go / ゴ
The last of the G row — コ with a dakuten becomes “go.” Opens golf, goal, and gorilla.
Pronunciation
The character ゴ represents the syllable 'go'. It is コ with the dakuten that voices 'k' to 'g'. Common in sports loanwords (golf, goal) and many others.
ゴ is コ (ko) plus the dakuten ゛. It opens loanwords like ゴルフ (golf), ゴール (goal), ゴリラ (gorilla), ゴム (rubber). Same boxy コ shape, voiced to “go.”
How to write ゴ
Trace ゴ 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 コ exactly: a stroke across the top that turns down the right side, then a horizontal closing the bottom.
Add the dakuten (゛): two small ticks at the upper right — strokes 3 and 4 — sitting above the body as a separate mark.
Origin
Katakana ゴ shares its shape with コ, taken from the top of the kanji 己 (ko, “self”). The dakuten ゛ voices “ko” into “go.”
Common words starting with ゴ
Printable practice sheet
Print this worksheet to practice writing ゴ 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 katakana you’ve learned with spaced-repetition flashcards — the fastest way to make them stick.