kana in English dictionary

  • kana

    Meanings and definitions of "kana"

    • The hiragana and katakana syllabaries. These are used to write Japanese words and particles using characters that represent syllables. Kana are derived from kanji.
    • A hiragana or katakana character.
    • A website which shares revenue with its contributors. From the Hawaiian ka`ana meaning "share".
    • Plural form of kana.
    • noun
      The hiragana and katakana syllabaries. These are made up of characters that represent individual syllables, which are are used to write Japanese words and particles. Kana are derived from kanji.
    • noun
      A hiragana or katakana character.
    • Japanese syllabaries
    • A general term for the syllabic Japanese scripts hiragana, katakana, as well as the old system known as man'yōgana.
    • Japanese syllabary (alphabets)
    • noun
      a Japanese system of syllabic writing having characters that can be used exclusively for writing foreign words or in combination with kanji (as for indicating pronunciations or grammatical inflections).
      The first kana was a system called man'yōgana, a set of kanji used for their phonetic values, much as Chinese uses characters for their phonetic values in foreign loanwords today.

    Grammar and declension of kana

    • kana ( plural  kana)
    • kana (plural kana or kanas)
  • Kana

    Meanings and definitions of "kana"

    • proper
      A Japanese female given name

Sample sentences with "kana"