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Wikipedia

Kana

Kana (仮名, Japanese pronunciation: [kana]) are syllabaries used to write Japanese phonological units, morae. Such syllabaries include (1) the original kana, or magana (真仮名, literally 'true kana'),[2] which were Chinese characters (kanji) used phonetically to transcribe Japanese, the most prominent magana system being man'yōgana (万葉仮名); the two descendants of man'yōgana, (2) hiragana (ひら),[3] and (3) katakana (カタ). There are also hentaigana (変体仮名, literally 'variant kana'), which are historical variants of the now-standard hiragana. In current usage, 'kana' can simply mean hiragana and katakana.

Kana
Script type
Time period
c. 800 CE to the present
DirectionVertical right-to-left, left-to-right 
RegionJapan
LanguagesJapanese, Ryukyuan languages, Hachijō, Ainu, Palauan[1]
Related scripts
Parent systems
ISO 15924
ISO 15924Hrkt (412), ​Japanese syllabaries (alias for Hiragana + Katakana)
Unicode
Unicode alias
Katakana or Hiragana
  • U+3040 – U+309F Hiragana
  • U+30A0 – U+30FF Katakana
 This article contains phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA. For the distinction between [ ], / / and  , see IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters.

Katakana, with a few additions, are also used to write Ainu. A number of systems exist to write the Ryūkyūan languages, in particular Okinawan, in hiragana. Taiwanese kana were used in Taiwanese Hokkien as glosses (ruby text or furigana) for Chinese characters in Taiwan when it was under Japanese rule.

Each kana character (syllabogram) corresponds to one sound or whole syllable in the Japanese language, unlike kanji regular script, which corresponds to a meaning (logogram). Apart from the five vowels, it is always CV (consonant onset with vowel nucleus), such as ka, ki, sa, shi, etc., with the sole exception of the C grapheme for nasal codas usually romanised as n. The structure has led some scholars to label the system moraic, instead of syllabic, because it requires the combination of two syllabograms to represent a CVC syllable with coda (e.g. CVn, CVm, CVng), a CVV syllable with complex nucleus (i.e. multiple or expressively long vowels), or a CCV syllable with complex onset (i.e. including a glide, CyV, CwV).

The limited number of phonemes in Japanese, as well as the relatively rigid syllable structure, makes the kana system a very accurate representation of spoken Japanese.

Etymology edit

'Kana' is a compound of kari (, 'borrowed; assumed; false') and na (, 'name'), which eventually collapsed into kanna and ultimately 'kana'.[2]

Today it is generally assumed that 'kana' were considered "false" kanji due to their purely phonetic nature, as opposed to mana (真名) which were "true" kanji used for their meanings. Yet originally, mana and kana were purely calligraphic terms with mana referring to Chinese characters written in the regular script (kaisho) and kana referring to those written in the cursive (sōsho) style (see hiragana). It was not until the 18th century that the early-nationalist kokugaku movement which wanted to move away from Sinocentric academia began to reanalyze the script from a phonological point of view.[4] In the following centuries, contrary to the traditional Sinocentric view, kana began to be considered a national Japanese writing system that was distinct from Chinese characters, which is the dominant view today.

Terms edit

Although the term 'kana' is now commonly understood as hiragana and katakana, it actually has broader application as listed below:[2]

  • Kana (仮名, false name) or kana (仮字, false character): a syllabary.
    • Magana (真仮名, true kana) or otokogana (男仮名, men's kana): phonetic kanji used as syllabary characters, historically used by men (who were more educated).
      • Man'yōgana (万葉仮名, kana used in the Man'yōshū): the most prominent system of magana.
        • Sōgana (草仮名, sloppy kana): cursive man'yōgana.
          • Hiragana (平仮名, flat kana), onnagana (女仮名, women's kana), onnamoji (女文字, women's script), onnade (女手, women's hands) or irohagana (伊呂波仮名): a syllabary derived from simplified sōgana, historically used by women (who were less educated), historically sorted in Iroha order.
            • Hentaigana (変体仮名, variant kana) or itaigana (異体仮名): obsolete variants of hiragana.
        • Katakana (片仮名, fragmented kana) or gojūongana (五十音仮名, fifty-sound kana): a syllabary derived by using bits of characters in man'yōgana, historically sorted in gojūon order.
        • Yamatogana (大和仮名, Yamato's kana): hiragana and katakana, as opposed to kanji.
      • Ongana (音仮名, sound kana): magana for transcribing Japanese words, using, strict or loose, Chinese-derived readings (on'yomi). For example, yama (, mountain) would be spelt as 也末, with two magana with on'yomi for ya and ma; likewise, hito (, human) spelt as 比登 for hi and to.
      • Kungana (訓仮名, learned kana): magana for transcribing Japanese words, using native words ascribed to kanji (native "readings" or kun'yomi). For example, Yamato (大和) would be spelt as 八間跡, with three magana with kun'yomi for ya, ma and to; likewise, natsukashi (懐かし, evoking nostalgia) spelt as 夏樫 for natsu and kashi.
  • Mana (真名, true name), mana (真字, true character), otokomoji (男文字, men's script) or otokode (男手, men's hands): kanji used for meanings, historically used by men (who were more educated).
  • Shinkatakana (真片仮名, mana and katakana): mixed script including only kanji and katakana.

Hiragana and katakana edit

The following table reads, in gojūon order, as a, i, u, e, o (down first column), then ka, ki, ku, ke, ko (down second column), and so on. n appears on its own at the end. Asterisks mark unused combinations.

