The kana-usage tag has no wiki summary.
3
votes
1answer
268 views
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 ...
12
votes
1answer
249 views
Why is English “ka” and “ca” sometimes rendered as キャ (kya) instead of カ (ka)?
I sometimes see that English ka and ca are rendered キャ (kya) instead of カ (ka). Why is this?
Do English ka and ca really sound more like kya than ka, at least to Japanese listeners? (I know it ...
3
votes
1answer
169 views
Proper Terms For Representing GPS Coordinates
In another question, I mentioned using Kana to represent the GPS coordinates for:
N 43° 09.725' W 077° 26.688'
I used:
キタ シジュウ サン ジスウ ク チョボ ナナヒャク ニジュウ ゴ フン
kita shijuu san jisuu ku chobo ...
-1
votes
1answer
161 views
Sokuon Diacritic and Wabun Morse Code
I have created a geocache puzzle based on Japanese Morse Code (Wabun Code).
The final coordinates that I translated are: N 43° 09.725 W 077° 26.688
I broke this down as follows:
N 4 3 ° ...
5
votes
1answer
265 views
What does it mean if a sentence is in all-kana?
I came across this sentence in a manga:
なにすんじゃこんガキャ―――！！
There is no kanji use in that speech-bubble, making it hard to work out the meaning. In fact, I haven't been able to find the meaning of ...
14
votes
2answers
895 views
What does the little っ (tsu) signify when at the end of a word?
The small っ (tsu) is usually used before a consonant to indicate gemination, less technically known as doubled consonants, which is how they are transliterated in romaji.
I have seen it at the end of ...
22
votes
3answers
1k views
What are the differences between じ and ぢ, and ず and づ?
The Japanese hiragana and katakana syllabaries can mostly be described as phonetic. But there are two exceptions, the two pairs of syllables modified to be voiced with the dakuten diacritic which ...
14
votes
2answers
628 views
Does the particle “を” (wo) have a special use when at the end of a sentence?
I thought the character "を" (wo) was only used for the particle whose only job was to indicate the direct object of a verb.
But today I saw it at the end of an exclamation on a sign I think on a ...
15
votes
4answers
1k views
Which is correct: こんばんわ or こんばんは?
I've seen both こんばんわ and こんばんは used; which is correct here? If we interpret the は as the topic particle, は would seem correct, but it seems that わ is used quite frequently anyway...
