See also: , , 𡕒, and

U+30F0, ヰ
KATAKANA LETTER WI

[U+30EF]
Katakana
[U+30F1]
U+32FC, ㋼
CIRCLED KATAKANA WI

[U+32FB]
Enclosed CJK Letters and Months
[U+32FD]

Japanese

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Stroke order
 

Etymology

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Simplified in the Heian period from the man'yōgana kanji .

Pronunciation

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Syllable

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(i

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

Usage notes

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The katakana syllabary is used primarily for transcription of foreign language words into Japanese and the writing of gairaigo (loan words), as well as to represent onomatopoeias, technical and scientific terms, and the names of plants, animals, and minerals. It is also occasionally used in some words for emphasis, or to ease reading; katakana may be preferred for words becoming buried in the text if they are written under their canonical form in hiragana. Names of Japanese companies, as well as certain Japanese language words such as colloquial terms, are also sometimes written in katakana rather than the other systems. Formerly, female given names were often written in katakana.[edit]

    • This kana is obsolete, along with its hiragana counterpart. ウィ, also romanized as "wi" is preferred instead.

See also

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