๐ Kana / Romaji Converter
Paste Japanese text to convert hiragana to katakana, katakana to hiragana, or kana to romaji (simplified Hepburn romanization). Useful for checking furigana readings or drafting romanized text for materials aimed at an international audience.
How to use
- Choose a conversion mode (e.g. Hiragana โ Katakana).
- Paste Japanese text into the input box.
- See the result in the output box, and click "Copy" to copy it.
How the calculation works
Converting between hiragana and katakana relies on how Unicode orders them. Hiragana (ใโใ, U+3041โU+3096) and katakana (ใกโใถ, U+30A1โU+30F6) appear in the same order, exactly 0x60 (96) code points apart, so shifting by that amount converts one to the other. Romaji conversion uses simplified Hepburn. The text is first normalised to hiragana. Two-character contracted sounds (ใใ, ใใ and so on) and loanword sounds (ใใฃ, ใใก, ใดใก and so on) are matched first, then single characters. A small ใฃ doubles the next consonant (ใใฃใใ โ gakkou), and ใฃใก becomes "tchi" (ใใฃใก โ kotchi). The long-vowel mark ใผ repeats the preceding vowel (ใฉใผใกใณ โ raamen). Long vowels such as ใใ are also written with doubled vowels rather than macrons (ล). ใ is always "n", whatever follows. Strict Hepburn sometimes uses "m" before b, m and p (ใใใถใ โ shimbun).
Worked example
ใจใใใใ โ toukyou ใใฃใใ โ gakkou ใใฃใก โ kotchi ใฉใผใกใณ โ raamen ใใผใใฃใผ โ paatii ใดใกใคใชใชใณ โ vaiorin ใใใถใ โ shinbun Passport-style romanisation usually drops long vowels, writing ใจใใใใ as "TOKYO", which differs from this tool's output.
Things to be aware of
- Kanji are left unchanged โ their readings cannot be determined from the characters โ so enter text in hiragana or katakana.
- ใ is always "n": ใปใใ (bookshop) becomes honya, without the apostrophe (hon'ya) that would distinguish it from ใปใซใ.
- For anything with an official standard, such as names on passports, check against that standard.
- Converting romaji back to kana is not supported.
FAQ
What happens to kanji or other characters?
Characters that aren't hiragana or katakana (kanji, punctuation, spaces, romaji, etc.) are left unchanged and pass through as-is in all three modes.
How are long vowels handled in romaji?
This tool uses simplified Hepburn romanization: long vowels are written as double letters (e.g. ใใ becomes "ou") rather than using macrons like "ล".
How is ใ (n) handled before b/m/p sounds?
For simplicity, ใ is always romanized as "n", even before b/m/p sounds where strict Hepburn style sometimes uses "m" (e.g. "shinbun" instead of "shimbun").
Does this tool convert romaji back to kana?
No, this tool only converts hiragana โ katakana and kana โ romaji. Romaji-to-kana conversion is not supported.
Can I use this to romanize names or place names for international documents?
It can serve as a helpful reference using simplified Hepburn style, but for official use cases like passport spelling, always confirm against the specific official standard that applies.