ざじずぜぞ — The Hiragana Z Row (Dakuten): Pronunciation, Stroke Order, Practice

01

Why the Z row?

The Z row is the second of the dakuten rows: S row + ゛. The standout character is じ (ji) — same shape as し with two ticks added. It's one of the most-used kana in everyday Japanese, appearing in 時間 (jikan, "time"), 自分 (jibun, "self"), 同じ (onaji, "same"), and inside the casual copula じゃ (じゃない, "is not"). The rest of the row also unlocks key everyday words: 水 (mizu, "water" — ず), 全部 (zenbu, "everything" — ぜ), 象 (zou, "elephant" — ぞ), and the universal どうぞ (douzo, "please go ahead").

Memory trick: S row + ゛ = Z row. Write the base S-row kana exactly, then add two tick marks at the upper right. Romaji note: ji almost always = じ (not ぢ); zu almost always = ず (not づ). When in doubt, use the Z-row character.

02

Pronunciation at a glance

Kana	Romaji	Pronunciation
ざ	za	Like "za" in "pizza"
じ	ji	Like "jee" in "jeep"
ず	zu	Like "zoo"
ぜ	ze	Like "ze" in "zest"
ぞ	zo	Like "zo" in "zone"

03

Words you can read with the Z row

With every base row plus ざじずぜぞ, you unlock the most-used Z-row words in the language — time, self, water, everything, and the polite invitation どうぞ. These examples lean heavily on Z-row characters. Print these as flashcards →

ざっしzasshimagazine (uses small っ)

ざぶとんzabutonfloor cushion

かざんkazanvolcano

じかんjikantime

じぶんjibunoneself, myself

じしょjishodictionary (uses combined しょ)

おなじonajisame

みずmizuwater

ちずchizumap

すずsuzubell

ぜんぶzenbueverything, all

かぜkazewind, cold (illness)

ぞうzouelephant

なぞnazomystery, riddle

どうぞdouzoplease go ahead, here you go

04

What's next

After the Z row, the next dakuten step is the D row (だぢづでど) — the T row plus ゛. Two of its characters (ぢ for ji and づ for zu) share romaji with Z-row characters; in modern Japanese they're rare, appearing mostly in specific compound words. After D comes the B row (ばびぶべぼ) and finally the P row with the round handakuten ゜.

← Back to the G row See the full chart