Katakana

For every hiragana there is a corresponding katakana, which are more angular. Here they are:

Katakana are used to write foreign words and names, and the names of some Japanese companies. They are also often seen expressing the sounds of various noises in comic books.

Most of the rules that apply to hiragana also apply to katakana. One exception is when a vowel sound is elongated: katakana vowels are not doubled, but use a dash (—) to show an extended vowel sound.

Here are a few that are often seen:

The worst thing about katakana is that they are sometimes used as a phonetic guide for pronouncing English words. Tiny katakana can sometimes be seen running above or below English sentences in textbooks — books that I would never recommend. While it is true that katakana will give Japanese students of English an idea of how a word is pronounced, those who rely on katakana to learn English form bad habits in pronunciation that become very difficult to overcome in the future.