U+306F, は
HIRAGANA LETTER HA

[U+306E]
Hiragana
[U+3070]

Japanese edit

Stroke order
 

Etymology 1 edit

Derived in the Heian period from writing the man'yōgana kanji in the cursive sōsho style.[1][2]

Pronunciation edit

Syllable edit

(ha

  1. The hiragana syllable (ha). Its equivalent in katakana is (ha). It is the twenty-sixth syllable in the gojūon order; its position is (ha-gyō a-dan, row ha, section a).
Derived terms edit
See also edit

Etymology 2 edit

/pa//ɸa//wa/

From Old Japanese. Used in the oldest Japanese writings, including the Man'yōshū finished some time after 759 CE.[1][2] Ultimately from Proto-Japonic *pa.

The particle was excluded from the post-war script reform, rather than changed to (wa), which would be more phonetically accurate.

Pronunciation edit

Particle edit

(wa

  1. unique topic marker, often untranslatable
    Antonym:
    これ(いぬ)です。
    Kore wa inu desu.
    This [the topic, about which we are speaking] is a dog.
    今日(きょう)(あめ)ですね。
    Kyō wa ame desu ne.
    It seems like it is raining today.
    今日(きょう)(あめ)()ています。
    Kyō wa ame ga futteimasu.
    It is raining today.
    (literally, “As for today, rain is falling.”)
  2. what about, where is (used without a predicate to ask for more information about something)
    (なか)()
    Nakada wa?
    Where's Nakada?
    じゃ、()(み )
    Ja, imi wa?
    So, what's the meaning?
  3. Inserted between two verbs for emphasis.
    そう(おも)ないでしょうか。
    Sō omotte wa inai deshō ka.
    Do you not think so?
    ()るとは(おも)ない
    kateru to wa omotte wa inai
    does not think that one can win
    (あらわ)れて()えた
    arawarete wa kieta
    disappeared as soon as it appeared
Usage notes edit
  • Note that English has no direct counterpart. For illustrative purposes, it may be translated as "as for", "speaking of", or a similar phrase. For example, "As for this, it is a dog". This often does not produce very natural English, however.
  • When inserted between two verbs for emphasis, is usually used with negatives and after a (te) form. This has given rise to ではない (de wa nai), the now standard negative form of (da).
  • (mo) vs (ha): see (mo).
  • always replaces (o) and (ga), but may follow other particles.
Derived terms edit
See also edit
Further reading edit

Etymology 3 edit

Interjection edit

(ha

  1. (dated, humble) Used to show agreement or obedience: yes
    さようでございます
    Ha, sayō de gozaimasu.
    Yes, exactly.
    (しょう)()いたしました
    Ha, shōchi itashimashita.
    Yes, as you wish.

Etymology 4 edit

For pronunciation and definitions of – see the following entries.
2
[noun] a feather (including synthetic feathers, as on a modern shuttlecock)
[noun] a wing (as of a bird, bat, insect, or airplane)
[noun] a fletching on an arrow
[noun] (archery) when a bow is strung, the distance between the grip and the serving (nocking point) on the bowstring
[noun] the thin, flange-like overhanging part of a tea ceremony kettle
[noun] This term needs a translation to English.
[noun] a 家紋 (kamon, family crest) with various designs of bird feathers
[counter] counter for birds
[counter] counter for leporids
Alternative spellings
, ,
3
[noun] leaf, needle, blade (of a plant)
3
[noun] tooth
[noun] (typography) a unit equal to 1 Q (kyū) and 0.25 mm, abbreviated as H; ha is used for spacing, while Q is used for font size
Alternative spellings
H,
S
[noun] any sharp and thin cutting implement: a blade, edge
(This term, , is the hiragana spelling of the above terms.)
For a list of all kanji read as , see Category:Japanese kanji read as は.)

(The following entries are uncreated: , .)

Etymology 5 edit

For pronunciation and definitions of – see the following entries.
6
[suffix] group, faction, (political) wing, school
(This term, , is the hiragana spelling of the above term.)
For a list of all kanji read as , see Category:Japanese kanji read as は.)

(The following entries are uncreated: , .)

References edit

  1. 1.0 1.1 1988, 国語大辞典(新装版) (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
  2. 2.0 2.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006) 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN