Ma (kana)
Encyclopedia
ま, in hiragana
, or マ in katakana
, is one of the Japanese kana
, which each represent one mora
. The hiragana is made in three strokes, while the katakana in two. Both represent [ma].
The katakana マ is made with two strokes:
Hiragana
is a Japanese syllabary, one basic component of the Japanese writing system, along with katakana, kanji, and the Latin alphabet . Hiragana and katakana are both kana systems, in which each character represents one mora...
, or マ in katakana
Katakana
is a Japanese syllabary, one component of the Japanese writing system along with hiragana, kanji, and in some cases the Latin alphabet . The word katakana means "fragmentary kana", as the katakana scripts are derived from components of more complex kanji. Each kana represents one mora...
, is one of the Japanese kana
Kana
Kana are the syllabic Japanese scripts, as opposed to the logographic Chinese characters known in Japan as kanji and the Roman alphabet known as rōmaji...
, which each represent one mora
Mora (linguistics)
Mora is a unit in phonology that determines syllable weight, which in some languages determines stress or timing. As with many technical linguistic terms, the definition of a mora varies. Perhaps the most succinct working definition was provided by the American linguist James D...
. The hiragana is made in three strokes, while the katakana in two. Both represent [ma].
| Form | Rōmaji | Hiragana Hiragana is a Japanese syllabary, one basic component of the Japanese writing system, along with katakana, kanji, and the Latin alphabet . Hiragana and katakana are both kana systems, in which each character represents one mora... |
Katakana Katakana is a Japanese syllabary, one component of the Japanese writing system along with hiragana, kanji, and in some cases the Latin alphabet . The word katakana means "fragmentary kana", as the katakana scripts are derived from components of more complex kanji. Each kana represents one mora... |
|---|---|---|---|
| Normal m- (ま行 ma-gyō) |
ma | ま | マ |
| maa mā, mah |
まあ, まぁ まー |
マア, マァ マー |
Stroke order
The hiragana ま is made with three strokes:- An upper horizontal line from left to right.
- Another horizontal line going fom left to right under the first stroke.
- A vertical line from top to bottom, then a small loop towards the right, which then crosses the vertical line going to the left.
The katakana マ is made with two strokes:
- A horizontal line from left to right, accompanied with a diagonal line towards the bottom-right.
- A small line which seems like a knipling hook at the end of the diagonal line.