Editing Kana (section)

== Hiragana and katakana ==
The following table reads, in [[gojūon]] order, as ''a'', ''i'', ''u'', ''e'', ''o'' (down first column), then ''ka'', ''ki'', ''ku'', ''ke'', ''ko'' (down second column), and so on. ''n'' appears on its own at the end. Asterisks mark unused combinations.

{|
|- valign="top"
|
{| class="wikitable"
|+Japanese kana: [[hiragana]] (left) and [[katakana]] (right)<br /><small>([[:Image:Kana chart 1.png|Image of this table]])</small>
|-
!
!title="single vowels"| –
!''k''
!''s''
!''t''
!''n''
!''h''
!''m''
!''y''
!''r''
!''w''
|- style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|''a''
|[[A (kana)|{{nowrap|あア}}]]
|[[Ka (kana)|{{nowrap|かカ}}]]
|[[Sa (kana)|{{nowrap|さサ}}]]
|[[Ta (kana)|{{nowrap|たタ}}]]
|[[Na (kana)|{{nowrap|なナ}}]]
|[[Ha (kana)|{{nowrap|はハ}}]]
|[[Ma (kana)|{{nowrap|まマ}}]]
|[[Ya (kana)|{{nowrap|やヤ}}]]
|[[Ra (kana)|{{nowrap|らラ}}]]
|[[Wa (kana)|{{nowrap|わワ}}]]
|- style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|''i''
|[[I (kana)|{{nowrap|いイ}}]]
|[[Ki (kana)|{{nowrap|きキ}}]]
|[[Shi (kana)|{{nowrap|しシ}}]]
|[[Chi (kana)|{{nowrap|ちチ}}]]
|[[Ni (kana)|{{nowrap|にニ}}]]
|[[Hi (kana)|{{nowrap|ひヒ}}]]
|[[Mi (kana)|{{nowrap|みミ}}]]
|[[Yi (kana)|{{nowrap|𛀆𛄠}}]]*
|[[Ri (kana)|{{nowrap|りリ}}]]
|[[Wi (kana)|{{nowrap|ゐヰ}}]]
|- style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|''u''
|[[U (kana)|{{nowrap|うウ}}]]
|[[Ku (kana)|{{nowrap|くク}}]]
|[[Su (kana)|{{nowrap|すス}}]]
|[[Tsu (kana)|{{nowrap|つツ}}]]
|[[Nu (kana)|{{nowrap|ぬヌ}}]]
|[[Fu (kana)|{{nowrap|ふフ}}]]
|[[Mu (kana)|{{nowrap|むム}}]]
|[[Yu (kana)|{{nowrap|ゆユ}}]]
|[[Ru (kana)|{{nowrap|るル}}]]
|[[Wu (kana)|{{nowrap|𛄟𛄢}}]]*
|- style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|''e''
|[[E (kana)|{{nowrap|えエ}}]]
|[[Ke (kana)|{{nowrap|けケ}}]]
|[[Se (kana)|{{nowrap|せセ}}]]
|[[Te (kana)|{{nowrap|てテ}}]]
|[[Ne (kana)|{{nowrap|ねネ}}]]
|[[He (kana)|{{nowrap|へヘ}}]]
|[[Me (kana)|{{nowrap|めメ}}]]
|[[Ye (kana)|{{nowrap|𛀁𛄡}}]]*
|[[Re (kana)|{{nowrap|れレ}}]]
|[[We (kana)|{{nowrap|ゑヱ}}]]
|- style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|''o''
|[[O (kana)|{{nowrap|おオ}}]]
|[[Ko (kana)|{{nowrap|こコ}}]]
|[[So (kana)|{{nowrap|そソ}}]]
|[[To (kana)|{{nowrap|とト}}]]
|[[No (kana)|{{nowrap|のノ}}]]
|[[Ho (kana)|{{nowrap|ほホ}}]]
|[[Mo (kana)|{{nowrap|もモ}}]]
|[[Yo (kana)|{{nowrap|よヨ}}]]
|[[Ro (kana)|{{nowrap|ろロ}}]]
|[[Wo (kana)|{{nowrap|をヲ}}]]
|}
|
{| class="wikitable"
|+&nbsp;<br /><small>&nbsp;</small>
|- style="text-align:center; font-size:2em"
| [[N (kana)|{{nowrap|んン}}]]
|-
!'''(''n'')'''
|}
|}

*There are presently no kana for ''ye'', ''yi'' or ''wu'', as corresponding syllables do not occur natively in modern Japanese.