  • There are presently no kana for ye, yi or wu, as corresponding syllables do not occur natively in modern Japanese.
    • The [jɛ] (ye) sound is believed to have existed in pre-Classical Japanese, mostly before the advent of kana, and can be represented by the man'yōgana kanji 江.[5][6] There was an archaic Hiragana ( )[7] derived from the man'yōgana ye kanji 江,[5] which is encoded into Unicode at code point U+1B001 (𛀁),[8][9] but it is not widely supported. It is believed that e and ye first merged to ye before shifting back to e during the Edo period.[6] As demonstrated by 17th century-era European sources, the syllable we (ゑ・ヱ ) also came to be pronounced as [jɛ] (ye).[10] If necessary, the modern orthography allows [je] (ye) to be written as いぇ (イェ),[11] but this usage is limited and nonstandard.
    • The modern Katakana e, エ, derives from the man'yōgana 江, originally pronounced ye;[7] a "Katakana letter Archaic E" ( ) derived from the man'yōgana 衣 (e)[7] is encoded into Unicode at code point U+1B000 (𛀀),[8] due to being used for that purpose in scholarly works on classical Japanese.[12]
    • Some gojūon tables published during the 19th century list additional Katakana in the ye ( ), wu ( ) and yi ( ) positions.[13] These are not presently used, and the latter two sounds never existed in Japanese.[6][14] They were added to Unicode in version 14.0 in 2021.[15] These sources also list   (Unicode U+1B006, 𛀆) in the Hiragana yi position, and   in the ye position.[13]
  • Although removed from the standard orthography with the gendai kanazukai reforms, wi and we still see stylistic use, as in ウヰスキー for whisky and ヱビス or ゑびす for Japanese kami Ebisu, and Yebisu, a brand of beer named after Ebisu. Hiragana wi and we are preserved in certain Okinawan scripts, while katakana wi and we are preserved in the Ainu language.
  • wo is preserved only as the accusative particle, normally occurring only in hiragana.
  • si, ti, tu, hu, wi, we and wo are usually romanized respectively as shi, chi, tsu, fu, i, e and o instead, according to contemporary pronunciation.
  • the sokuon or small tsu (っ/ッ) indicates gemination and is romanized by repeating the following consonant. For example, って is romanized tte (exception: っち becomes tchi).

Diacritics edit

Syllables beginning with the voiced consonants [g], [z], [d] and [b] are spelled with kana from the corresponding unvoiced columns (k, s, t and h) and the voicing mark, dakuten. Syllables beginning with [p] are spelled with kana from the h column and the half-voicing mark, handakuten.

  • Note that the か゚, ら゚ and the remaining entries in the two rightmost columns, though they exist, are not used in standard Japanese orthography.
  • zi, di, and du are often transcribed into English as ji, ji, and zu instead, respectively, according to contemporary pronunciation.
  • Usually, [va], [vi], [vu], [ve], [vo] are represented respectively by バ[ba], ビ[bi], ブ[bu], ベ[be], and ボ[bo], for example, in loanwords such as バイオリン (baiorin "violin"), but (less usually) the distinction can be preserved by using [w-] with voicing marks or by using [wu] and a vowel kana, as in ヴァ(ヷ), ヴィ(ヸ), ヴ, ヴェ(ヹ), and ヴォ(ヺ). Note that ヴ did not have a JIS-encoded Hiragana form (ゔ) until JIS X 0213, meaning that many Shift JIS flavours (including the Windows and HTML5 version) can only represent it as a katakana, although Unicode supports both.
  • Japanese does not make a distinction between l and r, but some scholarly writings, especially in older Catholic texts, added the half-voicing mark to the r-row to produce a new l-row.

Digraphs edit

Syllables beginning with palatalized consonants are spelled with one of the seven consonantal kana from the i row followed by small ya, yu or yo. These digraphs are called yōon.

  • There are no digraphs for the semivowel y and w columns.
  • The digraphs are usually transcribed with three letters, leaving out the i: CyV. For example, きゃ is transcribed as kya to distinguish it from the two-kana きや, kiya.
  • si+y* and ti+y* are often transcribed sh* and ch* instead of sy* and ty*. For example, しゃ is transcribed as sha, and ちゅ is transcribed as chu.
  • In earlier Japanese, digraphs could also be formed with w-kana. Although obsolete in modern Japanese, the digraphs くゎ (/kʷa/) and くゐ/くうぃ(/kʷi/), are preserved in certain Okinawan orthographies. In addition, the kana え can be used in Okinawan to form the digraph くぇ, which represents the /kʷe/ sound.
  • Note that the き゚ゃ, き゚ゅ and remaining entries in the rightmost column, though they exist, are not used in standard Japanese orthography.
  • zi+y* and di+y* are often transcribed j* instead of zy* and dy*, according to contemporary pronunciation. The form jy* is also used in some cases.

Modern usage edit

The difference in usage between hiragana and katakana is stylistic. Usually, hiragana is the default syllabary, and katakana is used in certain special cases. Hiragana is used to write native Japanese words with no kanji representation (or whose kanji is thought obscure or difficult), as well as grammatical elements such as particles and inflections (okurigana). Today katakana is most commonly used to write words of foreign origin that do not have kanji representations, as well as foreign personal and place names. Katakana is also used to represent onomatopoeia and interjections, emphasis, technical and scientific terms, transcriptions of the Sino-Japanese readings of kanji, and some corporate branding.

Kana can be written in small form above or next to lesser-known kanji in order to show pronunciation; this is called furigana. Furigana is used most widely in children's or learners' books. Literature for young children who do not yet know kanji may dispense with it altogether and instead use hiragana combined with spaces.

Systems supporting only a limited set of characters, such as Wabun code for Morse code telegrams and single-byte digital character encodings such as JIS X 0201 or EBCDIK, likewise dispense with kanji, instead using only katakana. This is not necessary in systems supporting double-byte or variable-width encodings such as Shift JIS, EUC-JP, UTF-8 or UTF-16.

History edit

 
Development of hiragana and katakana

Old Japanese was written entirely in kanji, and a set of kanji called man'yōgana were first used to represent the phonetic values of grammatical particles and morphemes. As there was no consistent method of sound representation, a phoneme could be represented by multiple kanji, and even those kana's pronunciations differed in whether they were to be read as kungana (訓仮名, "meaning kana") or ongana (音仮名, "sound kana"), making decipherment problematic. The man'yōshū, a poetry anthology assembled sometime after 759 and the eponym of man'yōgana, exemplifies this phenomenon, where as many as almost twenty kanji were used for the mora ka. The consistency of the kana used was thus dependent on the style of the writer. Hiragana developed as a distinct script from cursive man'yōgana, whereas katakana developed from abbreviated parts of regular script man'yōgana as a glossing system to add readings or explanations to Buddhist sutras. Both of these systems were simplified to make writing easier. The shapes of many hiragana resembled the Chinese cursive script, as did those of many katakana the Korean gugyeol, suggesting that the Japanese followed the continental pattern of their neighbors.[16]

Kana is traditionally said to have been invented by the Buddhist priest Kūkai in the ninth century. Kūkai certainly brought the Siddhaṃ script of India home on his return from China in 806;[citation needed] his interest in the sacred aspects of speech and writing led him to the conclusion that Japanese would be better represented by a phonetic alphabet than by the kanji which had been used up to that point. The modern arrangement of kana reflects that of Siddhaṃ, but the traditional iroha arrangement follows a poem which uses each kana once.

However, hiragana and katakana did not quickly supplant man'yōgana. It was only in 1900 that the present set of kana was codified. All the other forms of hiragana and katakana developed before the 1900 codification are known as hentaigana (変体仮名, "variant kana"). Rules for their usage as per the spelling reforms of 1946, the gendai kana-zukai (現代仮名遣い, "present-day kana usage"), which abolished the kana for wi (ゐ・ヰ), we (ゑ・ヱ), and wo (を・ヲ) (except that the last was reserved as the accusative particle).[16]

Identical man’yōgana roots of katakana and hiragana glyphs
a i u e o =:≠
= = 2:3
k = = = = 4:1
s = = = 3:2
t = = = 3:2
n = = = = = 5:0
h = = = = 4:1
m = = = 3:2
y = = = 3:0
r = = = = 4:1
w = = 2:2
n 0:1
=:≠ 6:4 5:4 6:4 7:2 9:1 33:15

Collation edit

Kana are the basis for collation in Japanese. They are taken in the order given by the gojūon (あ い う え お ... わ を ん), though iroha (い ろ は に ほ へ と ... せ す (ん)) ordering is used for enumeration in some circumstances. Dictionaries differ in the sequence order for long/short vowel distinction, small tsu and diacritics. As Japanese does not use word spaces (except as a tool for children), there can be no word-by-word collation; all collation is kana-by-kana.

In Unicode edit

The hiragana range in Unicode is U+3040 ... U+309F, and the katakana range is U+30A0 ... U+30FF. The obsolete and rare characters (wi and we) also have their proper code points.

Hiragana[1][2]
Official Unicode Consortium code chart (PDF)
  0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F
U+304x
U+305x
U+306x
U+307x
U+308x
U+309x
Notes
1.^ As of Unicode version 15.1
2.^ Grey areas indicate non-assigned code points
Katakana[1]
Official Unicode Consortium code chart (PDF)
  0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F
U+30Ax
U+30Bx
U+30Cx
U+30Dx
U+30Ex
U+30Fx
Notes
1.^ As of Unicode version 15.1

Characters U+3095 and U+3096 are hiragana small ka and small ke, respectively. U+30F5 and U+30F6 are their katakana equivalents. Characters U+3099 and U+309A are combining dakuten and handakuten, which correspond to the spacing characters U+309B and U+309C. U+309D is the hiragana iteration mark, used to repeat a previous hiragana. U+309E is the voiced hiragana iteration mark, which stands in for the previous hiragana but with the consonant voiced (k becomes g, h becomes b, etc.). U+30FD and U+30FE are the katakana iteration marks. U+309F is a ligature of yori (より) sometimes used in vertical writing. U+30FF is a ligature of koto (コト), also found in vertical writing.

Additionally, there are halfwidth equivalents to the standard fullwidth katakana. These are encoded within the Halfwidth and Fullwidth Forms block (U+FF00–U+FFEF), starting at U+FF65 and ending at U+FF9F (characters U+FF61–U+FF64 are halfwidth punctuation marks):

Katakana subset of Halfwidth and Fullwidth Forms[1]
Official Unicode Consortium code chart (PDF)
  0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F
... (U+FF00–U+FF64 omitted)
U+FF6x
U+FF7x ソ
U+FF8x
U+FF9x
... (U+FFA0–U+FFEF omitted)
Notes
1.^ As of Unicode version 15.1

There is also a small "Katakana Phonetic Extensions" range (U+31F0 ... U+31FF), which includes some additional small kana characters for writing the Ainu language. Further small kana characters are present in the "Small Kana Extension" block.

Katakana Phonetic Extensions[1]
Official Unicode Consortium code chart (PDF)
  0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F
U+31Fx
Notes
1.^ As of Unicode version 15.1
Small Kana Extension[1][2]
Official Unicode Consortium code chart (PDF)
  0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F
U+1B13x 𛄲
U+1B14x
U+1B15x 𛅐 𛅑 𛅒 𛅕
U+1B16x 𛅤 𛅥 𛅦 𛅧
Notes
1.^ As of Unicode version 15.1
2.^ Grey areas indicate non-assigned code points

Unicode also includes "Katakana letter archaic E" (U+1B000), as well as 255 archaic Hiragana, in the Kana Supplement block.[17] It also includes a further 31 archaic Hiragana in the Kana Extended-A block.[18]

