BABIBUBEBO Hiragana Flashcards — Printable, Front and Back

Free Printable Hiragana Flashcards for Beginners

These BABIBUBEBO hiragana flashcards drill the B row — the fourth and final dakuten row. Adding ゛ to an H-row kana voices it: は (ha) becomes ば (ba), ひ (hi) becomes び (bi), and so on. The H row is unique in supporting both diacritics: は can become ば (B) or ぱ (P). Both diacritics replace the original H sound entirely.

You get double-sided flashcards printed on letter-size paper (8.5 × 11 inches). The front of each card shows the Japanese word in hiragana; the back shows the English meaning plus the romaji reading. The B row unlocks numerous everyday words: 番号 (bangou, number), ビール (biiru, beer), 文化 (bunka, culture), 勉強 (benkyou, study), and the verb 飛ぶ (tobu, to fly).

What's on each card?

• Front: the Japanese word written in large hiragana, with the romaji pronunciation below.
• Back: the English meaning, mirrored so it lines up with the front when you print double-sided.
• Subtle StudyHiragana.com watermark on each card so the deck stays branded after cutting.

How to print and assemble

• Click the Print button above (or press Ctrl/Cmd + P).
• Choose two-sided printing and flip on the long edge — this keeps front and back aligned.
• Use standard 8.5" × 11" letter paper. Card stock works too if you want sturdier cards.
• Cut along the dashed lines to separate the six cards on each sheet.
• Optional: laminate the cards for longer life.

How to study with hiragana flashcards

The point of beginner hiragana flashcards isn't just memorising characters — it's connecting them to real vocabulary the moment you learn them. Use the deck this way:

• Hold a card so only the front (hiragana) is visible. Read it aloud and try to recall the meaning.
• Flip the card to check. If you got it right, set it in a "knew it" pile; if not, return it to the deck.
• Shuffle and repeat until the "didn't know it" pile is empty.
• Switch directions: look at the English meaning and try to recall the hiragana spelling. This is harder but builds active recall.

Why the B row matters

The B row is grammatically and vocabularly dense. ばん appears in 番号 (bangou, "number"), 一番 (ichiban, "first / number one"), and 晩 (ban, "evening"). び appears in 美味しい (oishii, "delicious" — historically びぐ-related), the days-of-the-week suffix 曜日 (youbi, "day"), and 鼻 (hana, "nose" — uses は but compare はなび hanabi, "fireworks"). ぶ shows up in 文化 (bunka, "culture"), 部屋 (heya, "room" — but written 部屋), 豚 (buta, "pig"), and verbs ending in 〜ぶ (遊ぶ asobu "to play", 飛ぶ tobu "to fly"). べ anchors 勉強 (benkyou, "study / practice") and 弁当 (bentou, "boxed lunch"). ぼ appears in 帽子 (boushi, "hat") and 僕 (boku, "I" — used by men/boys).

Keep practising

After you've mastered these BABIBUBEBO flashcards, deepen your hiragana skills with our other free tools:

• Interactive ばびぶべぼ guide — pronunciation, stroke order, and a writing canvas to practice each character.
• Printable hiragana flashcards by character — single-character flashcard sheets for each row of the chart.
• Full hiragana chart — all 46 basic hiragana characters at a glance.
• StudyHiragana.com home — interactive practice with stroke order, recall games, and spaced repetition.