わ

See also: わ゙ and ゎ

わ U+308F, わ HIRAGANA LETTER WA ← ゎ [U+308E] Hiragana ゐ → [U+3090]

Japanese

Stroke order

Etymology 1

Derived in the Heian period from writing the man'yōgana kanji 和 in the cursive sōsho style.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [β̞a̠]

Syllable

わ • (wa) 

1. The hiragana syllable わ (wa). Its equivalent in katakana is ワ (wa). It is the forty-fourth syllable in the gojūon order; its position is わ行あ段 (wa-gyō a-dan, “row wa, section a”).

See also

• (Hiragana) 平仮名; あぁ, いぃ, うぅゔ, えぇ, おぉ, かゕが, きぎ, くぐ, けゖげ, こご, さざ, しじ, すず, せぜ, そぞ, ただ, ちぢ, つっづ, てで, とど, な, に, ぬ, ね, の, はばぱ, ひびぴ, ふぶぷ, へべぺ, ほぼぽ, ま, み, む, め, も, やゃ, 𛀆, ゆゅ, 𛀁, よょ, ら, り, る, れ, ろ, わゎ, ゐ, 𛄟 (𛄟), ゑ, を, ん, ー, ゝ, ゞ, ゟ

Etymology 2

From Old Japanese.

Pronunciation

(women's particle):

• (Tokyo) わ [wáꜜ] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [β̞a̠]

(dialectal particle):

• (Tokyo) わ [wà] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [β̞a̠]

Particle

わ • (wa) 

1. (women's speech, dated) a particle used in the end of sentences to indicate admiration or emotion

   あなたの髪(かみ)は長(なが)いわね！

   Anata no kami wa nagai wa ne!

   Wow, your hair is so long!

   今(いま)、行(い)くわ。

   Ima, iku wa.

   I'm coming.

   知(し)らないわ。

   Shiranai wa.

   I don't know.

2. (dialectal or men's speech) a particle used in the end of sentences to indicate emphasis

   何(なに)言(い)ってんのか解(わか)んねえわ。

   Nani itten no ka wakannē wa.

   I've no idea what he's saying.

Usage notes

• (sense 1) In standard Japanese, this particle is mainly used by women, although its usage is less common among younger generations. In anime and manga, this particle is a stereotype of the speech of お嬢(じょう)様(さま) (ojōsama) characters.
• (sense 2) In various dialects, particularly western, it is used by both men and women, but with a different pitch accent.

Etymology 3

Reading for various kanji.

For pronunciation and definitions of わ – see the following entries.

【羽は】2 [counter] counter for birds [counter] counter for leporids Alternative spellings ば, ぱ

【話】2 [counter] Counter for stories. [counter] Counter for episodes of TV shows.

【回】2 [noun] (obsolete) a bend (of an area) Alternative spelling 曲

【輪】4 [noun] ring; circle [noun] (by extension) linked network

【環】S [noun] a ring or circle shape (such as a ring for a finger, or Saturn's rings) [noun] a hoop (such as for a barrel) [noun] a wheel (as of a vehicle) Alternative spelling 輪

【和】3 [noun] peace, harmony, tranquillity, serenity. [noun] (mathematics) sum [affix] Japan, Japanese, Nippo-

【倭】J [proper noun] (historical, derogatory) ancient Japan

(This term, わ (wa), is the hiragana spelling of the above terms.) For a list of all kanji read as わ, see Category:Japanese kanji read as わ.

(The following entries do not have a page created for them yet: 把, 曲.)

Etymology 4

For pronunciation and definitions of わ – see the following entry.

【我】6 [pronoun] (obsolete or dialect) first-person personal pronoun: I, me Alternative spelling 吾

(This term, わ (wa), is the hiragana spelling of the above term.) For a list of all kanji read as わ, see Category:Japanese kanji read as わ.

References

• Horiuchi, Hideaki with Akiyama Ken (1997), Shin Nihon Koten Bungaku Taikei 17: Taketori Monogatari, Ise Monogatari (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Iwanami Shoten, →ISBN
• Yamagishi, Tokuhei (1958) [c. 1001-1014], Koten Bungaku Taikei 14: Genji Monogatari 1 (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Iwanami Shoten, →ISBN