hiragana

[ heer-uh-gah-nuh; Japanese hee-rah-gah-nah ]

noun
  1. the cursive and more widely used of the two Japanese syllabaries.

Origin of hiragana

1
1815–25; <Japanese, equivalent to hira ordinary (earlier f(y)ira<*pira) + -gana, combining form of kanakana

Words Nearby hiragana

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British Dictionary definitions for hiragana

hiragana

/ (ˌhɪərəˈɡɑːnə) /


noun
  1. one of the Japanese systems of syllabic writing based on Chinese cursive ideograms. The more widely used of the two current systems, it is employed in newspapers and general literature: Compare katakana

Origin of hiragana

1
from Japanese: flat kana

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