ヘ (he)
Pronunciation
The character ヘ represents the syllable 'he', identical in pronunciation to hiragana へ. Note that katakana ヘ and hiragana へ look almost identical — context tells you which writing system you're in. Common in loanwords for hair, helmet, helicopter, and many compounds.
Stroke-by-Stroke Guide
ヘ is written in a single stroke. Begin in the lower left, sweep up and to the right in a smooth diagonal that peaks in the upper middle, then sweep down and to the right in a longer diagonal. The shape is an inverted 'V' with the right side longer than the left — visually almost identical to hiragana へ.
Common Words with ヘ
- ヘア (hea) — hair
- ヘアスタイル (heasutairu) — hairstyle
- ヘリコプター (herikoputaa) — helicopter
- ヘルメット (herumetto) — helmet
- ヘビー (hebii) — heavy (in compounds)
- ヘッドホン (heddohon) — headphones
- ヘアカット (heakatto) — haircut
- ヘルプ (herupu) — help
- ヘアブラシ (heaburashi) — hairbrush
- ヘリ (heri) — helicopter (short)
- ヘアバンド (heabando) — hair band
How to Write ヘ (he) in Katakana
The katakana character ヘ is romanized as "he" and is written with 1 stroke. Like "he" in "help". Example word: ヘリコプター (herikoputaa) — helicopter.
Stroke Order for ヘ
When writing ヘ, follow the numbered stroke order shown in the reference character above. Japanese characters are generally written from left to right and top to bottom. Correct stroke order improves readability and writing speed.
Practice Tips
- Print this sheet on standard 8.5" × 11" letter paper
- Start by tracing the light grey guide characters in the first column
- Then practice writing ヘ freehand in the empty squares
- Pay attention to stroke direction and order — follow the numbered guide
- For interactive practice with animations, visit the main study page
About Katakana
Katakana is one of the three Japanese writing systems. It consists of 46 basic characters, each representing a syllable. Katakana is used for foreign loanwords, scientific terms, and emphasis. Learning correct stroke order is essential for proper Japanese handwriting.