Hiragana Letter I

The Hiragana Letter I at U+3044 is the standard Japanese hiragana kana for the mora i, pronounced like the vowel in “machine.” It sits in the Hiragana block and is one of the five basic vowel kana used throughout ordinary Japanese writing. In real Japanese text, い appears in native words, grammatical endings, and words normally written without kanji. Common examples include いぬ for “dog,” いい for “good,” and the adjective ending in words such as あかい, “red.” It can also function as part of inflection, especially in i-adjectives, where the final い is a grammatical marker as well as a sound. It is a core character in Japanese education and reference order, appearing second in the traditional vowel sequence あいうえお. Learners encounter it early in kana charts, handwriting drills, dictionaries, and Japanese input systems. The same sound is written with katakana イ in loanwords, emphasis, and many technical contexts, while hiragana い is the usual choice for native-looking Japanese text. It should not be confused with the smaller ぃ, which changes how nearby kana combine in loanword-style spellings.