gu / グ
The middle of the G row — ク with a dakuten becomes “gu.” Opens group, glass, and green.
Pronunciation
The character グ represents the syllable 'gu'. It is ク with the dakuten that voices 'k' to 'g'. Common in loanwords (group, glass for drinks, green, grey).
グ is ク (ku) plus the dakuten ゛. It opens loanwords like グループ (group), グラス (drinking glass), グリーン (green), グレー (grey). Same sweeping ク shape, voiced to “gu.”
How to write グ
Trace グ on the canvas at the top of the page. Animated arrows show each stroke's direction; trace along them and the stroke fills in. Each numbered step below explains what that stroke does.
Write ク exactly: a short diagonal from the top down to the left, then a longer stroke sweeping right and curving down to the lower left.
Add the dakuten (゛): two small ticks at the upper right — strokes 3 and 4 — sitting above the body as a separate mark.
Origin
Katakana グ shares its shape with ク, taken from the upper part of the kanji 久 (ku, “a long time”). The dakuten ゛ voices “ku” into “gu.”
Common words starting with グ
Printable practice sheet
Print this worksheet to practice writing グ by hand — the top row shows the stroke order to trace, then fill the blank squares.
Lock it into memory
Reading is only half of it. Write the katakana you’ve learned from memory in the trainer — the ones you struggle with come back sooner, until they stick.