ga / ガ
The first of the G row — カ with a dakuten (゛) becomes “ga.” Opens gas, gasoline, and guide.
Pronunciation
The character ガ represents the syllable 'ga'. It is カ with the dakuten — two small marks at the upper right that voice the consonant from 'k' to 'g'. Common in loanwords for gas, glass, garage, etc.
ガ is カ (ka) plus the dakuten ゛ — two small ticks at the upper right that voice the “k” into a hard “g.” It opens loanwords like ガス (gas), ガソリン (gasoline), ガイド (guide), ガラス (glass).
How to write ガ
Trace ガ 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 カ exactly: a stroke across the top that curves down to the centre, then a diagonal cutting from the top down to the lower left.
Add the dakuten (゛): two small ticks at the upper right — stroke 3 the upper tick, stroke 4 the lower, sitting clearly above the body as a separate mark.
Origin
Katakana ガ shares its shape with カ, which was taken from the left side of the kanji 加 (ka, “to add”). The dakuten ゛ is not part of the original kana — it's a later mark that voices the consonant from “k” to “g.”
Common words starting with ガ
Printable practice sheet
Print this worksheet to practice writing ガ by hand — the top row shows the stroke order to trace, then fill the blank squares.
Lock it into memory
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