Let’s look at the grid. It has 6 rows and 7 columns, making 42 boxes total. Each box contains one Japanese character — either hiragana (like あ、い、う) or katakana (like ア、イ、ウ).
We are going to count how many of each type there are.
Step 1: Count all the hiragana characters.
Hiragana are the cursive-style letters like あ、い、う、え、お、か、き、く、け、こ、さ、し、す、せ、そ、た、ち、つ、て、と、な、に、ぬ、ね、の、は、ひ、ふ、へ、ほ、ま、み、む、め、も、や、ゆ、よ、ら、り、る、れ、ろ、わ、を、ん.
Looking row by row:
Row 1: あ、い、く、ち、ぬ、み、よ → all hiragana → 7
Row 2: う、え、こ、て、の、め、り → all hiragana → 7
Row 3: お、か、し、な、ひ、や、れ → all hiragana → 7
Row 4: ア、イ、ク、ト、ミ、ヨ、ガ → all katakana → 0 hiragana
Row 5: ウ、エ、タ、ニ、メ、シ、グ → all katakana → 0 hiragana
Row 6: オ、カ、ツ、ネ、ヤ、セ、ー → all katakana → 0 hiragana
So total hiragana = 7 + 7 + 7 = 21
Step 2: Count all the katakana characters.
Katakana are the angular-style letters like ア、イ、ウ、エ、オ、カ、キ、ク、ケ、コ、サ、シ、ス、セ、ソ、タ、チ、ツ、テ、ト、ナ、ニ、ヌ、ネ、ノ、ハ、ヒ、フ、ヘ、ホ、マ、ミ、ム、メ、モ、ヤ、ユ、ヨ、ラ、リ、ル、レ、ロ、ワ、ヲ、ン、ー.
Rows 4, 5, and 6 are all katakana:
Row 4: 7 characters
Row 5: 7 characters
Row 6: 7 characters
Total katakana = 7 + 7 + 7 = 21
Wait — let’s double-check Row 6 last character: it’s “ー” which is a long vowel mark used in katakana. So yes, it counts as katakana.
Also, check if any mixed rows? No — first 3 rows pure hiragana, last 3 rows pure katakana.
Total characters: 6 rows × 7 columns = 42
Hiragana: 21
Katakana: 21
That adds up correctly.
Final Answer:
There are 21 hiragana characters and 21 katakana characters.
Parent Tip: Review the logic above to help your child master the concept of printable japanese alphabet flash cards.
