ri / リ
The second R-row katakana — “ri” in two strokes. Same sound as hiragana り, and nearly the same shape too.
Pronunciation
The character リ represents the syllable 'ri', identical in pronunciation to hiragana り. Common in loanwords for Paris, list, ribbon, remote control, leader, real, and many compounds.
リ matches hiragana り — and looks almost like it, just more angular. It opens loanwords like リスト (list), リボン (ribbon), リーダー (leader), and appears in パリ (Paris). Its two strokes come from the right side of the kanji 利.
How to write リ
Trace リ 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 vertical stroke on the left, dropping straight down.
A longer stroke on the right, descending and curving in toward the left at the bottom.
Origin
Katakana リ comes from the right side of the kanji 利 (ri, “profit” or “advantage”) — its 刂 “blade” element. That single component became リ.
Common words starting with リ
Printable practice sheet
Print this worksheet to practice writing リ 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.