In Hiragana each character ( kana ) is either a vowel ( such as `` a '' : ã ) ; a consonant followed by a vowel ( such as `` ka '' : ã ) ; or , at the end of a syllable , an `` n '' : ( ã `` ) , although sometimes this sounds more like an â mâ or â ngâ . Hiragana and katakana are both kana systems , in which each character represents one mora . Each kana is either a vowel such as `` a '' ( ã ) ; a consonant followed by a vowel such as `` ka '' ( ã ) ; or `` n '' ( ã `` ) , a nasal sonorant which , depending on the context , sounds either like English m , n , or ng , or like the nasal vowels of French .