ゑ

See also: ゑ゙ and ヱ

ゑ U+3091, ゑ HIRAGANA LETTER WE ← ゐ [U+3090] Hiragana を → [U+3092]

Japanese

Stroke order

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [β̞e̞]

• IPA^(key): [e̞]

Syllable

ゑ (romaji we, alternative romaji e)

1. (archaic) The hiragana syllable ゑ (e). Its equivalent in katakana is ヱ (e). It is the forty-sixth syllable in the gojūon order; its position is わ行え段 (wa-gyō e-dan, “row wa, section e”).

Usage notes

This is now a rarely used hiragana. In most cases, it is replaced by え.

The following kanji once used this pronunciation, but this has been replaced by the pronunciation え (e).

• 絵: sketch
• 餌: bait
• 円: yen
• 恵: favor, benefit

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, こ𛄲 (𛄲)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, らら゚, りり゚, るる゚, れれ゚, ろろ゚, わゎわ゙, ゐ𛅐 (𛅐)ゐ゙, 𛄟 (𛄟), ゑ𛅑 (𛅑)ゑ゙, を𛅒 (𛅒)を゙, ん, ー, ゝ, ゞ, ゟ
• うぇ (we)

Etymology 1

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

【回え】2 [affix] turn; turn around

【会え】2 [affix] gathering; meeting [affix] perceive; understand; comprehend [affix] Alternative form of 絵 (e, “picture; drawing; painting”)

【絵え】2 [noun] picture, painting [noun] drawing, sketch Alternative spelling 画

【恵え】S [affix] 恵: blessing; grace; favor [affix] 恵, 慧: clever; smart; wise; intelligent [noun] 恵, 慧: enlightenment [noun] 恵, 慧: (especially in Buddhism) wisdom (especially prajna, one of the three divisions of the Noble Eightfold Path) Alternative spelling 慧

(This term, ゑ (we), is a historical kana spelling of the above terms.) For a list of all kanji read as ゑ, see Category:Japanese kanji read as ゑ.)

Etymology 2

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

【笑え】4 [noun] (in compounds) smile

(This term, ゑ (we), is a historical kana spelling of the above term.) For a list of all kanji read as ゑ, see Category:Japanese kanji read as ゑ.)

Etymology 3

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

【飢え】S [noun] (obsolete) Synonym of 飢え (ue, “hunger; starvation”)

(This term, ゑ (we), is a historical kana spelling of the above term.) For a list of all kanji read as ゑ, see Category:Japanese kanji read as ゑ.)

Etymology 4

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

【餌え】S [noun] animal food, feed [noun] bait

(This term, ゑ (we), is a historical kana spelling of the above term.) For a list of all kanji read as ゑ, see Category:Japanese kanji read as ゑ.)