ふりがな

ふ

り

が

な

Common wordJLPTN3Freq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

1

noun

furigana; small kana printed next to kanji to show pronunciation

usually written using kana alone

Refers to the small kana characters placed above or beside kanji to indicate the reading. Commonly used in learning materials, manga, and children's books.

この漫まん画がには漢かん字じにふりがなが振ふってある。
This manga has furigana printed next to the kanji.

子こ供ども向むけの本ほんはふりがなが多おおい。

Books for children often have a lot of furigana.

Written forms

振ふり仮が名なUsage5%
Standard kanji spelling; it is the primary form.
ふりがなUsage74%
Kana spelling is very common and It is usually written in kana.
フリガナUsage19%
kana-only spelling
Katakana spelling; sometimes used for emphasis or in technical contexts.
ふり仮が名なUsage1%
Mixed kanji-kana spelling; less common than the full kanji or full kana forms.
振ふりがなUsage1%
search-only kanji form
Search-only kanji-kana form; not a standard spelling.
振ふり仮が名なUsage<1%
Abbreviated kanji spelling; rarely used.

Kanji

振shake, wave, wag
仮sham, temporary, interim
名name, noted, distinguished

Similar words

ルビ
ルビ is a more technical term for the same concept, often used in publishing and typesetting. 振り仮名 is the general term.

Etymology

Compound of 振り (furi, 'assigning' or 'attaching') and 仮名 (kana, 'phonetic characters'). The term refers to kana that are 'assigned' to kanji to show their reading.