Katakana Converter

A katakana converter takes English text, romaji, or hiragana and rewrites it in katakana — the Japanese script used for foreign loanwords, names, scientific terms, and emphasis. Type a word like "computer" and the converter returns コンピューター. Type romaji like "ramen" and it returns ラーメン.

Type any English word into the input box and the converter applies Japanese phonetic rules to produce katakana. Sounds that do not exist in Japanese are mapped to the closest equivalent — for example "L" becomes "R" (Laura → ラウラ), "V" becomes "B" (David → デビッド), and consonant clusters get extra vowels inserted (Smith → スミス). The result is the standard way that English words are written in Japanese.

Type romaji syllables exactly as you would pronounce them in Japanese — for example "ramen", "tokyo", or "konnichiha". The converter maps each romaji syllable to its katakana character. Use double consonants for the small tsu (gakkou → ガッコウ) and double vowels for long vowel marks (oneesan → オネーサン).

Paste any hiragana text and the converter switches it to katakana using the one-to-one mapping between the two scripts. Each hiragana character has a fixed katakana equivalent, so the conversion is exact. For a dedicated hiragana ↔ katakana switch tool, use the Hiragana to Katakana converter linked below.

Katakana is one of three Japanese writing systems alongside hiragana and kanji. It is reserved for words and names of foreign origin (コーヒー = coffee), foreign personal names (マイケル = Michael), scientific and technical terms, onomatopoeia (ドキドキ = heartbeat), and emphasis in advertising or manga. If a word came from outside Japan, it is almost always written in katakana.

Japanese has a smaller sound inventory than English, so some sounds are approximated. Common substitutions include L → R, V → B, TH → S or Z, and F → silent F or H sounds. Japanese also requires nearly every consonant to be followed by a vowel, so consonant clusters get extra vowels inserted. This is the standard convention used by Japanese speakers when writing or saying foreign names.

Yes. This tool is free, requires no signup, has no character limits, and works on mobile, tablet, and desktop. All conversion happens in your browser, so your text is never sent to a server.