Differences in the kana

kamaru

先輩

7 Jul 2006

115

3

• 10 Nov 2006

• #1

こんにちは！
I've had this question when i started learning the kana and it just faded..It my sound a bit silly but why do さ ち き and their counterparts ざ ぢ ぎ and only those 6 can be written in two ways ? (I've attached an example)
Another question.. why don't ぺ べ へ change between the 2 kana?

ありがとう in advance

 

Attachments

• sa.webp

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nice gaijin

Resident Realist

Moderator

Donor

Twenty-year veteran

8 Aug 2005

7,316

3,727

• 10 Nov 2006

• #2

In print, さ and きlook as they do on the left side of your photo, and in writing, the tail is disconnected (as on the right side). ち does not change. The reason for this is unrelated to the use of diacritical marks to made consonant changes to these morae (which is why へ doesn't change).

 

Last edited by a moderator: 11 Nov 2006

Glenn

一切皆苦

8 Jan 2004

7,842

200

• 11 Nov 2006

• #3

I think the へ question was more "why is the shape the same in katakana and hiragana?" The answer may be just that it's a coincidence. The hiragana came from the kanji 部. It was written highly stylized and then they took the right side. I don't know where katakana came from, though.

 

doinkies

ガイジン娘。

21 Dec 2005

419

19

• 11 Nov 2006

• #4

Glenn said:

I think the へ question was more "why is the shape the same in katakana and hiragana?" The answer may be just that it's a coincidence. The hiragana came from the kanji 部. It was written highly stylized and then they took the right side. I don't know where katakana came from, though.

Click to expand...

According to Wikipedia's article about manyougana, the katakana ヘ also came from 部.

 

undrentide

Japa'n vagyok

18 Jan 2006

3,652

310

• 11 Nov 2006

• #5

As Glenn san said, the reason へ looks the same is coincidence.
Both katakana and hiragana came from the same kanji 部, "hgihly stylized" into hiragana へ while in case of katakana the right part was taken.
(Same about り and リ)
Katakana - Wikipedia
Hiragana - Wikipedia

 

Buntaro

運動不足

Twenty-year veteran

27 Dec 2003

2,854

2,103

• 11 Nov 2006

• #6

Kamaru,

The two versions of sa and ki differ in what is called a "drag stroke". Imagine that you are writing these characters with a Japanese writing brush. When writing with a Japanese writing brush, it is both (1) allowed to lift the brush off of the paper for the last stroke, or (2) just drag the brush right through, into the last stroke, without lifting it off the paper.

 

Kyoko_desu

先輩

1 Apr 2006

702

50

• 11 Nov 2006

• #7

Yes, I think Buntaro-san is quite right.
By the way, そ、ゆ、ふ are written in two ways as well.
The ones I put arrows are what I usually write, but either ones are ok.



note : Don't ask me what the English sentence on the bottom of the paper is. If you want to send it to Engrish.com, go ahead.

 

kamaru

先輩

7 Jul 2006

115

3

• 11 Nov 2006

• Thread starter
• #8

ありがとう everyone! I never actually thought a simple question like that would involve that much deep explanation.. In fact I only thought it would be for some historical cause! Plus I had never encountered other kana written in two ways and a relation to the use of the brush!
You guys are the best for advice ! じゃまたね！