**The {{IPA|[jɛ]}} (''ye'') sound is believed to have existed in pre-Classical Japanese, mostly before the advent of kana, and can be represented by the [[man'yōgana]] kanji 江.<ref name="yeseely" /><ref name="yeslj">{{cite web | url=http://www.sljfaq.org/afaq/yeyi.html | title=Is there a kana symbol for ye or yi? | work=SLJ FAQ | access-date=4 August 2016}}</ref> There was an archaic Hiragana ([[File:Unicode Japanese Hiragana Ye.svg|𛀁|14px]])<ref name="katou">{{cite web | url=http://std.dkuug.dk/jtc1/sc2/wg2/docs/n3388.pdf | title=JTC1/SC2/WG2 N3388: Proposal to encode two Kana characters concerning YE. | date=2008-01-14 | access-date=4 August 2016 | author=Katō, Nozomu}}</ref> derived from the [[man'yōgana]] ''ye'' kanji 江,<ref name="yeseely">{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KCZ2ya6cg88C&q=syllable+ye&pg=PA109 | title=A History of Writing in Japan | author=Seeley, Christopher | year=1991 | pages=109 (footnote 18) | publisher=BRILL | isbn=90-04-09081-9}}</ref> which is encoded into Unicode at code point U+1B001 (𛀁),<ref name="yeunicode">{{cite web | url=https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/Unicode-6.0/U60-1B000.pdf | title=Kana Supplement | publisher=Unicode | work=Unicode 6.0 | date=2010 | access-date=22 June 2016}}</ref><ref>More information is available at [[:ja:ヤ行エ]] on the Japanese Wikipedia.</ref> but it is not widely supported. It is believed that ''e'' and ''ye'' first merged to ''ye'' before shifting back to ''e'' during the [[Edo period]].<ref name="yeslj" /> As demonstrated by 17th century-era European sources, the syllable ''we'' (ゑ・ヱ ) also came to be pronounced as {{IPA|[jɛ]}} (''ye'').<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.raccoonbend.com/languages/canna.html|title=Japanese Kana Chart from the Netherlands|website=www.raccoonbend.com}}</ref> If necessary, the modern orthography allows [je] (''ye'') to be written as いぇ (イェ),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/hakusho/nc/k19910628002/k19910628002.html|title=平成3年6月28日内閣告示第2号:外来語の表記|trans-title=Japanese cabinet order No.2 (28 June 1991):The notation of loanword|author=Cabinet of Japan|publisher=[[Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology]]|access-date=25 May 2011|author-link=Cabinet of Japan|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190106125953/http://www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/hakusho/nc/k19910628002/k19910628002.html|archive-date=6 January 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref> but this usage is limited and nonstandard.
