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