仮名

• 読み: かな
• ローマ字: kana
• 漢字の分解: 仮 (ka/kari) — temporary, borrowed; 名 (mei/na) — name, character
• 発音: /ka.na/

意味

Kana; the Japanese phonetic syllabary comprising hiragana and katakana, developed from simplified Chinese characters.

仮名 (literally 'borrowed names') were developed in the Heian period by simplifying Chinese characters to represent Japanese sounds. Hiragana became associated with native Japanese literary expression — especially by women at court — while katakana was used in Buddhist texts and official contexts. Together they form the phonetic backbone of the Japanese writing system alongside kanji.

例文

1. 仮名は平安時代に漢字をもとに作られた。
2. 仮名だけで書かれた文章は柔らかい印象を与える。
3. ひらがなとカタカナを合わせて仮名と呼ぶ。

使い方ガイド

場面: linguistics, Japanese history, education

トーン: academic

起源と歴史

From 仮 (temporary, borrowed) and 名 (name, character). In contrast to 真名 (the 'true' characters — kanji borrowed directly from China), 仮名 are the adapted phonetic forms.

文化的背景

時代: Classical

世代: All ages

社会的背景: Universal