Random katakana for no apparent reason...

[rajs20]

Occasionally I see some katakana used, for a word which is normally written in Hiragana. Anyone know why this is?

For example:

このアジトの近くに 敵が近づいているぞ
(trans: There is an enemy getting closer to our hideout)

The first word is "kono" which should be in hiragana, but in the manga I was reading, it was actually written as コノ

In that case it's probably for emphasis.

Another thing that I see sometimes as katakana are "bad words" like バカ (baka) or some slang/rough words like オレ. (ore)

Thanks!

Raj

 

[PaulTB]

Occasionally I see some katakana used, for a word which is normally written in Hiragana. Anyone know why this is?

For example:

このアジトの近くに 敵が近づいているぞ
(trans: There is an enemy getting closer to our hideout)

The first word is "kono" which should be in hiragana, but in the manga I was reading, it was actually written as コノ

In that case it's probably for emphasis.

Another thing that I see sometimes as katakana are "bad words" like バカ (baka) or some slang/rough words like オレ. (ore)

That's not necessarily because they are 'slang/rough/bad'. I think 俺 isn't one of the 'standard use' list. You'll often see イス in katakana - it isn't because chairs are bad.

 

[rajs20]

Thanks Paul! I think actually the main thing that was confusing me was the "kono" being katakana... However 2 seconds after I made that post, I realized that it wasn't just "kono" that was katakana but the entire sentence... Which actually makes more sense

Sorry about that :sorry:

 

[cacawate]

it isn't because chairs are bad.

Says you!

...Sorry, haven't posted in a while.

 

[Damicci]

Hmm I wondered this too as I see it a lot in manga they will use katakana instead of hiragana for some words mainly when the word is being stressed. big bold lettering

I've seen
バカ ダメだ ナに ゲット but I think in the case of the last one it was supposed to be "Get"

 

[rajs20]

Ha, that's interesting (ナに). I guess that makes sense because in anime at least, they often say something like "Naaaaani o shite n da?" （or something like that anyways）

 

[crunch]

I would assume they are all for emphasis. Very much similar to using caps lock to get your point across

 

[-Rudel-]

Weeeeeeell. in the advertising world for commercials and big signs on stores, Katakana is usually used instead of Hiragana or Kanji.

I would definately say it's for emphasis.

 

[McCrutch67]

I remember trying to read some "all katakana" sentences in some manga. The weirdest thing to get used to at first was reading ハ as "wa". It was so unnatural since は is already a character of a different sound so different script too threw me for a second.

 

[PaulTB]

Thanks Paul! I think actually the main thing that was confusing me was the "kono" being katakana... However 2 seconds after I made that post, I realized that it wasn't just "kono" that was katakana but the entire sentence... Which actually makes more sense

Sorry about that :sorry:

When it's the whole sentence it's usually because it's being said with a SCARY VOICE or by a foreigner. Gaijin speaking Japanese is about the only time truly random katakana will be used in a sentence.

 

[cacawate]

And robots. I believe one of the 号 from Dragon Ball Z talked in all katakana.

 

[J44xm]

And robots. I believe one of the 号 from Dragon Ball Z talked in all katakana.

This is amusing. Do characters that "speak" in all katakana still use hiragana particles?

 

[rajs20]

This is amusing. Do characters that "speak" in all katakana still use hiragana particles?

Yea which can be a bit odd, seeing ハ instead of は, for example.