ha / ハ
The first of the H row — “ha” in two splayed strokes, straight from the kanji 八 (eight). Opens heart, ham, and hamburger.
Pronunciation
The character ハ represents the syllable 'ha', identical in pronunciation to hiragana は. Common in loanwords for heart, ham, hamburger, hotel-related compounds, and many proper nouns.
ハ is the katakana twin of hiragana は (as a sound — “ha”). It opens loanwords like ハート (heart), ハム (ham), ハンバーガー (hamburger), ハウス (house). Its two parting strokes are the kanji 八 (eight) almost unchanged.
How to write ハ
Trace ハ 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 diagonal stroke from the upper centre, slanting down to the lower left.
A second diagonal beside it, splaying down to the lower right — the two strokes part like the kanji 八 (eight).
Origin
Katakana ハ comes from the kanji 八 (ha / hachi, “eight”). Its two splayed strokes are 八 itself, barely changed — one of the most direct katakana origins.
Common words starting with ハ
Printable practice sheet
Print this worksheet to practice writing ハ 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.