noun
kanji used phonetically for their kun reading
Historical linguistic term referring to the pre-kana practice of using kanji for their native Japanese reading to represent syllables. Contrasts with 音仮名 (おんがな), which uses on readings.
See also: 音仮名 (おんがな)
万葉集では訓仮名が多く使われている。
In the Man'yōshū, kun-gana are used extensively.
訓仮名は音仮名とともに、仮名の発達以前に用いられた。
Kun-gana, along with on-gana, were used before the development of kana.
万葉仮名 is the broader term for the entire system of using kanji phonetically in the Man'yōshū, encompassing both 訓仮名 and 音仮名.
Compound of 訓 (kun, 'native Japanese reading') + 仮名 (kana, 'phonetic character'). The term describes a specific subset of man'yōgana.