ni / ニ
The second N-row katakana — “ni,” two simple bars. It looks exactly like the kanji 二 (two), but its real source is 仁.
Pronunciation
The character ニ represents the syllable 'ni', identical in pronunciation to hiragana に. Common in loanwords for news, menu, tennis, vanilla, and many compounds.
ニ matches hiragana に — a short “ni.” It opens ニュース (news) and appears in メニュー (menu), テニス (tennis), バニラ (vanilla). Two clean bars make it one of the easiest katakana to write — though it's easy to confuse on sight with the kanji 二 (two).
How to write ニ
Trace ニ 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 short horizontal stroke up top, left to right.
A longer horizontal stroke below it, left to right. Two bars — identical in look to the kanji 二 (two).
Origin
Katakana ニ comes from the kanji 仁 (ni, “benevolence”) — specifically its right-hand 二 element. That shared element is why ニ looks exactly like the kanji 二 (“two”), even though its true source is 仁.
Common words starting with ニ
Printable practice sheet
Print this worksheet to practice writing ニ 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.