Small Ke

The small ''ke'' () is a Japanese character, typographically a small form of the katakana character ''ke''.

While identical in shape to a small , is actually an abbreviation for the kanji , specifically by writing half of the bamboo radical (). , alternatively written as (or ), is a common Japanese counter word. is also as an abbreviation for the Japanese conjunctive particle .

It is unrelated to the katakana character (which is an abbreviation for ) but is sometimes written as a large character .

Although it resembles the katakana character ''ke'' (), it is pronounced ''ka'' (sometimes ''ko'') when it specifies a counter (or ''ga'' when it specifies a conjunction), but not ''ke''.

When used as a counter'','' the katakana or are sometimes used instead. When used as a counter but pronounced ''ko,'' the katakana is sometimes used instead (chiefly in informal writing).

However, is not used as a general abbreviation for or . For example, ''kojin,'' "individual" will not be written as (except possibly as very informal ryakuji; contrast with , as an abbreviation for ). Note that is used in various words, but is generally only used as a counter, or as a variant of .

The most familiar example as a counter is for counting months, as in (''ik-ka-getsu'', one month uration where it is pronounced ''ka''. Other common examples are places 　(~''-ka-sho)'' and countries ''(~-ka-koku'').

An example where it is pronounced as ''ko'' is when counting small objects, such as pieces of fruit or candy, where one may write (''ik-ko''), rather than the more formal ; this is particularly common in hand-written signs at shops, though is also common.

When used as the conjunction ''(~-ga-~)'', it has the same meaning as ''(~-no-~)'' which is more common in modern Japanese and is commonly used in place names, though rare in everyday words.

One relatively common word using is '' karigane'' (''kari-ga-ne'' – goose-'s-sound, the cry of the wild goose).

In place names, it is generally a conjunction, and hence pronounced ''ga'', particularly as (''-ga-hara'') "field of ...", as in (Aokigahara, laurel-'s-field, field of laurel). It may also be a counter, where it will generally be pronounced ''ka'', as in ( Mikkabi, place name, "three days").

In some cases both and (and even ) are used to write a place name, depending on the specific place with a given name or usage. This may have also changed over time, so older documents may use a different form, and older institutions may use an outdated spelling. The most conspicuous example is Jiyūgaoka, which refers to a number of places throughout Japan (see ), some of which officially use , , or . The best-known of these is a popular neighborhood in Tokyo, whose official form is , but it was formerly , changing in 1965 (the station changed in 1966), and some businesses use the older form.

The hiragana version of the character exists as , but it is virtually unused.

External links

{{wiktionary, ヶ, ゖ

Monash FAQ

Japanese writing system
Japanese vocabulary