Definition, Meaning & Synonyms

hiragana

Noun

hee-rah-gah-nah

Definition

A phonetic writing system used in the Japanese language.

Examples

私は日本語を勉強しています。(Watashi wa nihongo o benkyou shiteimasu.) – I am studying Japanese.
ひらがなは日本語の基本です。(Hiragana wa nihongo no kihon desu.) – Hiragana is the foundation of Japanese language.

Meaning

Hiragana is one of the two main syllabaries used in Japanese writing, alongside katakana. It is used primarily for grammatical elements and native Japanese words not covered by kanji.