ru / ル
The middle of the R row — “ru” in two strokes with an upward flick. Same sound as hiragana る, ending hotel, table, and rule.
Pronunciation
The character ル represents the syllable 'ru', identical in pronunciation to hiragana る. Extremely common as the ending of loanwords — table, hotel, handle, alcohol, file, hall, rule, room, and countless others.
ル shares hiragana る's sound — a soft “ru.” It ends a huge number of loanwords because English words in “-le,” “-l,” and “-r” often map to ル: ホテル (hotel), テーブル (table), ルール (rule), ルーム (room). Its shape is a fragment of the kanji 流.
How to write ル
Trace ル 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 stroke from the upper centre curving down to the lower left.
A second stroke on the right, dropping down then turning up and out to the right — an upward flick at the end.
Origin
Katakana ル comes from the kanji 流 (ru / ryū, “to flow”). Its lower-right strokes — including that upward flick — became ル.
Common words starting with ル
Printable practice sheet
Print this worksheet to practice writing ル 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.