五十音 (Gojūon)

The 五十音 (Gojūon) refers to the standardized arrangement of the Japanese kana characters—hiragana and katakana—organized in a grid based on their consonant and vowel sounds. It consists of 50 sounds, covering all basic syllables, such as 'a', 'ka', 'sa', 'ta', etc. This system serves as a foundational chart for learning pronunciation, reading, and writing in Japanese, much like an alphabet. It helps learners memorize characters and understand how sounds combine systematically within the language.