See also:
U+30EE, ヮ
KATAKANA LETTER SMALL WA

[U+30ED]
Katakana
[U+30EF]

Japanese

Etymology

Small form of the katakana character (wa).

Combining form

  1. Small combining form of katakana (wa) used in the archaic 拗音 (yōon) morae クァ (kwa) and グァ (gwa). Historically it was not distinguished from the full-size version; in modern language the sound has generally simplified to (ka) or (ga).

Usage notes

Unlike the hiragana system, used for Japanese language words that kanji does not cover, the katakana syllabary is used primarily for transcription of foreign language words into Japanese and the writing of loan words (collectively gairaigo), as well as to represent onomatopoeias, technical and scientific terms, and the names of plants, animals, and minerals. Names of Japanese companies, as well as certain Japanese language words, are also sometimes written in katakana rather than the other systems. Formerly, female given names were written in katakana. [edit]

  • (hiragana small wa)
  • (full-size wa)

See also

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