**The modern Katakana ''e'', エ, derives from the man'yōgana 江, originally pronounced ''ye'';<ref name="katou"/> a "Katakana letter Archaic E" ([[File:Unicode Japanese Katakana Old E.png|𛀀|14px]]) derived from the man'yōgana 衣 (''e'')<ref name="katou"/> is encoded into Unicode at code point U+1B000 (𛀀),<ref name="yeunicode"/> due to being used for that purpose in scholarly works on classical Japanese.<ref name="katou2">{{cite web | url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2008/08359-about-n3528.pdf | title=L2/08-359: About WG2 N3528 | author=Katō, Nozomu}}</ref>
**Some [[gojūon]] tables published during the 19th century list additional Katakana in the ''ye'' ([[File:Katakana obsolete ye.svg|14px|𛄡]]), ''wu'' ([[File:Katakana obsolete wu.svg|14px|𛄢]]) and ''yi'' ([[File:Katakana obsolete yi.svg|14px|𛄠]]) positions.<ref name="itikun">{{cite web|url=http://www.geocities.jp/itikun01/hibi/zat2.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080303234206/http://www.geocities.jp/itikun01/hibi/zat2.html|title=伊豆での収穫|archive-date=2008-03-03|language=ja}}</ref> These are not presently used, and the latter two sounds never existed in Japanese.<ref name="yeslj" /><ref>More information is available at [[:ja:わ行う]], [[:ja:ヤ行イ]] and [[:ja:五十音#51全てが異なる字・音: 江戸後期から明治]] on the Japanese Wikipedia.</ref> They were added to Unicode in version 14.0 in 2021.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/Unicode-14.0/U140-1B100.pdf |title=Kana Extended-A |work=Unicode 14.0 Delta Code Charts |institution=[[Unicode Consortium]] |year=2021}}</ref> These sources also list [[File:Hiragana I 01.svg|𛀆|14px]] (Unicode U+1B006, 𛀆) in the Hiragana ''yi'' position, and [[File:Unicode Japanese Hiragana Ye.svg|𛀁|14px]] in the ''ye'' position.<ref name="itikun" />
*Although removed from the standard orthography with the ''gendai kanazukai'' reforms, ''wi'' and ''we'' still see stylistic use, as in ウヰスキー for ''whisky'' and ヱビス or ゑびす for Japanese kami [[Ebisu (mythology)|Ebisu]], and [[Yebisu]], a brand of beer named after Ebisu. Hiragana ''wi'' and ''we'' are preserved in certain [[Okinawan scripts]], while katakana ''wi'' and ''we'' are preserved in the [[Ainu language]].
*''wo'' is preserved only as the [[accusative case|accusative]] [[Japanese particles|particle]], normally occurring only in hiragana.
*''si'', ''ti'', ''tu'', ''hu'', ''wi'', ''we'' and ''wo'' are usually romanized respectively as ''shi'', ''chi'', ''tsu'', ''fu'', ''i'', ''e'' and ''o'' instead, according to contemporary pronunciation.
*the [[sokuon]] or small ''tsu'' (っ/ッ) indicates [[gemination]] and is romanized by repeating the following consonant. For example, って is romanized ''tte'' (exception: っち becomes ''tchi'').

=== Diacritics ===
{{See also|Dakuten and handakuten|Yōon|Historical kana orthography}}
Syllables beginning with the voiced consonants [g], [z], [d] and [b] are spelled with kana from the corresponding unvoiced columns (''k'', ''s'', ''t'' and ''h'') and the voicing mark, ''[[dakuten and handakuten|dakuten]]''. Syllables beginning with [p] are spelled with kana from the ''h'' column and the half-voicing mark, ''[[dakuten and handakuten|handakuten]]''.

{| class="wikitable"
|+Dakuten diacritic marks, [[hiragana]] (left) and [[katakana]] (right)
!
