Editing Ruby character (section)

== Uses ==
Ruby may be used for different reasons:

* because the character is rare and the pronunciation unknown to many—personal name characters often fall into this category;
* because the character has more than one pronunciation, and the context is insufficient to determine which to use;
* because the intended readers of the text are still learning the language and are not expected to always know the pronunciation or meaning of a term;
* because the author is using a nonstandard pronunciation for a character or a term

Also, ruby may be used to show the meaning, rather than pronunciation, of a possibly-unfamiliar (usually foreign) or slang word. This is generally used with spoken dialogue and applies only to Japanese publications. The most common form of ruby is called ''furigana'' or ''yomigana'' and is found in Japanese instructional books, newspapers, comics and books for children.

In Japanese, certain characters, such as the [[sokuon]] ({{lang|ja|促音}}) (little ''tsu'', {{lang|ja|っ}}) that indicates a pause before the consonant it precedes, are normally written at about half the size of normal characters. When written as ruby, such characters are usually the same size as other ruby characters. Advancements in technology now allow certain characters to render accurately.{{clarify|date=December 2016}}<ref name="w3c-spec">{{cite web
|author1=Marcin Sawicki |author2=Michel Suignard |author3=Masayasu Ishikawa |author4=Martin Dürst |author5=Tex Texin |title=Ruby Annotation
|date=2001-05-31
|work=[[W3C Recommendation]]
|publisher=[[World Wide Web Consortium]]
|access-date=2007-02-14
|url=http://www.w3.org/TR/ruby
}}</ref>

In Chinese, the practice of providing phonetic cues via ruby is rare, but does occur systematically in grade-school level text books or dictionaries. The Chinese have no special name for this practice, as it is not as widespread as in Japan. In Taiwan, it is known as "[[Bopomofo|zhuyin]]", from the name of the phonetic system employed for this purpose there. It is virtually always used vertically, because publications are normally in a vertical format, and zhuyin is not as easy to read when presented horizontally.{{Citation needed|date=February 2012}} Where zhuyin is not used, other Chinese phonetic systems like [[pinyin]] are employed.

In academic settings, Vietnamese text written in {{lang|vi|[[chữ Hán]]}} or {{lang|vi|[[chữ Nôm]]}} may be glossed with {{lang|vi|[[chữ quốc ngữ]]}} ruby for modern readers.{{sfn|Lunde|2009|p=529}}

Sometimes [[interlinear glosses]] are visually similar to ruby, appearing above or below the main text in smaller type. However, this is a distinct practice used for helping students of a foreign language by giving glosses for the words in a text, as opposed to the pronunciation of lesser-known characters.

Ruby annotation can also be used in handwriting.