Kana Supplement[1]
Official Unicode Consortium code chart (PDF)
  0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F
U+1B00x 𛀀 𛀁 𛀂 𛀃 𛀄 𛀅 𛀆 𛀇 𛀈 𛀉 𛀊 𛀋 𛀌 𛀍 𛀎 𛀏
U+1B01x 𛀐 𛀑 𛀒 𛀓 𛀔 𛀕 𛀖 𛀗 𛀘 𛀙 𛀚 𛀛 𛀜 𛀝 𛀞 𛀟
U+1B02x 𛀠 𛀡 𛀢 𛀣 𛀤 𛀥 𛀦 𛀧 𛀨 𛀩 𛀪 𛀫 𛀬 𛀭 𛀮 𛀯
U+1B03x 𛀰 𛀱 𛀲 𛀳 𛀴 𛀵 𛀶 𛀷 𛀸 𛀹 𛀺 𛀻 𛀼 𛀽 𛀾 𛀿
U+1B04x 𛁀 𛁁 𛁂 𛁃 𛁄 𛁅 𛁆 𛁇 𛁈 𛁉 𛁊 𛁋 𛁌 𛁍 𛁎 𛁏
U+1B05x 𛁐 𛁑 𛁒 𛁓 𛁔 𛁕 𛁖 𛁗 𛁘 𛁙 𛁚 𛁛 𛁜 𛁝 𛁞 𛁟
U+1B06x 𛁠 𛁡 𛁢 𛁣 𛁤 𛁥 𛁦 𛁧 𛁨 𛁩 𛁪 𛁫 𛁬 𛁭 𛁮 𛁯
U+1B07x 𛁰 𛁱 𛁲 𛁳 𛁴 𛁵 𛁶 𛁷 𛁸 𛁹 𛁺 𛁻 𛁼 𛁽 𛁾 𛁿
U+1B08x 𛂀 𛂁 𛂂 𛂃 𛂄 𛂅 𛂆 𛂇 𛂈 𛂉 𛂊 𛂋 𛂌 𛂍 𛂎 𛂏
U+1B09x 𛂐 𛂑 𛂒 𛂓 𛂔 𛂕 𛂖 𛂗 𛂘 𛂙 𛂚 𛂛 𛂜 𛂝 𛂞 𛂟
U+1B0Ax 𛂠 𛂡 𛂢 𛂣 𛂤 𛂥 𛂦 𛂧 𛂨 𛂩 𛂪 𛂫 𛂬 𛂭 𛂮 𛂯
U+1B0Bx 𛂰 𛂱 𛂲 𛂳 𛂴 𛂵 𛂶 𛂷 𛂸 𛂹 𛂺 𛂻 𛂼 𛂽 𛂾 𛂿
U+1B0Cx 𛃀 𛃁 𛃂 𛃃 𛃄 𛃅 𛃆 𛃇 𛃈 𛃉 𛃊 𛃋 𛃌 𛃍 𛃎 𛃏
U+1B0Dx 𛃐 𛃑 𛃒 𛃓 𛃔 𛃕 𛃖 𛃗 𛃘 𛃙 𛃚 𛃛 𛃜 𛃝 𛃞 𛃟
U+1B0Ex 𛃠 𛃡 𛃢 𛃣 𛃤 𛃥 𛃦 𛃧 𛃨 𛃩 𛃪 𛃫 𛃬 𛃭 𛃮 𛃯
U+1B0Fx 𛃰 𛃱 𛃲 𛃳 𛃴 𛃵 𛃶 𛃷 𛃸 𛃹 𛃺 𛃻 𛃼 𛃽 𛃾 𛃿
Notes
1.^ As of Unicode version 15.1
Kana Extended-A[1][2]
Official Unicode Consortium code chart (PDF)
  0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F
U+1B10x 𛄀 𛄁 𛄂 𛄃 𛄄 𛄅 𛄆 𛄇 𛄈 𛄉 𛄊 𛄋 𛄌 𛄍 𛄎 𛄏
U+1B11x 𛄐 𛄑 𛄒 𛄓 𛄔 𛄕 𛄖 𛄗 𛄘 𛄙 𛄚 𛄛 𛄜 𛄝 𛄞 𛄟
U+1B12x 𛄠 𛄡 𛄢
Notes
1.^ As of Unicode version 15.1
2.^ Grey areas indicate non-assigned code points

The Kana Extended-B block was added in September, 2021 with the release of version 14.0:

Kana Extended-B[1][2]
Official Unicode Consortium code chart (PDF)
  0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F
U+1AFFx 𚿰 𚿱 𚿲 𚿳 𚿵 𚿶 𚿷 𚿸 𚿹 𚿺 𚿻 𚿽 𚿾
Notes
1.^ As of Unicode version 15.1
2.^ Grey areas indicate non-assigned code points

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Thomas E. McAuley, Language change in East Asia, 2001:90
  2. ^ a b c スーパー大辞林 [Super Daijirin].
  3. ^ Hatasa, Yukiko Abe; Kazumi Hatasa; Seiichi Makino (2010). Nakama 1: Introductory Japanese: Communication, Culture, Context 2nd ed. Heinle. p. 2. ISBN 978-0495798187.
  4. ^ Tawada, Yoko (2020). On Writing and Rewriting. London: Lexington Books. p. 43. ISBN 978-1-4985-9004-4.
  5. ^ a b Seeley, Christopher (1991). A History of Writing in Japan. BRILL. pp. 109 (footnote 18). ISBN 90-04-09081-9.
  6. ^ a b c "Is there a kana symbol for ye or yi?". SLJ FAQ. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  7. ^ a b c Katō, Nozomu (14 January 2008). "JTC1/SC2/WG2 N3388: Proposal to encode two Kana characters concerning YE" (PDF). Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  8. ^ a b "Kana Supplement" (PDF). Unicode 6.0. Unicode. 2010. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  9. ^ More information is available at ja:ヤ行エ on the Japanese Wikipedia.
  10. ^ "Japanese Kana Chart from the Netherlands". www.raccoonbend.com.
  11. ^ Cabinet of Japan. [Japanese cabinet order No.2 (28 June 1991):The notation of loanword]. Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. Archived from the original on 6 January 2019. Retrieved 25 May 2011.
  12. ^ Katō, Nozomu. "L2/08-359: About WG2 N3528" (PDF).
  13. ^ a b (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 3 March 2008.
  14. ^ More information is available at ja:わ行う, ja:ヤ行イ and ja:五十音#51全てが異なる字・音: 江戸後期から明治 on the Japanese Wikipedia.
  15. ^ "Kana Extended-A" (PDF). Unicode 14.0 Delta Code Charts. Unicode Consortium. 2021.
  16. ^ a b Frellesvig, Bjarke (2010). A History of the Japanese Language. Cambridge University Press. pp. 12, 17, 23–24, 158–160, 173. ISBN 978-0-521-65320-6. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  17. ^ "Kana Supplement" (PDF). Unicode 15.1. Unicode. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  18. ^ "Kana Extended-A" (PDF). Unicode 15.1. Unicode. Retrieved 11 March 2024.

External links edit

  • Hiragana & katakana chart and writing practice sheet
  • Origin of Hiragana
  • Origin of Katakana
  • Kana web translator – Transliterate Kana to Rōmaji
  • Kana Copybook (PDF)
  • Katakana and Hiragana study tool

