Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

kana

/ˈkɑːnə/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.82 in modern English

Syllables
kana
IPA
/ˈkɑːnə/
8
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
2
Syllables
3
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The hiragana and katakana syllabaries. These are made up of characters that represent individual syllables, which are used to write Japanese words and particles. Kana are derived from kanji.

noun

A hiragana or katakana character.

verb

Alternative form of kena.

name

A female given name from Japanese.

name

A surname.

name

A gewog of Dagana District, Bhutan.

Etymology

Borrowed from Japanese 仮名(かな) (kana, “phonetic character”, literally “borrowed character”, from the way that kana were originally Chinese characters "borrowed" for their phonetic values).

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: -, Káňa, கனா

Subject

Wiktionary places this term in People.

Inflected Forms

kanas (plural)

Phrases

kana-majiri

Frequently Paired Words

furigana hiragana kana-majiri katakana manyogana

Rhymes With

anna indiana louisiana montana hannah diana banana ghana lana savannah hanna nana

Questions

How do you pronounce kana?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈkɑːnə/.
What does kana mean?
The hiragana and katakana syllabaries. These are made up of characters that represent individual syllables, which are used to write Japanese words and particles. Kana are derived from kanji.
Where does kana come from?
It is traced to Japanese.

How to pronounce kana

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “kana”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈkɑːnə/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “kana”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “kana” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.