katakana · w row
ワ (wa): katakana stroke order and pronunciation
ワ is the katakana for wa, the a sound of the w row. It is written with 2 strokes. Its hiragana twin is わ (wa).
- Romaji
- wa
- Strokes
- 2
- Listen
- Play wa
How to write ワ, 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 wa
Tip: like 'wa' in 'water'
ウ without its top stroke — mind the twins: ワ is wider.
ワ in a word
The course introduces ワ with ワイン (wine).
The w row
The w row keeps one consonant and runs through the five vowels, so ワ differs from its neighbours only in the vowel. Reading the row as a set fixes the pattern:
- ワ waワイン (wine)
- ヲ woヲ (particle only)
ワ in a sentence
From the beginner stories, where ワ turns up in running text rather than on its own.
シャワーの じかんは ない。ぼくは かおを あらう。
There's no time for a shower. I wash my face. from The day off
Built from ワ
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 ワ with tracing practice, a listening drill and spaced review, then uses it in real words within the same lesson.
Keep going
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