kana, other, uses, disambiguation, 仮名, japanese, pronunciation, kana, syllabaries, used, write, japanese, phonological, units, morae, such, syllabaries, include, original, kana, magana, 真仮名, literally, true, kana, which, were, chinese, characters, kanji, used,. For other uses see Kana disambiguation Kana 仮名 Japanese pronunciation kana are syllabaries used to write Japanese phonological units morae Such syllabaries include 1 the original kana or magana 真仮名 literally true kana 2 which were Chinese characters kanji used phonetically to transcribe Japanese the most prominent magana system being man yōgana 万葉仮名 the two descendants of man yōgana 2 hiragana 平 ひら 仮 が 名 な 3 and 3 katakana 片 カタ 仮 カ 名 ナ There are also hentaigana 変体仮名 literally variant kana which are historical variants of the now standard hiragana In current usage kana can simply mean hiragana and katakana KanaScript typeSyllabaryTime periodc 800 CE to the presentDirectionVertical right to left left to right RegionJapanLanguagesJapanese Ryukyuan languages Hachijō Ainu Palauan 1 Related scriptsParent systemsOracle bone scriptSeal scriptClerical scriptRegular script Chinese characters KanjiKanaISO 15924ISO 15924Hrkt 412 Japanese syllabaries alias for Hiragana Katakana UnicodeUnicode aliasKatakana or HiraganaUnicode rangeU 3040 U 309F HiraganaU 30A0 U 30FF Katakana This article contains phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet IPA For an introductory guide on IPA symbols see Help IPA For the distinction between and see IPA Brackets and transcription delimiters Katakana with a few additions are also used to write Ainu A number of systems exist to write the Ryukyuan languages in particular Okinawan in hiragana Taiwanese kana were used in Taiwanese Hokkien as glosses ruby text or furigana for Chinese characters in Taiwan when it was under Japanese rule Each kana character syllabogram corresponds to one sound or whole syllable in the Japanese language unlike kanji regular script which corresponds to a meaning logogram Apart from the five vowels it is always CV consonant onset with vowel nucleus such as ka ki sa shi etc with the sole exception of the C grapheme for nasal codas usually romanised as n The structure has led some scholars to label the system moraic instead of syllabic because it requires the combination of two syllabograms to represent a CVC syllable with coda e g CVn CVm CVng a CVV syllable with complex nucleus i e multiple or expressively long vowels or a CCV syllable with complex onset i e including a glide CyV CwV The limited number of phonemes in Japanese as well as the relatively rigid syllable structure makes the kana system a very accurate representation of spoken Japanese Contents 1 Etymology 2 Terms 3 Hiragana and katakana 3 1 Diacritics 3 2 Digraphs 4 Modern usage 5 History 6 Collation 7 In Unicode 8 See also 9 References 10 External linksEtymology edit Kana is a compound of kari 仮 borrowed assumed false and na 名 name which eventually collapsed into kanna and ultimately kana 2 Today it is generally assumed that kana were considered false kanji due to their purely phonetic nature as opposed to mana 真名 which were true kanji used for their meanings Yet originally mana and kana were purely calligraphic terms with mana referring to Chinese characters written in the regular script kaisho and kana referring to those written in the cursive sōsho style see hiragana It was not until the 18th century that the early nationalist kokugaku movement which wanted to move away from Sinocentric academia began to reanalyze the script from a phonological point of view 4 In the following centuries contrary to the traditional Sinocentric view kana began to be considered a national Japanese writing system that was distinct from Chinese characters which is the dominant view today Terms editAlthough the term kana is now commonly understood as hiragana and katakana it actually has broader application as listed below 2 Kana 仮名 false name or kana 仮字 false character a syllabary Magana 真仮名 true kana or otokogana 男仮名 men s kana phonetic kanji used as syllabary characters historically used by men who were more educated Man yōgana 万葉仮名 kana used in the Man yōshu the most prominent system of magana Sōgana 草仮名 sloppy kana cursive man yōgana Hiragana 平仮名 flat kana onnagana 女仮名 women s kana onnamoji 女文字 women s script onnade 女手 women s hands or irohagana 伊呂波仮名 a syllabary derived from simplified sōgana historically used by women who were less educated historically sorted in Iroha order Hentaigana 変体仮名 variant kana or itaigana 異体仮名 obsolete variants of hiragana Katakana 片仮名 fragmented kana or gojuongana 五十音仮名 fifty sound kana a syllabary derived by using bits of characters in man yōgana historically sorted in gojuon order Yamatogana 大和仮名 Yamato s kana hiragana and katakana as opposed to kanji Ongana 音仮名 sound kana magana for transcribing Japanese words using strict or loose Chinese derived readings on yomi For example yama 山 mountain would be spelt as 也末 with two magana with on yomi for ya and ma likewise hito 人 human spelt as 比登 for hi and to Kungana 訓仮名 learned kana magana for transcribing Japanese words using native words ascribed to kanji native readings or kun yomi For example Yamato 大和 would be spelt as 八間跡 with three magana with kun yomi for ya ma and to likewise natsukashi 懐かし evoking nostalgia spelt as 夏樫 for natsu and kashi Mana 真名 true name mana 真字 true character otokomoji 男文字 men s script or otokode 男手 men s hands kanji used for meanings historically used by men who were more educated