平仮名

Wikipedia

Japanese

Kanji in this term
平	仮	名

Etymology

Compound of hira (“flat, smooth”) and kana, which voices to -gana due to suffixation.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /hiraɡana/

Noun

平仮名 (shinjitai kanji, kyūjitai 平假名, hiragana ひらがな, romaji hiragana)

1. a Japanese syllabary script
   • 1603–1604: Nippo Jisho (page 242)

     Firagana. ヒラガナ (平仮名) 日本の文字の一種.

2. (as opposed to complex kanji) simple

Synonyms

• 女手 (onnade)
• 女文字 (onnamoji)
• 草仮名 (sōgana)

See also

• 漢字 (kanji)
• 片仮名 (katakana)
• 万葉仮名 (man'yōgana)
• ローマ字 (romaji)

References

• 1980 May 18 [1603–1604], Tadao Doi, Hōyaku Nippo Jisho (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Iwanami Shoten, ISBN 4-0008-0021-3: