Japanese
Combining form
ヮ
- Small combining form of katakana ワ (wa) used in the archaic 拗音 (yōon) morae クァ (kwa) and グァ (gwa). Historically it was not distinguished from the full-size version; in modern language the sound has generally simplified to カ (ka) or ガ (ga).
Usage notes
Unlike the hiragana system, used for Japanese language words that kanji does not cover, the katakana syllabary is used primarily for transcription of foreign language words into Japanese and the writing of loan words (collectively gairaigo), as well as to represent onomatopoeia, technical and scientific terms, and the names of plants, animals, and minerals. Names of Japanese companies, as well as certain Japanese language words, are also sometimes written in katakana rather than the other systems. [edit]
Related terms
- ゎ (hiragana small wa)
- ワ (full-size wa)
See also
- (Katakana) 片仮名; アァ, イィ, ウゥヴ, エェ, オォ, カヵガ, キギ, クグ, ケヶゲ, コゴ, サザ, シジ, スズ, セゼ, ソゾ, タダ, チヂ, ツッヅ, テデ, トド, ナ, ニ, ヌ, ネ, ノ, ハバパ, ヒビピ, フブプ, ヘベペ, ホボポ, マ, ミ, ム, メ, モ, ヤャ, ユュ, ヨョ, ラ, リ, ル, レ, ロ, ワヮ, ヰ, ヱ, ヲ, ン, ー, ヽ, ヾ