Shinkatakana 真片仮名 mana and katakana mixed script including only kanji and katakana Hiragana and katakana editThe following table reads in gojuon order as a i u e o down first column then ka ki ku ke ko down second column and so on n appears on its own at the end Asterisks mark unused combinations Japanese kana hiragana left and katakana right Image of this table k s t n h m y r w a あア かカ さサ たタ なナ はハ まマ やヤ らラ わワ i いイ きキ しシ ちチ にニ ひヒ みミ 𛀆 りリ ゐヰ u うウ くク すス つツ ぬヌ ふフ むム ゆユ るル e えエ けケ せセ てテ ねネ へヘ めメ 𛀁 れレ ゑヱ o おオ こコ そソ とト のノ ほホ もモ よヨ ろロ をヲ んン n There are presently no kana for ye yi or wu as corresponding syllables do not occur natively in modern Japanese The jɛ ye sound is believed to have existed in pre Classical Japanese mostly before the advent of kana and can be represented by the man yōgana kanji 江 5 6 There was an archaic Hiragana nbsp 7 derived from the man yōgana ye kanji 江 5 which is encoded into Unicode at code point U 1B001 𛀁 8 9 but it is not widely supported It is believed that e and ye first merged to ye before shifting back to e during the Edo period 6 As demonstrated by 17th century era European sources the syllable we ゑ ヱ also came to be pronounced as jɛ ye 10 If necessary the modern orthography allows je ye to be written as いぇ イェ 11 but this usage is limited and nonstandard The modern Katakana e エ derives from the man yōgana 江 originally pronounced ye 7 a Katakana letter Archaic E nbsp derived from the man yōgana 衣 e 7 is encoded into Unicode at code point U 1B000 𛀀 8 due to being used for that purpose in scholarly works on classical Japanese 12 Some gojuon tables published during the 19th century list additional Katakana in the ye nbsp wu nbsp and yi nbsp positions 13 These are not presently used and the latter two sounds never existed in Japanese 6 14 They were added to Unicode in version 14 0 in 2021 15 These sources also list nbsp Unicode U 1B006 𛀆 in the Hiragana yi position and nbsp in the ye position 13 Although removed from the standard orthography with the gendai kanazukai reforms wi and we still see stylistic use as in ウヰスキー for whisky and ヱビス or ゑびす for Japanese kami Ebisu and Yebisu a brand of beer named after Ebisu Hiragana wi and we are preserved in certain Okinawan scripts while katakana wi and we are preserved in the Ainu language wo is preserved only as the accusative particle normally occurring only in hiragana si ti tu hu wi we and wo are usually romanized respectively as shi chi tsu fu i e and o instead according to contemporary pronunciation the sokuon or small tsu っ ッ indicates gemination and is romanized by repeating the following consonant For example って is romanized tte exception っち becomes tchi Diacritics edit See also Dakuten and handakuten Yōon and Historical kana orthography Syllables beginning with the voiced consonants g z d and b are spelled with kana from the corresponding unvoiced columns k s t and h and the voicing mark dakuten Syllables beginning with p are spelled with kana from the h column and the half voicing mark handakuten Dakuten diacritic marks hiragana left and katakana right g z d b p ng l a がガ ざザ だダ ばバ ぱパ か カ ら ラ i ぎギ じジ ぢヂ びビ ぴピ き キ り リ u ぐグ ずズ づヅ ぶブ ぷプ く ク る ル e げゲ ぜゼ でデ べベ ぺペ け ケ れ レ o ごゴ ぞゾ どド ぼボ ぽポ こ コ ろ ロ Note that the か ら and the remaining entries in the two rightmost columns though they exist are not used in standard Japanese orthography zi di and du are often transcribed into English as ji ji and zu instead respectively according to contemporary pronunciation Usually va vi vu ve vo are represented respectively by バ ba ビ bi ブ bu ベ be and ボ bo for example in loanwords such as バイオリン baiorin violin but less usually the distinction can be preserved by using w with voicing marks or by using wu and a vowel kana as in ヴァ ヷ ヴィ ヸ ヴ ヴェ ヹ and ヴォ ヺ Note that ヴ did not have a JIS encoded Hiragana form ゔ until JIS X 0213 meaning that many Shift JIS flavours including the Windows and HTML5 version can only represent it as a katakana although Unicode supports both Japanese does not make a distinction between l and r but some scholarly writings especially in older Catholic texts added the half voicing mark to the r row to produce a new l row Digraphs edit Syllables beginning with palatalized consonants are spelled with one of the seven consonantal kana from the i row followed by small ya yu or yo These digraphs are called yōon Yōon digraphs hiragana k s t n h m r ya きゃ しゃ ちゃ にゃ ひゃ みゃ りゃ yu きゅ しゅ ちゅ にゅ ひゅ みゅ りゅ yo きょ しょ ちょ にょ ひょ みょ りょ There are no digraphs for the semivowel y and w columns The digraphs are usually transcribed with three letters leaving out the i CyV For example きゃ is transcribed as kya to distinguish it from the two kana きや kiya si y and ti y are often transcribed sh and ch instead of sy and ty For example しゃ is transcribed as sha and ちゅ is transcribed as chu In earlier Japanese digraphs could also be formed with w kana Although obsolete in modern Japanese the digraphs くゎ kʷa and くゐ くうぃ kʷi are preserved in certain Okinawan orthographies In addition the kana え can be used in Okinawan to form the digraph くぇ which represents the kʷe sound Yōon digraphs hiragana g j z j d b p ng ya ぎゃ じゃ ぢゃ びゃ ぴゃ き ゃ yu ぎゅ じゅ ぢゅ びゅ ぴゅ き ゅ yo ぎょ じょ ぢょ びょ ぴょ き ょ Note that the き ゃ き ゅ and remaining entries in the rightmost column though they exist are not used in standard Japanese orthography zi y and di y are often transcribed j instead of zy and dy according to contemporary pronunciation The form jy is also used in some cases Modern usage editSee also Japanese writing system Hiragana and Katakana The difference