da / ダ
The first of the D row — タ with a dakuten (゛) becomes “da.” Opens dance, down, and diet.
Pronunciation
The character ダ represents the syllable 'da'. It is タ with the dakuten that voices 't' to 'd'. Common in loanwords for dance, diamond, double, and country names like Canada.
ダ is タ (ta) plus the dakuten ゛ — two ticks that voice “t” into “d.” It opens loanwords like ダンス (dance), ダイヤ (diamond), ダウン (down), ダイエット (diet), and ends カナダ (Canada).
How to write ダ
Trace ダ 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.
Write タ exactly: a short diagonal from the top down to the left, a longer stroke sweeping right and down, then a short inner diagonal.
Add the dakuten (゛): two small ticks at the upper right — strokes 4 and 5 — sitting above the body as a separate mark.
Origin
Katakana ダ shares its shape with タ, taken from the kanji 多 (ta, “many”). The dakuten ゛ is a later mark that voices “ta” into “da.”
Common words starting with ダ
Printable practice sheet
Print this worksheet to practice writing ダ by hand — the top row shows the stroke order to trace, then fill the blank squares.
Lock it into memory
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