Notes

Here are some examples of where hiragana is used in Japanese writing:

• writing for young children, including school texts and manga:わたしはたなかです (‘I am Tanaka’)

• verb endings, particles and other grammatical elements:私 は 日本語 を 勉強 している (‘I am studying Japanese’)

• words with no kanji form, or whose kanji form is rarely used:ここ (‘here’), はい (‘yes’), きれい (‘pretty’)

• furigana: small hiragana characters that show how kanji are pronounced