How to write は (ha) in hiragana
は (ha) turns into ば (ba) and ぱ (pa) with the voicing marks. It grew out of the cursive form of the kanji 波 (“waves”). Its three strokes begin at the top left, heading downwards then upwards, and the last one finishes at the bottom right. Words that start with it include 八 (“eight”), 初 (“first”), 花 (“flower”) and 母 (“mother”).
- Romaji
- ha
- Strokes
- 3
- From
- 波
- Katakana
- ハ
Stroke by stroke
- 1
- 2
- 3
- top leftdownwards → upwards
- toprightwards
- top rightdownwards → rightwards
Where は comes from
- Hiragana
- 波, cursive of the whole kanji
- Katakana
- ハ from 八
The two scripts took this sound from different kanji, 波 (“waves”) and 八 (“eight”).
Look-alikes
Trace it
Follow the numbers. Tracing help
With voicing marks
Base kana first, then the marks at the top right.
Words with は
790 common JMdict words with it; ten shown.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 八 | はち hachi | eight; 8 |
| 初 | はつ hatsu | first; new |
| 花 | はな hana | flower; blossom |
| 母 | はは haha | mother |
| 春 | はる haru | spring; springtime |
| 派遣 | はけん haken | dispatch; despatch |
| 話 | はなし hanashi | talk; speech |
| 背景 | はいけい haikei | background; scenery |
| 八月 | はちがつ hachigatsu | August; eighth month of the lunar calendar |
| 発言 | はつげん hatsugen | statement; remark |
Practice sheet
Print at 100%. Several kana: worksheet maker.
Keep going
Hiragana, in chart order: