Questions tagged [furigana]
ふりがな. Small kana written above horizontal kanji or beside vertical kanji to indicate pronunciation. Also called ruby.
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Do someone proficient in kanji read furigana for kanji they know?
I know that one wouldn't need to, but I can imagine that once you read hiragana a lot you can't help it, just as someone proficient in roman letters can't help but read text when they look at it.
Also ...
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Can parentheses be used in lieu of furigana?
I'm usually on a mobile phone, and apps like YouTube or Twitch don't seem to allow ふりがな, so I was wondering if my usage of parentheses was acceptable from a Japanese perspective or if there's a better ...
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Why Chinese "h" often corresponds to Sino-Japanese "k"? [closed]
Shanghai is Shanhai in Japanese / しゃんはい
However, 深海 is shinkai (shēnhǎi in Chinese).
Why does it seem like the Japanese switched the letter "h" to "k"? I know the kana, and "h&...
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"魂 燃え立つ 天の降るとも" having "魂" read as "こころ" and "天" read as ”雨"? (Bleach)
In Bleach Sennen Kessen-hen, at the end of each episode, an old poetic-style line or two is read to invoke the next episode. But I wonder whether it's actually some old poetic style of speech, or if ...
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Why is this reading like this?
Why is this reading like this? Looking this up I had to search the radicals individually on Jisho. The furigana reading... is it just flat out wrong? Furthermore, why is the word structured like this? ...
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Why Kanji "Ichi tsu" pronounced hito?
As I was reading the book, I found the above table. Here, one thing=hito. Though Ichi ju made much more sense to me as an absolute beginner (Assuming, "hito" is another word to describe one ...
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Rules and tools for assigning furigana
It often happens that I want to supply the furigana (振{ふり}仮{が}名{な}) for some kanji-containing word, but can't figure out the right assignment of the kana to the kanji.
To be clear, the problem here ...
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Should the furigana go above the whole word or individual kanji?
I've seen both styles used, basically:
A = 家内{かない}
B = 家{か}内{ない}
I can see pros and cons for both styles. The rendering of A is probably better and there are words for which it may be difficult to ...
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Is this furigana a typo?
I have a set of traditional poem cards. One of the poems has the line:
嵐の庭の
雪ならで
and furigana is given for the kanji. On the 庭 kanji, the furigana is には. My dictionaries give にわ instead. Is this a ...
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How to interpret this mismatched furigana?
I understand that mistmached furigana can be used to show another layer, but I can't figure out how to interpret this.
I guess it's highlighting the word メイン. Like the hamburger is the main thing ...
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Why does furigana often appear in the most unnecessary places in Japanese books?
I'm been starting to try to read some Japanese novels recently, and one thing that struck me was that when furigana is used, it seemed to show up in the most unnecessary places.
For example, in the ...
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Why would a light novel have furigana for common kanji?
I've been reading the light novels ひげを剃る and a lot of the furigana use confuses me. For context, not every kanji has furigana- I'd say like 20% of the kanji per page have it.
They use it for ...
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Are these furigana wrong? [duplicate]
Looking up the words, I get [日本]{にほん} and [異世界]{いせかい} but don't get anything matching こつち or むこう. Is the furigana used here wrong?
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How to read 死神界?
In this manga I'm reading, the word 死神界 appears. I would have read it has しにがみかい but there was furigana indicating the reading to be ここ.
If there was no furigana, how could I know the correct way to ...
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Questions on an 1840's text: Battle at Yamaki Palace 治承四年八月中句右兵衞佐頼朝公
I am a bit lost understanding and translating elements of this text from the 1840s, even after persevering for a couple of days.
Two versions (with reasonable detail when viewed at actual scale).
My ...
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What are the common practices for writing Korean names?
Some manga made by Korean writers and illustrators write their names entirely with kanji (especially without any clue as to how to pronounce them), while credits in anime write Korean staffers' names ...
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Small Words on the side of Big Words. Is it a manga thing or a japanese thing?
I'm interested on learning Japanese and I was curious on how this works. I picked a japanese manga for curiosity and saw this on a balloom speech.
Why there is small words on the side of the big ones?...
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How do I ask about books that include furigana for the kanji?
I'm planning on going to Japan soon and one of the things I'd like to do is buy a few books, but I want to get books that include the furigana for all the kanji. How would I ask a store associate to ...
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Meaning of 首ひねり in the following sentence
A boxer has just managed to bring down his opponent landing his final punch. However, he surprisingly goes down too. Here you can see the whole page. His trainer comments with this sentence:
[...
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Ordering of writing furigana in multi-character words
I've recently started writing in a genkouyoushi notebook for practice and I've been writing furigana along with it to reinforce the reading. I was wondering how Japanese writers typically write ...
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If Kanji are necessary to disambiguate homophones, how come it's still used, being that Japanese people seem to know the difference when speaking?
I'm a beginner.
People argue for Kanji being that it helps disambiguate homophones in written Japanese, but in spoken Japanese, kanji (or any other visual aid) are not available, yet people seem to ...
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At what time did furigana start being used?
I was wondering if anyone could tell me when furigana started being used in Japan? I'm writing a research paper, and I've been searching and digging around for the answer but can't find it anywhere.
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Use of の (particle) in this sentence: [duplicate]
こんにちは！
Recently, I've been practicing for the JLPT N5 using the website's sample questions. However, in sample question 5, where it asks to give the correct particle out of a choice of four particles,...
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Is there a standard for furigana? ふりがな vs フリガナ
When writing furigana I was told if it's written「フリガナ」write it in katakana. If it's「ふりがな」then write it in hiragana.
I'm curious if there's a standard or everyone that makes a document just kind of ...
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Furigana: Usage and application
I've been learning Japanese with Memrise's program (for about 6+ months at 2 hours a week on average) and have managed to learn all the hiragana characters. They don't teach katakana (I guess they ...
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How useful is furigana for most adults and teenagers?
If I am going to print some text to give to backpackers, is adding furigana worthwhile? It's important to avoid misunderstanding, but I would think people coming from Japan to Spain would be fairly ...
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Is it rude to always attach furigana to every Kanji used in letters directed to superiors?
I am not sure whether or not attaching furigana changes the nuance of politeness. My question:
Is it rude to always attach furigana to every Kanji used in letters directed to superiors?
Note: the ...
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Should I write 此方 or こちら?
I wonder if it is too formal to use the kanji for such a common expression like this.
However, I like to write most Japanese words with kanji since I write college documents.
Additionally, what do ...
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Difference between furigana and rubi
Is there any difference between furigana and rubi. To my knowledge, both of these are used to write the provocation of kanji in small print above the kanji, but is there a difference between these two ...
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Why does the name of ハチ公 【こう】 include Katakana instead of Hiragana?
It seems strange because the name ハチ公 【こう】 combines Katakana and Kanji in one word.
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What search term(s) should I use when looking for a pronunciation guide of ancient kanji?
I've recently developed interest in reading/studying the 古事記{こじき}, and simply searching for the term「古事記」gives plenty of results with the original text. However, I am having trouble finding any ...
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Why are some loanwords written in kanji in certain manga?
In One Piece for example I've noticed that the word "Log Pose" is written as 記録指針｛ログポーズ｝. Another example, also found in One Piece, is the word "Poneglyph", written as 歴史｛ポーネ｝の本文{グリフ｝.
Why do words ...
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several difficulties reading an extract about Kobayashi Issa's works
I'm still reading "小林{こばやし}一茶{いっさ}" (a book written by 宗左近/Sō Sakon about the famous poet).
I'm facing several difficulties with the following extract :
愛｛あい｝の歌｛うた｝ 怒｛いか｝りの歌｛うた｝
作品｛さくひん｝の特色｛...
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How to choose the reading of 埋{う}める and 埋{うず}める?
埋める has two possible readings 埋{う}める and 埋{うず}める.
Of course kanjis have tons of inconsistencies. While (same furigana / same okurigana / different kanji / different meaning), such as 熱{あつ}い and 厚{あつ}...
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Where does the furigana split on 小路?
Where does the furigana split on the word 小路{こうじ}? Does the う belong to 小 or does it belong to 路? Or is the word considered to have a 熟字訓読み (i.e. no split)?
小 has the reading こ
路 has the reading じ
...
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What's it called when furigana push characters apart because they're so long?
Here on Japanese.SE, sometimes we see furigana like 司る【つかさどる】, where the characters beneath the furigana get pushed apart because the furigana doesn't quite fit. Sometimes when I'm writing answers I ...
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For furigana, can katakana be used instead of hiragana?
From the first day I started to learn Japanese, I saw people use hiragana to help read kanji, they are usually written on the top of those kanjis.
But recently I also saw some Japanese use katakana, ...
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Exact use of furigana?
こんにちは！
I am currently learning the Japanese language (along with the Russian language) outside of schooling, and decided that besides reading raw text for practice I could use manga as well. However, ...
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Are there any patterns for okurigana?
Sometimes, when learning kanji, I get tripped up because I can't remember which kana are the furigana of the kanji, and which are the okurigana.
Take たべる(食) for example. I might think that たべ are the ...
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What does it mean when newspapers give furigana for 常用{じょうよう} kanji?
In these following examples, a few words are given furigana:
シドニー立てこもり、治安部隊が突入 人質？担架で救出
年賀状家族や友達へ投函
金剛峯寺にゴボウ奉納 黒河道世界遺産目指し
So, it looks like that furigana is provided when a 人名用{じんめいよう} kanji needs ...
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Learn kanji or just furigana for a vacation in Japan [closed]
I am trying to learn Japanese with Rosetta Stone for a vacation in Japan. Is it important to learn all the kanji or are there always furigana?
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What is the rule to write furigana (ruby)?
I am confused in determining the correct way to write furigana.
Is a furigana only allowed to be attached to a single kanji character? In other words, can a furigana attached to more than one kanji ...
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Can "furigana" be used to refer to ruby that isn't kana?
In English, the term ruby refers to small text set above the main text (in horizontal writing) or to the right of the main text (in vertical writing). From Wikipedia:
Ruby characters (ルビ) are ...
user1478
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How do I correctly display furigana?
I've started to program for android recently and one of my side projects is to make a simple app for learning basic japanese vocabulary and I've been wondering what's the correct way to display ...
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Why are points used where furigana would be normally?
Sometimes in mangas there are points where you would expect normally furigana. What meaning is it supposed to have?
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Is there a name for this furigana convention
...where the furigana is a different "word"/"synonym" for the actual kanji in song lyrics, titles, etc.?
A couple references to this:
Why are some lyrics' words written in kanji whose usual reading ...
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How accurate is the ふりがな on Aozora Books?
I would love to use Aozra Books as a learning tool, but the accuracy of its ふりがな concerns me. This book, for example, claims 私 is pronounced わたくし instead of わたし.
Is the former a proper pronunciation?...
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What does this use of kanji in ruby text mean?
In the manga らんま 1/2, a character from China says the following:
気{き}をつけるよろし、ムースは[暗器]{かくし武器}の[達人]{たつじん}よ。
My question is about [暗器]{かくし武器}. The ruby is just as I've typed it, with two tiny kanji ...
user1478
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Ruby text in Documents
Note: I know they might not strictly be interchangeable, but I might end up using "Furigana" and "Ruby text" in an interchangeable manner in this question.
Hi all,
I'm in the process of writing a ...
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