[Lesson] -Hiragana(平仮名)- Anime-comics

[请叫我大帝]

ご苦勞樣でした . Western people learning Japanese is harder than Chinese. Why I just mentioned Chinese people ？ I believe most of people know Japanese culture was effected by Chinese culture. As a chinese, I was required to learn English when I was a child in the primary school.And now I study in the university.After one years learning ,I realise Japanese as not hard as I conceived.

[jacques96]

Thanks for the table

[~dreamer~]

by the way, for people using the table to learn hiragana:

entries in Wi and We are archaic and no-one uses it anymore
if you're learning the stroke orders, be careful because the table can be misleading
(さ have 3 strokes, not 2. き has 4 strokes, not 3)

[Jacx Kuok]

who know this image Hiragana?? lol.jpg

[pichu655889]

that's 'sa' it should be written that way instead of how you see it in font as さ

[mildis]

Hiragana are simplified forms of Kanji letters. In the old time, people used 筆 (fude, a kind of pen).

There were various forms of Hiragana for one code (one kana) in Edo period and former time. Different forms were derived from different Kanji.

In theMeiji period, the government decided the standard forms of Hiragana. One form for one code (kana).
But there are still some variations.

Sometimes additional lines (strokes) are added to the standard form of Hiragana. These forms are also within standard forms. They are used in contemporary letters.

Tha basic Standard forms are followings: (Among them, ゐ and ゑ, that is, /wi/ and /we/ were used half centuries ago. But they are not used in the contemporary age).




Sometimes addtional lines (Red lines) are added.




Thsu there are following forms of Hiragana too.




Among these different forms of Hiragana, some ones (marked by Green color) look like different characters. But they are same letters.

_ mrd

[pichu655889]

I always thought the extra strokes came from quick, cursive-like writing... like the extra strokes came about because people were writing fast.

[mildis]

I always thought the extra strokes came from quick, cursive-like writing... like the extra strokes came about because people were writing fast.

That is a bit different. Japanese sentences are originally written up to down, right column to left column.
Kanji characters came from China. Hiragana are simplified forms of Kanji letters.
Hiragana were written from up to down. Kanji characters are written separately. Each character is one unit of symbol. In principle, Kanji characters are not connected.
Writing one kanji character. Then stop, space. And again writing new kanji character. Then stop, space.

On the other hand, Hiragana characters are sometimes or frequently connected. They are sometimes continuously written.
Several Hiragana characters form the new shape. It likes cursive scripts of Latin characters.
In Latin characters, right to left. In Hiragana, up to down.

Here is the old example. This is the old Manuscript paper of "The Tale of Genji" (Genji Monogatari).
The historical Manuscript of The Tale of Genji in "Chuuin Bunko" (Now, in the Kyoto Yniversity Library).

The below is the first page. The story begins at the left page.




The below is the left page. This is the opening part of the Long Romance, The Tale of Genji.
The first Part, First Volume "Kiritsubo". The top of Volume "Kiritsubo" is shown in the below picture (photo image).
You can see and distinguish several characters. We can see and read several Kanji characters and several Hiragana characters.
But this manuscript page also looks like mysterious letters document.

Most Kanji characters are almost same forms as contemporary form. Some Hiragana characters as well.
But Hiragana characters are cursive, sometimes written continuously.




In the below image (picture), I added contemporary Hiragana and kanji character at the left side of each original character.
See the below picture:




You can see some characters are same or similar form as contemporary character form. But some characters are pretty different.

The story written in the manuscript is started as follows:

[The Original Script]
いつれの御時にか女御更衣あまた
さふらひ給けるなかにいとやむことな
きゝはにはあらぬかすくれてとき
めき給ふありけりはしめよりわれは
とおもひあかり給へる御方ゝめさましき.....
.........

In the classic Japanese, voiced sound characters were not expressed by special dots.
Also, " ゝ" is not character. It is a Refrain mark. "き ゝ" is "きき", and "方 ゝ" is "方方"
So the above sentences are:

[+Voice mark Script]
いづれの御時にか女御更衣あまた
さぶらひ給けるなかにいとやむごとな
ききはにはあらぬがすぐれてとき
めき給ふありけりはじめよりわれは
とおもひあがり給へる御方方めさましき.....
........

There are no punctuation. When adding punctuation marks, the sentences are:

[Classic Script Sentences]
いづれの御時にか、女御、更衣、あまたさぶらひ給けるなかに、
いと、やむごとなき、きはにはあらぬが、すぐれて、ときめき給ふありけり。
はじめより、われはとおもひあがり給へる御方方、めざましき.....
........

御時 = おほんとき
女御 = にようご first class concubine (first class wife of emperor)
更衣 = かうい second class concubine (second class wife of emperor)
給ける = たまひける
きは = 際 （身分） rank, class
給ふ = たまふ
給へる = たまへる
御方方 = おんかたがた

The first narration of The Tale of Genji begins as follows:

いづれのおほんときにか、にようご、かうい、あまたさぶらひたまひけるなかに、
いと、やむごとなき、きはにはあらぬが、すぐれて、ときめきたまふありけり。
はじめより、われはとおもひあがりたまへるおんかたがた、めざましき.....
........

In the Contemporary Japanese, the above Classic sentences are pronounced as follows:

いずれのおおんときにか、にょうご、こうい、あまたさぶらいたまいけるなかに、
いと、やんごとなき、きわにはあらぬが、すぐれて、ときめきたまうありけり。
はじめより、われはとおもいあがりたまえるおんかたがた、めざましき.....
........

In the reign of the certain Emperor, there were many 1st class Consorts and 2nd class Consorts....
And among them, there was the greatly Beloved and Splendid One, though her Rank was low. (We had heard so)
The high-rank Consorts who were arrogant and considered themselves as.....

This is the example of the Classic Cursive Hiragana + Kanji sentences.


_ mrd