This is a partial table of katakana. This shows the basic characters.  The  pronunciation is given above each character.  See the pronunciation page for more information on how to pronounce the sounds. 

To see how to write each of the katakana go here.

These are the characters used to form words that have foreign origins.  Non-Japanese names are written in katakana.  Sometimes it is also used as a replacement for "difficult" kanji or for emphasis. Animal and fruit names are often written in katakana for these reasons.

Katakana is like hiragana in that every basic character has the exact same sound as its name. However, since there are more sounds in foreign words than in Japanese, katakana has more characters and combinations than hiragana does.

Together, hiragana and katakana are called the 'kana.'