Hiragana ⇔ katakana converter
Convert between hiragana, katakana and half-width katakana in one go. Kanji, letters and numbers are left as they are.
Text to convert
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Everything runs on this device. What you enter is never sent anywhere.
Kanji, letters, numbers and symbols are left as they are. Kanji can't be turned into their readings.
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How to use
1. Enter your text
Tap “Paste” to put in the text you copied. You can also type straight into the box. The katakana version appears below right away.
Click “Paste” above the left box to put in the text you copied. You can also type straight into the box, or open a text file with “Open file”. The katakana version appears on the right right away.
2. Choose what to convert to
In the bar below the input box, choose “Katakana”, “Hiragana” or “Half-width”. Tap “Hiragana” and all katakana and half-width katakana become hiragana. The result below changes instantly.
In the bar above the right box, choose “Katakana”, “Hiragana” or “Half-width”. Click “Hiragana” and all katakana and half-width katakana become hiragana. The result below changes instantly.
3. Copy or save
Tap “Copy” below the result to copy the converted text. Tap “Download text” to save it as a .txt file.
Click “Copy” below the right box to copy the converted text. Click “Download text” to save it as a .txt file.
Great for
Filling in the furigana field in katakana
Japanese web forms often ask for your name in full-width katakana. Type your name or address in hiragana, paste it here, and it turns into katakana you can copy straight back.
Anyone signing up or applying online in Japan
Making name readings consistent
Paste a column of readings that mixes hiragana, katakana and half-width katakana from a spreadsheet, and turn them all into one style at once.
People managing member or customer lists
Bank transfer names in half-width katakana
Japanese bank transfers and older systems often accept only half-width katakana. This makes the text for those fields, splitting voiced marks into two characters correctly.
Accounting and office staff
Practicing hiragana and katakana
Turn hiragana sentences into katakana, or katakana words into hiragana, and read them side by side. Handy for making children's materials or studying Japanese.
Japanese learners, teachers and parents
Good to know
- It can't produce readings for kanji. Kanji stay as they are (山田 won't become ヤマダ).
- The long-vowel mark ー stays as ー even in hiragana, so you get らーめん.
- It doesn't change the width of letters, numbers or spaces. Even in half-width katakana, full-width letters, numbers and spaces stay as they are.
About hiragana and katakana conversion
Hiragana and katakana are two sets of characters for the same sounds. They match one to one, like あ and ア or が and ガ, so one can be swapped for the other without knowing how a word is read. This tool changes only the hiragana, katakana and half-width katakana in your text to the style you pick, and leaves kanji, letters, numbers, symbols and emoji untouched.
In half-width katakana (ｶﾀｶﾅ), a character like ガ is written as two characters, ｶﾞ. When converting from half-width katakana, the two are joined into one ガ; when converting to it, they are split into two. Characters stored as カ plus a separate ゛, as in some Mac file names, are also joined into one.
FAQ
Answers to common questions before you start.
Is my text sent anywhere?
No. Conversion happens entirely in your device's browser, and names or addresses you enter are never sent to a server.
Can it turn kanji into katakana?
No. A kanji word can have more than one reading (山田 can be read やまだ or さんでん), so kanji are left as they are. Type the reading in hiragana first, then convert it.
What happens to the long-vowel mark ー?
It stays as ー even in hiragana, so コーヒー becomes こーひー. In half-width katakana it becomes ｰ.
Can ヴ be turned into hiragana?
Yes. ヴ becomes ゔ, so ヴァイオリン becomes ゔぁいおりん. In half-width katakana it becomes ｳﾞ.
What happens to the ヶ in 3ヶ月?
It stays as it is. ヶ and ヵ are mostly used with numbers and in place names, like 3ヶ月 or 霞ヶ関, so they aren't changed in hiragana or half-width katakana.
Are half-width voiced marks (ﾞ) converted correctly?
Yes. Voiced and semi-voiced sounds written as two characters, like ｶﾞ, are joined into a single ガ or が. When converting to half-width katakana, they are split into the two characters ｶﾞ.
Does half-width katakana also make letters, numbers and spaces half-width?
No. This tool only changes hiragana, katakana and the symbols 「。」「、」「「」」「・」「ー」. Full-width letters, numbers and spaces stay as they are.
Can it convert long text or a whole spreadsheet column?
Yes. Copy a spreadsheet column and paste it, and it's converted without changing the order of the rows. CSV and text files can be opened with “Open file”, up to 20 MB.
Can I undo a conversion?
The text in the input box doesn't change, so you can pick another output and convert again as many times as you like. If you turn katakana into hiragana and then choose “Katakana” again, you get the original katakana back.
Is it free?
Yes, it's free. No sign-up and no ads.
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