Re Ro

Katakana 1

Chapter 17 · Re Ro

🌿 Finishing the R Row — レロ

Two characters complete the R row: レ (re) and ロ (ro). Both are simple shapes, and between them you can read トイレ (toilet), possibly the most useful katakana word in Japan. Romaji is shown for everything.

✨ Your Two New Characters — レロ

レ

the same tap, then "eh"

1 strokes · stroke order ▸

Memory hook: a check mark: a re-check. One stroke, a straight stem that kicks out at the bottom. Hiragana twin: れ.

ロ

the same tap, then "oh"

3 strokes · stroke order ▸

Memory hook: a room: a square box with four walls. It comes from the kanji 口 (kuchi, "mouth"). Hiragana twin: ろ.

Katakana	Hiragana twin	Romaji
レ	れ	re
ロ	ろ	ro

🔤 The Complete R Row

ra	ri	ru	re	ro
ラ	リ	ル	レ	ロ
ら	り	る	れ	ろ

Top row katakana, bottom row hiragana: say each pair aloud.

Look-Alikes: レ and ル, ロ and 口レ (re) has one stroke, and ル (ru), from the last chapter, has two: count them. And ロ (ro) is almost identical to the kanji 口 (kuchi, "mouth"), which is where it comes from. In a katakana word it's always ro.

📖 Read It — Real Words

#	Word	Romaji	English	Note
1	カレー	karē	curry	ka-re-e
2	トイレ	toire	toilet	to-i-re: you'll want this one in Japan
3	ロシア	Roshia	Russia	ro-shi-a
4	ヒーロー	hīrō	hero	hi-i-ro-o: four beats
5	ローマ	Rōma	Rome	ro-o-ma
6	レース	rēsu	race; lace	re-e-su
7	レター	retā	letter	re-ta-a
8	リレー	rirē	relay	ri-re-e
9	ソロ	soro	solo	so-ro
10	コロナ	korona	corona	ko-ro-na
11	レシート	reshīto	receipt	re-shi-i-to: four beats
12	アロエ	aroe	aloe	a-ro-e

Curry Look at カレー: curry arrived in Japan from Britain, not India, and it has become one of the country's favourite everyday meals, カレーライス (curry rice). Japanese people eat it so often that it's sometimes called a national dish, even though the name itself is a borrowed word. Katakana is a window onto what a country has adopted from elsewhere.

✍️ Try It Yourself — れんしゅう

Say each answer out loud first, then click to check.

1. Read aloud: レ · ロ · ラ · リ · ル

Show answer

re · ro · ra · ri · ru

2. Read aloud and translate: カレー · トイレ

Show answer

karē (curry) · toire (toilet)

3. Read aloud and translate: ロシア · ローマ · ヒーロー

Show answer

Roshia (Russia) · Rōma (Rome) · hīrō (hero)

4. Read aloud and translate: レシート · リレー · ソロ

Show answer

reshīto (receipt) · rirē (relay) · soro (solo)

5. How can you tell レ from ル?

Show answer

レ has one stroke; ル has two.

6. Write in katakana: karē · toire · Rōma (check the stroke order).

Show answer

カレー · トイレ · ローマ

Coming Up in Chapter 5 The last chapter of the course: ワヲン (wa, wo, n). You'll read ワイン (wine), ラーメン (ramen), レモン (lemon) and レストラン (restaurant), meet the final look-alike pair ソ and ン, and finish with a Course Complete recap.

Re Ro

🌿 Finishing the R Row — レ ロ

✨ Your Two New Characters — レ ロ

🔤 The Complete R Row

📖 Read It — Real Words

✍️ Try It Yourself — れんしゅう

🌿 Finishing the R Row — レロ

✨ Your Two New Characters — レロ