!''g''<!--k-->
!''z''<!--s-->
!''d''<!--t-->
!''b''
!''p''<!--h-->
!''ng''
!''nz''
!''nd''
!''l''<!--r-->
|- style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|''a''
|[[Ka (kana)|{{nowrap|がガ}}]]
|[[Sa (kana)|{{nowrap|ざザ}}]]
|[[Ta (kana)|{{nowrap|だダ}}]]
|[[Ha (kana)|{{nowrap|ばバ}}]]
|[[Ha (kana)|{{nowrap|ぱパ}}]]
|[[Ka (kana)|{{nowrap|か゚カ゚}}]]
|[[Sa (kana)|{{nowrap|さ゚サ゚}}]]
|[[Ta (kana)|{{nowrap|た゚タ゚}}]]
|[[Ra (kana)|{{nowrap|ら゚ラ゚}}]]
|- style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|''i''
|[[Ki (kana)|{{nowrap|ぎギ}}]]
|[[Shi (kana)|{{nowrap|じジ}}]]
|[[Chi (kana)|{{nowrap|ぢヂ}}]]
|[[Hi (kana)|{{nowrap|びビ}}]]
|[[Hi (kana)|{{nowrap|ぴピ}}]]
|[[Ki (kana)|{{nowrap|き゚キ゚}}]]
|[[Shi (kana)|{{nowrap|し゚シ゚}}]]
|[[Chi (kana)|{{nowrap|ち゚チ゚}}]]
|[[Ri (kana)|{{nowrap|り゚リ゚}}]]
|- style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|''u''
|[[Ku (kana)|{{nowrap|ぐグ}}]]
|[[Su (kana)|{{nowrap|ずズ}}]]
|[[Tsu (kana)|{{nowrap|づヅ}}]]
|[[Fu (kana)|{{nowrap|ぶブ}}]]
|[[Fu (kana)|{{nowrap|ぷプ}}]]
|[[Ku (kana)|{{nowrap|く゚ク゚}}]]
|[[Su (kana)|{{nowrap|す゚ス゚}}]]
|[[Tsu (kana)|{{nowrap|つ゚ツ゚}}]]
|[[Ru (kana)|{{nowrap|る゚ル゚}}]]
|- style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|''e''
|[[Ke (kana)|{{nowrap|げゲ}}]]
|[[Se (kana)|{{nowrap|ぜゼ}}]]
|[[Te (kana)|{{nowrap|でデ}}]]
|[[He (kana)|{{nowrap|べベ}}]]
|[[He (kana)|{{nowrap|ぺペ}}]]
|[[Ke (kana)|{{nowrap|け゚ケ゚}}]]
|[[Se (kana)|{{nowrap|せ゚セ゚}}]]
|[[Te (kana)|{{nowrap|て゚テ゚}}]]
|[[Re (kana)|{{nowrap|れ゚レ゚}}]]
|- style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|''o''
|[[Ko (kana)|{{nowrap|ごゴ}}]]
|[[So (kana)|{{nowrap|ぞゾ}}]]
|[[To (kana)|{{nowrap|どド}}]]
|[[Ho (kana)|{{nowrap|ぼボ}}]]
|[[Ho (kana)|{{nowrap|ぽポ}}]]
|[[Ko (kana)|{{nowrap|こ゚コ゚}}]]
|[[So (kana)|{{nowrap|そ゚ソ゚}}]]
|[[To (kana)|{{nowrap|と゚ト゚}}]]
|[[Ro (kana)|{{nowrap|ろ゚ロ゚}}]]
|}
* Note that the か゚, ら゚ and the remaining entries in the two rightmost columns, though they exist, [[Dakuten and handakuten#Phonetic shifts|are not used in standard Japanese orthography]].
*''zi'', ''di'', and ''du'' are often transcribed into English as ''ji'', ''ji'', and ''zu'' instead, respectively, according to contemporary pronunciation.
* Usually, [va], [vi], [vu], [ve], [vo] are represented respectively by バ[ba], ビ[bi], ブ[bu], ベ[be], and ボ[bo], for example, in loanwords such as [[wikt:バイオリン|バイオリン]] (''baiorin'' "violin"), but (less usually) the distinction can be preserved by using [w-] with voicing marks or by using [wu] and a vowel kana, as in ヴァ(ヷ), ヴィ(ヸ), ヴ, ヴェ(ヹ), and ヴォ(ヺ). Note that ヴ did not have a JIS-encoded Hiragana form (ゔ) until [[JIS X 0213]], meaning that many [[Shift JIS]] flavours (including [[Windows-31J|the Windows and HTML5 version]]) can only represent it as a katakana, although [[Unicode]] supports both.

=== Digraphs ===
Syllables beginning with [[palatalization (phonetics)|palatalized]] consonants are spelled with one of the seven [[consonant]]al kana from the ''i'' row followed by small ''ya'', ''yu'' or ''yo''. These [[digraph (orthography)|digraphs]] are called [[yōon]].

{| class="wikitable"
|+Yōon digraphs, [[hiragana]]
!
!''k''
!''s''
!''t''
!''n''
!''h''
!''m''
!''r''
!''w''
|- style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|''ya''
|[[きゃ]]
|[[しゃ]]
|[[ちゃ]]
|[[にゃ]]
|[[ひゃ]]
|[[みゃ]]
|[[りゃ]]
|[[ゐ|ゐゃ]]
|- style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|''yu''
|[[きゅ]]
|[[しゅ]]
|[[ちゅ]]
|[[にゅ]]
|[[ひゅ]]
|[[みゅ]]
|[[りゅ]]
|[[ゐ|ゐゅ]]
|- style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|''yo''
|[[きょ]]
|[[しょ]]
|[[ちょ]]
|[[にょ]]
|[[ひょ]]
|[[みょ]]
|[[りょ]]
|[[ゐ|ゐょ]]
|}
* There are no digraphs for the [[semivowel]] ''y'' and ''w'' columns.
* The digraphs are usually transcribed with three letters, leaving out the ''i'': C''y''V. For example, きゃ is transcribed as ''kya'' to distinguish it from the two-kana きや, ''kiya''.
* ''si''+''y''* and ''ti''+''y''* are often transcribed ''sh*'' and ''ch*'' instead of ''sy*'' and ''ty*''. For example, しゃ is transcribed as ''sha'', and ちゅ is transcribed as ''chu''.
* In earlier Japanese, digraphs could also be formed with ''w''-kana. Although obsolete in modern Japanese, the digraphs くゎ (/kʷa/) and くゐ/くうぃ(/kʷi/), are preserved in certain Okinawan orthographies. In addition, the kana え can be used in Okinawan to form the digraph くぇ, which represents the /kʷe/ sound.
* In loanwords, digraphs with a small ''e''-kana [[Katakana#Extended katakana|can be formed]]. For example, キェ (or きぇ in hiragana), which is transcribed as ''kye''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Haruo) |first=海津知緒(KAIZU |title=■米国規格(ANSI Z39.11-1972)—要約 |url=http://www.ab.cyberhome.ne.jp/~kaizu/roomazi/doc/ansiz3911.html |access-date=2024-05-21 |website=ローマ字相談室 |language=ja}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Haruo) |first=海津知緒(KAIZU |title=■英国規格(BS 4812 : 1972)—要約 |url=http://www.ab.cyberhome.ne.jp/~kaizu/roomazi/doc/bs4812.html |access-date=2024-05-21 |website=ローマ字相談室 |language=ja}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|+Yōon digraphs, hiragana
!
!''g''<!--k-->
!''z''<!--s-->
!''d''<!--t-->
!''b''
!''p''<!--h-->
!''ng''
!''nz''
!''nd''
!''l''
|- style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|''ya''
|[[ぎゃ]]
|[[じゃ]]
|[[ぢゃ]]
|[[びゃ]]
|[[ぴゃ]]
|[[き゚ゃ]]
|[[し|し゚ゃ]]
|[[ち|ち゚ゃ]]
|[[り|り゚ゃ]]
|- style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|''yu''
|[[ぎゅ]]
|[[じゅ]]
|[[ぢゅ]]
|[[びゅ]]
|[[ぴゅ]]
|[[き゚ゅ]]
|[[し|し゚ゅ]]
|[[ち|ち゚ゅ]]
|[[り|り゚ゅ]]
|- style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|''yo''
|[[ぎょ]]
|[[じょ]]
|[[ぢょ]]
|[[びょ]]
|[[ぴょ]]
|[[き゚ょ]]
|[[し|し゚ょ]]
|[[ち|ち゚ょ]]
|[[り|り゚ょ]]
|}
* Note that the き゚ゃ, き゚ゅ and remaining entries in the rightmost column, though they exist, [[Dakuten and handakuten#Phonetic shifts|are not used in standard Japanese orthography]].
* ''zi''+''y''* and ''di''+''y''* are often transcribed ''j*'' instead of ''zy*'' and ''dy*'', according to contemporary pronunciation. The form [[Wāpuro rōmaji#Spelling conventions|''jy*'']] is also used in some cases.