ひらがな
hiragana
ひらがな is the Japanese word for hiragana.
ひらがな refers to the Japanese syllabary.
Meaning: Japanese syllabary (noun)
How do you pronounce it?
hiragana
Did you know?
- Historically, hiragana was often referred to as 'women's hand' or onnade. This is because women in the Heian period were often excluded from learning formal Chinese characters and instead developed a highly expressive literary style using this script.
- The name hiragana actually means 'plain' or 'ordinary' writing. It was used to distinguish this flowing, cursive style from the more complex Chinese characters used by the elite.
- Many early hiragana characters were developed by taking a single Chinese character and reducing it to a simplified, cursive shape known as 'sōsho'.
Examples in context
- ひらがなって手書きできる？Can you write hiragana?This sentence is useful for asking if someone can write ひらがな.Tatoeba #9803409 by small_snow, translation #9803410 by DJ_Saidez
- ひらがなは書けますが、カタカナはまだ書けません。I can write hiragana, but I can't yet write katakana.This sentence is useful for expressing that you can write ひらがな but cannot write katakana yet.Tatoeba #10985102 by small_snow, translation #10989430 by CK
- 日本語を入力する時って、ひらがな入力してる？それともローマ字入力？When you type in Japanese, are you using hiragana input, or romaji input?This sentence is useful for asking whether someone uses ひらがな input or romaji input when typing Japanese.Tatoeba #10780607 by small_snow, translation #10794252 by end
- arigatō (ありがとう)Thank you
- kawaii (かわいい)Cute
- mata ne (またね)See you later
- 3 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
A student is asking a classmate about basic Japanese writing.
- 陽太 Yotaひらがなは読めますか？Hiragana wa yomemasu ka?Can you read hiragana?
- 美咲 Misakiはい、ひらがななら大丈夫です。Hai, hiragana nara daijoubu desu.Yes, I am fine with hiragana.
- 陽太 Yotaそれはよかったです！Sore wa yokatta desu!That's good!
- 美咲 Misaki陽太さんはどうですか？Youta-san wa dou desu ka?How about you, Youta?
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