in usage between hiragana and katakana is stylistic Usually hiragana is the default syllabary and katakana is used in certain special cases Hiragana is used to write native Japanese words with no kanji representation or whose kanji is thought obscure or difficult as well as grammatical elements such as particles and inflections okurigana Today katakana is most commonly used to write words of foreign origin that do not have kanji representations as well as foreign personal and place names Katakana is also used to represent onomatopoeia and interjections emphasis technical and scientific terms transcriptions of the Sino Japanese readings of kanji and some corporate branding Kana can be written in small form above or next to lesser known kanji in order to show pronunciation this is called furigana Furigana is used most widely in children s or learners books Literature for young children who do not yet know kanji may dispense with it altogether and instead use hiragana combined with spaces Systems supporting only a limited set of characters such as Wabun code for Morse code telegrams and single byte digital character encodings such as JIS X 0201 or EBCDIK likewise dispense with kanji instead using only katakana This is not necessary in systems supporting double byte or variable width encodings such as Shift JIS EUC JP UTF 8 or UTF 16 History edit nbsp Development of hiragana and katakana Old Japanese was written entirely in kanji and a set of kanji called man yōgana were first used to represent the phonetic values of grammatical particles and morphemes As there was no consistent method of sound representation a phoneme could be represented by multiple kanji and even those kana s pronunciations differed in whether they were to be read as kungana 訓仮名 meaning kana or ongana 音仮名 sound kana making decipherment problematic The man yōshu a poetry anthology assembled sometime after 759 and the eponym of man yōgana exemplifies this phenomenon where as many as almost twenty kanji were used for the mora ka The consistency of the kana used was thus dependent on the style of the writer Hiragana developed as a distinct script from cursive man yōgana whereas katakana developed from abbreviated parts of regular script man yōgana as a glossing system to add readings or explanations to Buddhist sutras Both of these systems were simplified to make writing easier The shapes of many hiragana resembled the Chinese cursive script as did those of many katakana the Korean gugyeol suggesting that the Japanese followed the continental pattern of their neighbors 16 Kana is traditionally said to have been invented by the Buddhist priest Kukai in the ninth century Kukai certainly brought the Siddhaṃ script of India home on his return from China in 806 citation needed his interest in the sacred aspects of speech and writing led him to the conclusion that Japanese would be better represented by a phonetic alphabet than by the kanji which had been used up to that point The modern arrangement of kana reflects that of Siddhaṃ but the traditional iroha arrangement follows a poem which uses each kana once However hiragana and katakana did not quickly supplant man yōgana It was only in 1900 that the present set of kana was codified All the other forms of hiragana and katakana developed before the 1900 codification are known as hentaigana 変体仮名 variant kana Rules for their usage as per the spelling reforms of 1946 the gendai kana zukai 現代仮名遣い present day kana usage which abolished the kana for wi ゐ ヰ we ゑ ヱ and wo を ヲ except that the last was reserved as the accusative particle 16 Identical man yōgana roots of katakana and hiragana glyphs a i u e o 2 3 k 4 1 s 3 2 t 3 2 n 5 0 h 4 1 m 3 2 y 3 0 r 4 1 w 2 2 n 0 1 6 4 5 4 6 4 7 2 9 1 33 15Collation editKana are the basis for collation in Japanese They are taken in the order given by the gojuon あ い う え お わ を ん though iroha い ろ は に ほ へ と せ す ん ordering is used for enumeration in some circumstances Dictionaries differ in the sequence order for long short vowel distinction small tsu and diacritics As Japanese does not use word spaces except as a tool for children there can be no word by word collation all collation is kana by kana In Unicode editMain articles Hiragana Unicode block Katakana Unicode block Katakana Phonetic Extensions Halfwidth and Fullwidth Forms Unicode block and Kana Supplement Unicode block The hiragana range in Unicode is U 3040 U 309F and the katakana range is U 30A0 U 30FF The obsolete and rare characters wi and we also have their proper code points Hiragana 1 2 Official Unicode Consortium code chart PDF 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F U 304x ぁ あ ぃ い ぅ う ぇ え ぉ お か が き ぎ く U 305x ぐ け げ こ ご さ ざ し じ す ず せ ぜ そ ぞ た U 306x だ ち ぢ っ つ づ て で と ど な に ぬ ね の は U 307x ば ぱ ひ び ぴ ふ ぶ ぷ へ べ ぺ ほ ぼ ぽ ま み U 308x む め も ゃ や ゅ ゆ ょ よ ら り る れ ろ ゎ わ U 309x ゐ ゑ を ん ゔ ゕ ゖ ゝ ゞ ゟ Notes 1 As of Unicode version 15 1 2 Grey areas indicate non assigned code points Katakana 1 Official Unicode Consortium code chart PDF 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F U 30Ax ァ ア ィ イ ゥ ウ ェ エ ォ オ カ ガ キ ギ ク U 30Bx グ ケ ゲ コ ゴ サ ザ シ ジ ス ズ セ ゼ ソ ゾ タ U 30Cx ダ チ ヂ ッ ツ ヅ テ デ ト ド ナ ニ ヌ ネ ノ ハ U 30Dx バ パ ヒ ビ ピ フ ブ プ ヘ ベ ペ ホ ボ ポ マ ミ U 30Ex ム メ モ ャ ヤ ュ ユ ョ ヨ ラ リ ル レ ロ ヮ ワ U 30Fx ヰ ヱ ヲ ン ヴ ヵ ヶ ヷ ヸ ヹ ヺ ー ヽ ヾ ヿ Notes 1 As of Unicode version 15 1 Characters U 3095 and U 3096 are hiragana small ka and small ke respectively U 30F5 and U 30F6 are their katakana equivalents Characters U 3099 and U 309A are combining dakuten and handakuten which correspond to