How to write ら (ra) in hiragana
ら (ra) has no voiced form. It grew out of the cursive form of the kanji 良 (“good”). Its two strokes begin at the top left, heading rightwards then down and left, and the last one finishes at the bottom. Words that start with it include 来年 (“next year”), 来月 (“next month”), 来日 (“coming to Japan”) and 来 (“next (year, spring, etc.)”).
- Romaji
- ra
- Strokes
- 2
- From
- 良
- Katakana
- ラ
Stroke by stroke
- 1
- 2
- top leftrightwards → down and left
- top leftdownwards → rightwards → down and left
Where ら comes from
- Hiragana
- 良, cursive of the whole kanji
- Katakana
- ラ from 良
Here both scripts start from the same kanji, 良 (“good”).
Look-alikes
Trace it
Follow the numbers. Tracing help
Words with ら
616 common JMdict words with it; ten shown.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 来年 | らいねん rainen | next year |
| 来月 | らいげつ raigetsu | next month |
| 来日 | らいにち rainichi | coming to Japan; visit to Japan |
| 来 | らい rai | next (year, spring, etc.); coming |
| 来春 | らいしゅん raishun | next spring |
| 欄 | らん ran | section; column |
| 来週 | らいしゅう raishuu | next week |
| 楽観 | らっかん rakkan | optimism; taking an optimistic view |
| 落語 | らくご rakugo | rakugo; traditional Japanese comic storytelling |
| 乱用 | らんよう ran'you | abuse; misuse |
Practice sheet
Print at 100%. Several kana: worksheet maker.
Keep going
Hiragana, in chart order: