See also: , , and

U+30AA, オ
KATAKANA LETTER O

[U+30A9]
Katakana
[U+30AB]
U+32D4, ㋔
CIRCLED KATAKANA O

[U+32D3]
Enclosed CJK Letters and Months
[U+32D5]
U+FF75, オ
HALFWIDTH KATAKANA LETTER O

[U+FF74]
Halfwidth and Fullwidth Forms
[U+FF76]

Japanese

Stroke order

Etymology

Simplified in the Heian period from the man'yōgana kanji , taken from the left part of the character.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [o̞]
  • (file)

Syllable

(romaji o)

  1. The katakana syllable (o). Its equivalent in hiragana is (o). It is the fifth syllable in the gojūon order; its position is (a-gyō o-dan, row a, section o).

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]

See also

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