How to write え (e) in hiragana
え (e) is one of the five vowels that open the chart; every kana syllable except ん ends in one of them. It grew out of the cursive form of the kanji 衣 (“garment”). Its two strokes begin at the top, heading rightwards then down and left, and the last one finishes at the bottom right. Words that start with it include 映画 (“movie”), 援助 (“assistance”), 影響 (“influence”) and 絵 (“picture”).
- Romaji
- e
- Strokes
- 2
- From
- 衣
- Katakana
- エ
Stroke by stroke
- 1
- 2
- toprightwards → down and left
- leftrightwards → down and left → up and right
Where え comes from
- Hiragana
- 衣, cursive of the whole kanji
- Katakana
- エ from 江
The two scripts took this sound from different kanji, 衣 (“garment”) and 江 (“creek”).
Trace it
Follow the numbers. Tracing help
Words with え
685 common JMdict words with it; ten shown.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 映画 | えいが eiga | movie; film |
| 援助 | えんじょ enjo | assistance; aid |
| 影響 | えいきょう eikyou | influence; effect |
| 絵 | え e | picture; drawing |
| 英語 | えいご eigo | English (language) |
| 選ぶ | えらぶ erabu | to choose; to select |
| 衛星 | えいせい eisei | (natural) satellite; moon |
| 映像 | えいぞう eizou | image (on a screen); picture |
| 演説 | えんぜつ enzetsu | speech; address |
| 円高 | えんだか endaka | appreciation of the yen; strong yen |
Practice sheet
Print at 100%. Several kana: worksheet maker.
Keep going
Hiragana, in chart order: