Katakana Letter Ko

The Katakana Letter Ko at U+30B3 represents the Japanese mora ko, pronounced with a short “o” vowel as in romaji ko. It belongs to the Katakana block and is one of the basic Japanese katakana syllabary letters used for writing sound-based Japanese text. In modern Japanese, コ appears mainly in loanwords, foreign names, brand names, and technical terms written in katakana. Common examples include コーヒー for “coffee,” コンピューター for “computer,” and コンサート for “concert,” where it records the ko sound at the start of a borrowed word or adapted pronunciation. It is also used in native Japanese contexts when katakana is chosen for emphasis, sound effects, species names, or a clipped, graphic style in advertising and manga. In dictionaries, language study materials, and transliteration, コ is paired with hiragana こ as the katakana form of the same mora. Because its shape is made of simple angular strokes, コ can be confused by learners with similar katakana such as ユ or ロ, especially in small type or handwriting. Correct reading depends on stroke arrangement and surrounding kana rather than on shape alone.