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[ カ タ カ ナ - k a t a k a n a ]

The Katakana Gojuuonzu

New Sounds
In order to produce sounds not used in native Japanese words, import words often use extra sounds like those listed below.

Long Vowels in Katakana
Long vowels in katakana are quite a bit simpler than in hiragana. Ei is still often written as an e followed by a i, but all other vowels are almost always written using the long vowel mark ー.

Ar, Er, and Or
When writing the English suffixes 'ar' and 'er,' and 'or' when pronounced as in 'doctor,' in katakana, they are written as aa, e.g. doctor becomes (dokutaa).

Common Words
The nicest thing about katakana is that after learning it it's usually quite easy to figure out what an imported word is supposed to be. Some prime examples are below.

-- a-me-ri-ka -- America -- ba-su-ke-t-to-bo-o-ru -- basketball
-- i-gi-ri-su -- England -- sa-k-ka-a -- soccer
-- fu-ra-n-su -- France -- pa-ri -- Paris
-- su-pe-i-n -- Spain -- da-n-su -- dance
-- o-o-su-to-ra-ri-a -- Australia      -- ka-n-ga-ru-u -- kangaroo
-- do-i-tsu -- Germany -- fu-ku-ro-u -- owl
-- me-ki-shi-ko -- Mexico -- sa-bo-te-n -- cactus
-- ka-na-da -- Canada -- su-ki-i -- skiing
-- a-fu-ri-ka -- Africa -- sa-ba-n-na -- savanna
-- a-ji-a -- Asia -- pa-n-da -- panda
-- yo-o-ro-p-pa -- Europe -- ra-gu-bi-i -- rugby
-- ko-o-hi-i -- coffee -- mi-ru-ku -- milk
-- me-e-to-ru -- meter(s) -- ki-ro -- kilogram, kilometer
-- pa-a-ti-i -- party -- ge-e-mu -- game
-- to-i-re -- toilet, bathroom -- sha-wa-a -- shower

Onward! →