No (kana)
Encyclopedia
の, in hiragana
, or ノ in katakana
, is one of the Japanese kana
, each of which represents one mora
. In the gojūon
system of ordering of Japanese syllables, it occupies the 25th position, between ね (ne) and は (ha). It occupies the 26th position in the iroha
ordering. Both represent [no].
To write ノ, simply do a swooping curve from top-right to bottom left.
, の, or ノ, or is represented as
The Morse code
for の, or ノ, is ・・－－.
See also hentaigana
and gyaru-moji
for other variant kana forms of no.
used for phonetic purposes, written in the highly cursive, flowing grass script style. In the picture on the right, the top shows the kanji 乃 written in the kaisho
style, and the centre image is the same kanji written in the sōsho style. The bottom part is the kana for "no", a further abbreviation.
The highlighted segment of the man'yōgana in the picture on the right is the segment that was used to create the katakana ノ.
consonant, articulated on the upper teeth, combined with a close-mid back rounded vowel to form one mora.
In the Japanese language, as well as forming words, の may be a particle
showing possession. For example, the phrase "わたしのでんわ” watashi no denwa means "my telephone."
の has also proliferated on signs and labels in the Chinese-speaking world, especially in Taiwan
because of its historical connections with Japan. (see Taiwan under Japanese rule
) It is used in place of the Modern Chinese
possessive marker 的 de or Classical Chinese
possessive marker 之 zhī, and の is pronounced in the same way as the Chinese character it replaces. This is usually done to "stand out" or to give an "exotic / Japanese feel", e.g. in commercial brand names, such as the fruit juice brand 鲜の每日C, where the の can be read as both 之 zhī, the possessive marker, and as 汁 zhī, meaning "juice".
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 ノ 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...
, each of which represents 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...
. In the gojūon
Gojuon
The is a Japanese ordering of kana.It is named for the 5×10 grid in which the characters are displayed, but the grid is not completely filled, and, further, there is an extra character added outside the grid at the end: with 5 gaps and 1 extra character, the current number of distinct kana in a...
system of ordering of Japanese syllables, it occupies the 25th position, between ね (ne) and は (ha). It occupies the 26th position in the iroha
Iroha
The is a Japanese poem, probably written in the Heian era . Originally the poem was attributed to the founder of the Shingon Esoteric sect of Buddhism in Japan, Kūkai, but more modern research has found the date of composition to be later in the Heian Period. The first record of its existence...
ordering. Both represent [no].
| 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 n- (な行 na-gyō) |
no, ro | の | ノ |
| nou, rou noo,roo nō, roh |
のう, のぅ のお, のぉ のー |
ノウ, ノゥ ノオ, ノォ ノー |
Stroke order
To write の, begin slightly above the center, stroke downward diagonally, then upward, and then curve around as indicated by the arrows, or rotate a "9".To write ノ, simply do a swooping curve from top-right to bottom left.
Character
| Character form | Unicode Unicode Unicode is a computing industry standard for the consistent encoding, representation and handling of text expressed in most of the world's writing systems... |
EUC-JP | Shift JIS | GB 2312 | HKSCS HKSCS The Hong Kong Supplementary Character Set is a set of Chinese characters -- 4,702 in total in the initial release—used in Cantonese, as well as when writing the names of some places in Hong Kong . It evolved from the preceding Government Chinese Character Set or GCCS... |
| の | U+306E | A4CE | 82CC | A4CE | C755 |
| ノ | U+30CE | A5CE | 836D | A5CE | C7CA |
| Halfwidth 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... ﾉ |
U+FF89 | / | C9 | / | / |
Alternative forms
In Japanese BrailleJapanese Braille
Japanese braille is a braille code for writing the Japanese language. It is based on the original braille system. In Japanese it is known as , literally "dot characters". Below is a basic chart of Japanese braille with the Japanese hiragana character followed by the standard roman character reading...
, の, or ノ, or is represented as
－●
●－
●－
The Morse code
Morse code
Morse code is a method of transmitting textual information as a series of on-off tones, lights, or clicks that can be directly understood by a skilled listener or observer without special equipment...
for の, or ノ, is ・・－－.
See also hentaigana
Hentaigana
are historical variants of modern standard hiragana. They are a legacy of man'yōgana, where many different kanji could be used to represent the same sound value. As the man'yōgana became simplified into cursive forms, multiple hiragana, including the hentaigana, was the result...
and gyaru-moji
Gyaru-moji
is a style of obfuscated Japanese writing popular amongst Japanese young people. It is also called Heta-moji...
for other variant kana forms of no.
History
Like every other hiragana, the hiragana の developed from man'yōgana, kanjiKanji
Kanji are the adopted logographic Chinese characters hanzi that are used in the modern Japanese writing system along with hiragana , katakana , Indo Arabic numerals, and the occasional use of the Latin alphabet...
used for phonetic purposes, written in the highly cursive, flowing grass script style. In the picture on the right, the top shows the kanji 乃 written in the kaisho
Regular script
Regular script , also called 正楷 , 真書 , 楷体 and 正書 , is the newest of the Chinese script styles Regular script , also called 正楷 , 真書 (zhēnshū), 楷体 (kǎitǐ) and 正書 (zhèngshū), is the newest of the Chinese script styles Regular script , also called 正楷 , 真書 (zhēnshū), 楷体 (kǎitǐ) and 正書 (zhèngshū), is...
style, and the centre image is the same kanji written in the sōsho style. The bottom part is the kana for "no", a further abbreviation.
The highlighted segment of the man'yōgana in the picture on the right is the segment that was used to create the katakana ノ.
Usage
の is a dental nasalDental nasal
The dental nasal is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is .-Features:Features of the dental nasal:- Occurrence :...
consonant, articulated on the upper teeth, combined with a close-mid back rounded vowel to form one mora.
In the Japanese language, as well as forming words, の may be a particle
Japanese particles
Japanese particles, or , are suffixes or short words in Japanese grammar that immediately follow the modified noun, verb, adjective, or sentence. Their grammatical range can indicate various meanings and functions, such as speaker affect and assertiveness....
showing possession. For example, the phrase "わたしのでんわ” watashi no denwa means "my telephone."
の has also proliferated on signs and labels in the Chinese-speaking world, especially in Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
because of its historical connections with Japan. (see Taiwan under Japanese rule
Taiwan under Japanese rule
Between 1895 and 1945, Taiwan was a dependency of the Empire of Japan. The expansion into Taiwan was a part of Imperial Japan's general policy of southward expansion during the late 19th century....
) It is used in place of the Modern Chinese
Modern Chinese
Modern Chinese can refer to the following:*Modern Chinese history*Any or all of the modern varieties of Chinese, most commonly**Standard Chinese or Modern Chinese, sometimes known as Mandarin, the national language of the People's Republic of China...
possessive marker 的 de or Classical Chinese
Classical Chinese
Classical Chinese or Literary Chinese is a traditional style of written Chinese based on the grammar and vocabulary of ancient Chinese, making it different from any modern spoken form of Chinese...
possessive marker 之 zhī, and の is pronounced in the same way as the Chinese character it replaces. This is usually done to "stand out" or to give an "exotic / Japanese feel", e.g. in commercial brand names, such as the fruit juice brand 鲜の每日C, where the の can be read as both 之 zhī, the possessive marker, and as 汁 zhī, meaning "juice".