How do I convert hiragana to katakana?
Each hiragana character and its katakana counterpart share the same relative position in Unicode, offset by a fixed amount (0x60), so converting is a matter of shifting every kana character by that offset while leaving non-kana characters — kanji, punctuation, Latin letters — untouched.
This tool handles the full syllabary including small kana (ゃゅょ / ャュョ), the rare vu sound (ゔ / ヴ), and the small ka/ke used in place names (ゕゖ / ヵヶ); the long-vowel mark (ー) and iteration marks pass through unchanged since usage varies.
How do I convert hiragana text to katakana?
Shift the character code of every hiragana letter up by a fixed offset of 0x60 (96 in decimal) to land on its katakana counterpart, since the two syllabaries occupy parallel Unicode blocks in the same order. Example: ひらがな (hiragana, U+3072 U+3089 U+304C U+306A) becomes ヒラガナ by adding 0x60 to each character.
Steps to convert hiragana to katakana
- Read each character of the input text one at a time.
- If the character falls in the hiragana range (ぁ through ゖ, U+3041-U+3096), add 0x60 to its character code to get the katakana equivalent.
- Also convert the hiragana iteration marks ゝ and ゞ to their katakana forms ヽ and ヾ the same way.
- Leave the long vowel mark (ー), full-width space, punctuation, kanji, and any non-hiragana character unchanged.
- Join the converted characters back into a single string in the original order.
The character-code formula
katakana code = hiragana code + 0x60 | hiragana code = katakana code - 0x60 (applies to U+3041-U+3096 <-> U+30A1-U+30F6)
- 0x60 (96 decimal) = the fixed Unicode offset between the hiragana and katakana blocks
- ー (long vowel mark, U+30FC) has no hiragana equivalent and is left unchanged in both directions
Example conversions
| Hiragana | Katakana |
|---|
| ひらがな | ヒラガナ |
| ゔぁいうえお | ヴァイウエオ |
| きょう | キョウ |
| とうきょう | トウキョウ |
Frequently asked questions
Does this tool convert the long vowel mark (ー) correctly?
The long vowel mark ー is technically outside the range that has a hiragana equivalent, so this tool passes it through unchanged in both directions — it looks the same whether the surrounding text is hiragana or katakana.
What about small kana like ゃ, ゅ, ょ or ッ?
Small kana are included in the same Unicode blocks as their full-size counterparts and convert with the same 0x60 offset, so きゃ becomes キャ and っ becomes ッ correctly, preserving compound sounds and the small tsu (glottal stop).
Does it handle the rare ゔ (vu) sound?
Yes. ゔ (hiragana vu) and ヴ (katakana vu) are both officially assigned Unicode characters at the same 0x60 offset, so they convert correctly even though ゔ is rarely typed in everyday hiragana.
Will this convert kanji or romaji too?
No. Only characters in the hiragana and katakana Unicode blocks are converted; kanji, Latin letters, numbers, and punctuation pass through unchanged since they don't have a hiragana/katakana counterpart.
This tool converts standard hiragana and katakana characters (including small kana and the vu sound) using their fixed Unicode offset; it does not convert kanji to kana (furigana generation) or romanize text, and the long vowel mark passes through unchanged in both directions.