送り仮名

• 読み: おくりがな
• ローマ字: okurigana
• 漢字の分解: 送 (sou/oku) — send; 仮 (ka/kari) — temporary, provisional; 名 (mei/na) — name
• 発音: /o.kɯ.ɾi.ɡa.na/

意味

Okurigana; kana suffixes written after kanji. The hiragana characters that follow a kanji to complete the reading of a word.

A noun specific to Japanese orthography. Okurigana serve to indicate verb conjugations, adjective endings, and to disambiguate kun-yomi readings. For example, in 食べる the べる is okurigana. Correct okurigana usage is formally governed by guidelines from the Japanese Cabinet (内閣告示). Mistakes in okurigana are common even among native speakers and are a frequent topic in language exams.

例文

1. 送り仮名を間違えると、意味が変わることがある。
2. 小学校では送り仮名のルールをしっかり教わる。
3. この漢字の送り仮名は何ですか。

使い方ガイド

場面: education, writing, language study

トーン: neutral

起源と歴史

From 送り (okuri, sending off, attaching) + 仮名 (kana, Japanese phonetic script). The kana are 'sent along' after the kanji to complete the word.

文化的背景

時代: Pre-modern

世代: All ages

社会的背景: Educated