the spacing characters U 309B and U 309C U 309D is the hiragana iteration mark used to repeat a previous hiragana U 309E is the voiced hiragana iteration mark which stands in for the previous hiragana but with the consonant voiced k becomes g h becomes b etc U 30FD and U 30FE are the katakana iteration marks U 309F is a ligature of yori より sometimes used in vertical writing U 30FF is a ligature of koto コト also found in vertical writing Additionally there are halfwidth equivalents to the standard fullwidth katakana These are encoded within the Halfwidth and Fullwidth Forms block U FF00 U FFEF starting at U FF65 and ending at U FF9F characters U FF61 U FF64 are halfwidth punctuation marks Katakana subset of Halfwidth and Fullwidth Forms 1 Official Unicode Consortium code chart PDF 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F U FF00 U FF64 omitted U FF6x ヲ ァ ィ ゥ ェ ォ ャ ュ ョ ッ U FF7x ー ア イ ウ エ オ カ キ ク ケ コ サ シ ス セ ソ U FF8x タ チ ツ テ ト ナ ニ ヌ ネ ノ ハ ヒ フ ヘ ホ マ U FF9x ミ ム メ モ ヤ ユ ヨ ラ リ ル レ ロ ワ ン ゙ ゚ U FFA0 U FFEF omitted Notes 1 As of Unicode version 15 1 There is also a small Katakana Phonetic Extensions range U 31F0 U 31FF which includes some additional small kana characters for writing the Ainu language Further small kana characters are present in the Small Kana Extension block Katakana Phonetic Extensions 1 Official Unicode Consortium code chart PDF 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F U 31Fx ㇰ ㇱ ㇲ ㇳ ㇴ ㇵ ㇶ ㇷ ㇸ ㇹ ㇺ ㇻ ㇼ ㇽ ㇾ ㇿ Notes 1 As of Unicode version 15 1 Small Kana Extension 1 2 Official Unicode Consortium code chart PDF 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F U 1B13x U 1B14x U 1B15x 𛅐 𛅑 𛅒 U 1B16x 𛅤 𛅥 𛅦 𛅧 Notes 1 As of Unicode version 15 1 2 Grey areas indicate non assigned code points Unicode also includes Katakana letter archaic E U 1B000 as well as 255 archaic Hiragana in the Kana Supplement block 17 It also includes a further 31 archaic Hiragana in the Kana Extended A block 18 Kana Supplement 1 Official Unicode Consortium code chart PDF 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F U 1B00x 𛀀 𛀁 𛀂 𛀃 𛀄 𛀅 𛀆 𛀇 𛀈 𛀉 𛀊 𛀋 𛀌 𛀍 𛀎 𛀏 U 1B01x 𛀐 𛀑 𛀒 𛀓 𛀔 𛀕 𛀖 𛀗 𛀘 𛀙 𛀚 𛀛 𛀜 𛀝 𛀞 𛀟 U 1B02x 𛀠 𛀡 𛀢 𛀣 𛀤 𛀥 𛀦 𛀧 𛀨 𛀩 𛀪 𛀫 𛀬 𛀭 𛀮 𛀯 U 1B03x 𛀰 𛀱 𛀲 𛀳 𛀴 𛀵 𛀶 𛀷 𛀸 𛀹 𛀺 𛀻 𛀼 𛀽 𛀾 𛀿 U 1B04x 𛁀 𛁁 𛁂 𛁃 𛁄 𛁅 𛁆 𛁇 𛁈 𛁉 𛁊 𛁋 𛁌 𛁍 𛁎 𛁏 U 1B05x 𛁐 𛁑 𛁒 𛁓 𛁔 𛁕 𛁖 𛁗 𛁘 𛁙 𛁚 𛁛 𛁜 𛁝 𛁞 𛁟 U 1B06x 𛁠 𛁡 𛁢 𛁣 𛁤 𛁥 𛁦 𛁧 𛁨 𛁩 𛁪 𛁫 𛁬 𛁭 𛁮 𛁯 U 1B07x 𛁰 𛁱 𛁲 𛁳 𛁴 𛁵 𛁶 𛁷 𛁸 𛁹 𛁺 𛁻 𛁼 𛁽 𛁾 𛁿 U 1B08x 𛂀 𛂁 𛂂 𛂃 𛂄 𛂅 𛂆 𛂇 𛂈 𛂉 𛂊 𛂋 𛂌 𛂍 𛂎 𛂏 U 1B09x 𛂐 𛂑 𛂒 𛂓 𛂔 𛂕 𛂖 𛂗 𛂘 𛂙 𛂚 𛂛 𛂜 𛂝 𛂞 𛂟 U 1B0Ax 𛂠 𛂡 𛂢 𛂣 𛂤 𛂥 𛂦 𛂧 𛂨 𛂩 𛂪 𛂫 𛂬 𛂭 𛂮 𛂯 U 1B0Bx 𛂰 𛂱 𛂲 𛂳 𛂴 𛂵 𛂶 𛂷 𛂸 𛂹 𛂺 𛂻 𛂼 𛂽 𛂾 𛂿 U 1B0Cx 𛃀 𛃁 𛃂 𛃃 𛃄 𛃅 𛃆 𛃇 𛃈 𛃉 𛃊 𛃋 𛃌 𛃍 𛃎 𛃏 U 1B0Dx 𛃐 𛃑 𛃒 𛃓 𛃔 𛃕 𛃖 𛃗 𛃘 𛃙 𛃚 𛃛 𛃜 𛃝 𛃞 𛃟 U 1B0Ex 𛃠 𛃡 𛃢 𛃣 𛃤 𛃥 𛃦 𛃧 𛃨 𛃩 𛃪 𛃫 𛃬 𛃭 𛃮 𛃯 U 1B0Fx 𛃰 𛃱 𛃲 𛃳 𛃴 𛃵 𛃶 𛃷 𛃸 𛃹 𛃺 𛃻 𛃼 𛃽 𛃾 𛃿 Notes 1 As of Unicode version 15 1 Kana Extended A 1 2 Official Unicode Consortium code chart PDF 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F U 1B10x 𛄀 𛄁 𛄂 𛄃 𛄄 𛄅 𛄆 𛄇 𛄈 𛄉 𛄊 𛄋 𛄌 𛄍 𛄎 𛄏 U 1B11x 𛄐 𛄑 𛄒 𛄓 𛄔 𛄕 𛄖 𛄗 𛄘 𛄙 𛄚 𛄛 𛄜 𛄝 𛄞 U 1B12x Notes 1 As of Unicode version 15 1 2 Grey areas indicate non assigned code points The Kana Extended B block was added in September 2021 with the release of version 14 0 Kana Extended B 1 2 Official Unicode Consortium code chart PDF 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F U 1AFFx Notes 1 As of Unicode version 15 1 2 Grey areas indicate non assigned code pointsSee also editFurigana Okurigana Yotsugana Gojuon Hentaigana Historical kana orthography Man yōgana Romanization of Japanese Transliteration and Transcription linguistics References edit Thomas E McAuley Language change in East Asia 2001 90 a b c スーパー大辞林 Super Daijirin Hatasa Yukiko Abe Kazumi Hatasa Seiichi Makino 2010 Nakama 1 Introductory Japanese Communication Culture Context 2nd ed Heinle p 2 ISBN 978 0495798187 Tawada Yoko 2020 On Writing and Rewriting London Lexington Books p 43 ISBN 978 1 4985 9004 4 a b Seeley Christopher 1991 A History of Writing in Japan BRILL pp 109 footnote 18 ISBN 90 04 09081 9 a b c Is there a kana symbol for ye or yi SLJ FAQ Retrieved 4 August 2016 a b c Katō Nozomu 14 January 2008 JTC1 SC2 WG2 N3388 Proposal to encode two Kana characters concerning YE PDF Retrieved 4 August 2016 a b Kana Supplement PDF Unicode 6 0 Unicode 2010 Retrieved 22 June 2016 More information is available at ja ヤ行エ on the Japanese Wikipedia Japanese Kana Chart from the Netherlands www raccoonbend com Cabinet of Japan 平成3年6月28日内閣告示第2号 外来語の表記 Japanese cabinet order No 2 28 June 1991 The notation of loanword Ministry of Education Culture Sports Science and Technology Archived from the original on 6 January 2019 Retrieved 25 May 2011 Katō Nozomu L2 08 359 About WG2 N3528 PDF a b 伊豆での収穫 in Japanese Archived from the original on 3 March 2008 More information is available at ja わ行う ja ヤ行イ and ja 五十音 51全てが異なる字 音 江戸後期から明治 on the Japanese Wikipedia Kana Extended A PDF Unicode 14 0 Delta Code Charts Unicode Consortium 2021 a b Frellesvig Bjarke 2010 A History of the Japanese Language Cambridge University Press pp 12 17 23 24 158 160 173 ISBN 978 0 521 65320 6 Retrieved 7 March 2022 Kana Supplement PDF Unicode 15 1 Unicode Retrieved 11 March 2024 Kana Extended A PDF Unicode 15 1 Unicode Retrieved 11 March 2024 External links editHiragana amp katakana chart and writing practice sheet Origin of Hiragana Origin of Katakana Kana web translator Transliterate Kana to Rōmaji Kana Copybook PDF Katakana and Hiragana study tool Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Kana amp oldid 1218871284, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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