i / い
The second of the five vowels — a tight, short 'i' that anchors the い-row. Two simple strokes, one of the easiest hiragana to write.
Pronunciation
The character い represents the vowel 'i', pronounced like the 'ee' in 'feet' or 'machine' (but shorter and crisper). It is one of the five basic Japanese vowels. The sound is short and clean — never drawn out unless explicitly doubled (いい).
い sits second in the vowel sequence あいうえお and anchors the い-row (き, し, ち, に…). Doubled (いい — meaning “good”) it holds for two beats — a sound you'll hear constantly in everyday Japanese.
How to write い
Trace い on the canvas at the top of the page. Animated arrows show each stroke's direction; trace along them and the stroke fills in. Each numbered step below explains what that stroke does.
A short curved line on the left. Draw top to bottom with a gentle hook to the lower right at the end.
A shorter vertical stroke on the right, slanted slightly. The two strokes are roughly parallel — stroke 1 is taller and curves; stroke 2 is short and straight.
Origin
Hiragana い comes from the cursive form of the kanji 以 (i) — meaning “by means of” or “with.” Heian-era scribes simplified its angular strokes into two slim vertical marks; the modern shape preserves the kanji's left-right balance but loses its complexity.
Common words starting with い
Printable practice sheet
Print this worksheet to practice writing い by hand — the top row shows the stroke order to trace, then fill the blank squares.
Lock it into memory
Reading is only half of it. Drill the hiragana you’ve learned with spaced-repetition flashcards — the fastest way to make them stick.