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Definition of hiragana

hiragana

/ˌhɪərəˈɡɑːnə/
hi · ra · ga · na
Plural:hiragana
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hiragana Lexical Profile

hiragana Game Scores & Validity

• noun

1

The main cursive phonetic syllabary of the Japanese writing system, used primarily for native Japanese words, grammatical inflections, and particles.

Example

"Beginning students of Japanese usually master hiragana before learning kanji."

2

An individual character or symbol belonging to the hiragana syllabary.

Example

"The teacher wrote several hiragana on the whiteboard to demonstrate their stroke order."

Word Nuance & Usage

Do not confuse with 'katakana', the angular Japanese syllabary used primarily for foreign loanwords and emphasis, or 'kanji', the logographic characters adapted from Chinese.

• Rhymes for hiragana

• Nearby Words

hipster
hipsterdom
hirable
hiragana
hire
hireable
hiree

Word Origin & Etymology

Borrowed from Japanese 平仮名 (hiragana), a compound of 平 (hira, meaning 'plain', 'ordinary', or 'flowing') and 仮名 (kana, meaning 'borrowed or provisional characters').

Cite this Entry

Wordmom. (2026). Definition of Hiragana. In Wordmom Dictionary. Retrieved Nov 5, 2026, from https://wordmom.com/dictionary/hiragana
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