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.

Usage patterns

〈漢かん字じ〉に振ふり仮が名なを振ふるto add furigana to a kanji
難むずかしい漢かん字じには振ふり仮が名なを振ふってください。
Please add furigana to the difficult kanji.
振ふり仮が名な付つきの〈物もの〉something that comes with furigana attached
この本ほんは振ふり仮が名な付つきなので子こ供どもでも読よめる。
This book has furigana, so even children can read it.

Kanji

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

Related words

ルビー
ルビ is the technical/publishing term for the same small reading-aid kana, while 振り仮名 is the everyday, general term.

Don't confuse with

送おくり仮が名なN2
送り仮名 are the kana added after a kanji to show its inflected ending (e.g. 食べる), while 振り仮名 are kana added above/beside a kanji to show how it is pronounced.

Built from

振ふる+仮か名な

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

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.

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.