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hiragana

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

noun

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

Nearby words

  1. hipster,
  2. hipsterism,
  3. hipsters,
  4. hir,
  5. hirable,
  6. hirakata,
  7. hiram,
  8. hiranuma,
  9. hiranuma, kiichiro, baron,
  10. hiratsuka
Compare katakana.

Origin of hiragana

1815–25; < Japanese, equivalent to hira ordinary (earlier f(y)ira < *pira) + -gana, combining form of kana kana
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for hiragana

hiragana

noun

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 literatureCompare katakana

Word Origin for hiragana

from Japanese: flat kana
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for hiragana

hiragana

n.

from Japanese hiragana, from hira "plain" + kana "borrowed letter(s)."

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper