hiragana

[ heer-uh-gah-nuh; Japanese hee-rah-gah-nah ]

noun

1. the cursive and more widely used of the two Japanese syllabaries.

hiragana

/ ˌhɪərəˈɡɑːnə /

noun

1. one of the Japanese systems of syllabic writing based on Chinese cursive ideograms. The more widely used of the two current systems, it is employed in newspapers and general literature Compare katakana

Word History and Origins

Origin of hiragana¹

1815–25; < Japanese, equivalent to hira ordinary (earlier f ( y ) ira < *pira ) + -gana, combining form of kana kana

Word History and Origins

Origin of hiragana¹

from Japanese: flat kana

Example Sentences

A bonus: During last week’s Spelling Bees, fewer players found “hiragana” than any other word — except one.

From New York Times

A few of the nonsymbolic symbols on the acrylic tiles resemble Japanese hiragana.

From Washington Post

“I loved the Japanese language,” she writes, “and, more than anything, Japanese literature written with the three distinct systems of Japanese writing: graceful hiragana ひらがな, spartan katakana カタカナ, and dense kanji 漢字.”

From New York Times

In a similar vein, Kana Quest is a sliding block puzzle game that’s designed to teach you Japanese hiragana and katakana characters.

From The Verge

The Striker keycaps use the blue hues of the Japanese national soccer team and feature both English and Hiragana characters.

From The Verge