kana

Kana refers to the two Japanese syllabaries, hiragana and katakana. Each is a phonetic script that represents morae, not single phonemes, and together they cover the same set of basic sounds as the Japanese syllabary. Both scripts contain 46 basic characters, with additional forms created by diacritics, small characters, and combinations.

Hiragana and katakana originated in Japan in the Heian period (roughly the 9th to 10th centuries). Hiragana developed from the cursive script of kanji and was historically used by women for personal writing, while katakana emerged from portions of kanji used by scholars as a reading aid. Kanji remained the primary means of meaning, with kana serving as a phonetic complement.

In modern usage, hiragana is used for native Japanese words not written with kanji, as well as grammatical elements such as particles and verb endings (okurigana). Katakana is used chiefly for loanwords (gairaigo), foreign names, onomatopoeia, and technical terms, and is also employed for emphasis in some contexts. Furigana—small kana written above or beside kanji—indicates pronunciation for readers.

Both scripts share the same gojuon (order) of sounds and can form extended syllables through combinations with small kana. Basic vowels are a, i, u, e, o; with consonants followed by these vowels to form the standard syllabary. Modifications include dakuten and handakuten to voice or soften consonants (e.g., ka to ga, ha to ba/pa), small ya/yu/yo to create yōon sounds (kya, kyu, kyo), a small tsu for gemination (sokuon), and the single n mora (ん). Kana are encoded in Unicode and are taught in Japanese schools as foundational writing systems.