Japanese with Anime: December 2017

okurigana 送り仮名 are the written after a (below or at its right, depending on the komakai 細かい and hosoi 細い, "small" and "thin," are written with the same kanji, but its reading and meaning changes depending on the okurigana.

A word written only with kana never has okurigana, by definition, as okurigana only refers to kana after kanji (no kanji, no okurigana). Also, a suffix, auxiliary verb, or second word written with kana after a word written with kanji is not an okurigana. (example: suru is not an okurigana, despite frequently coming after kanji)



Generally, the okurigana is okurigana is written with hiragana, although in the past katakana was used too.

The送り仮名 are thewritten after a(below or at its right, depending on the writing direction ) to disambiguate which word it represents. For example:and, "small" and "thin," are written with the same kanji, but its reading and meaning changes depending on theA word written only withhas, by definition, asonly refers toafter(no, no). Also, a suffix, auxiliary verb, or second word written withafter a word written withis not an. (example:is not an, despite frequently coming afterGenerally, theis found in inflections of adjectives and verbs, but it appears in other types of words too. It's almost exclusively used with kun'yomi words , but it's also used with on'yomi words , too, although rarely. And in modern Japanese theis written with, although in the pastwas used too.