Word
hiragana
Phoneticshi·ra·gana
US/ˌhɪrəˈɡɑːnə/
UK/ˌhɪrəˈɡɑːnə/
Definition
n. A Japanese writing system that uses characters to represent syllables, commonly used for grammatical elements, native Japanese words, and words without kanji (Chinese-derived characters).
n. A phonographic syllabary used in the Japanese writing system, comprising characters that represent morae, the rhythmic units of Japanese phonology. Hiragana is employed primarily to encode grammatical morphemes, inflectional endings, function words, and native Japanese lexical items that are conventionally unwritten in kanji. It is also used to indicate the pronunciation of kanji and to facilitate reading acquisition.
Examples
“Children often learn hiragana before studying kanji.”
“In contemporary Japanese orthography, hiragana is frequently used to represent inflectional suffixes attached to kanji stems.”
Examples
simple
“Children often learn hiragana before studying kanji.”
complex
“In contemporary Japanese orthography, hiragana is frequently used to represent inflectional suffixes attached to kanji stems.”
Etymology
From Japanese 平仮名 (hiragana), a compound of 平 (hira), meaning “ordinary,” “plain,” or “simple,” and 仮名 (kana), meaning “syllabic script” or “phonetic characters.” The term reflects the script’s historical development from simplified, cursive forms of Chinese characters, in contrast to the more angular forms of katakana.
The element kana is historically a contraction of karina (仮名), literally “borrowed names,” referring to Chinese characters used phonetically to represent Japanese sounds. The word hiragana is attested in later usage than the script itself, which developed during the Heian period (794–1185).
Original etymology written by Shinotoshi Nakamura.
- Frequency
- Rare
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