Small ke

Template:Short description The small ke (Template:Category handler) is a Japanese character, typographically a small form of the katakana character Template:Category handler ke.

While identical in shape to a small Template:Category handler, Template:Category handler is actually an abbreviation for the kanji Template:Category handler, specifically by writing half of the bamboo radical Template:Category handler (Template:Category handler). Template:Category handler, alternatively written as Template:Category handler (or Template:Category handler), is a common Japanese counter word. Template:Category handler is also as an abbreviation for the Japanese conjunctive particle Template:Category handler.

It is unrelated to the katakana character Template:Category handler (which is an abbreviation for Template:Category handler) but Template:Category handler is sometimes written as a large character Template:Category handler.

Although it resembles the katakana character ke (Template:Category handler), it is pronounced ka (sometimes ko) when it specifies a counter (or ga when it specifies a conjunction), but not ke.

When used as a counter, the katakana Template:Category handler or Template:Category handler are sometimes used instead. When used as a counter but pronounced ko, the katakana Template:Category handler is sometimes used instead (chiefly in informal writing).

However, Template:Category handler is not used as a general abbreviation for Template:Category handler or Template:Category handler. For example, Template:Category handler kojin, "individual" will not be written as Template:Category handler (except possibly as very informal ryakuji; contrast with Template:Category handler, as an abbreviation for Template:Category handler). Note that Template:Category handler is used in various words, but Template:Category handler is generally only used as a counter, or as a variant of Template:Category handler.

The most familiar example as a counter is for counting months, as in Template:Category handler (ik-ka-getsu, one month [duration]) where it is pronounced ka. Other common examples are places Template:Category handler　(~-ka-sho) and countries Template:Category handler (~-ka-koku).

An example where it is pronounced as ko is when counting small objects, such as pieces of fruit or candy, where one may write Template:Category handler (ik-ko), rather than the more formal Template:Category handler; this is particularly common in hand-written signs at shops, though Template:Category handler is also common.

When used as the conjunction Template:Category handler (~-ga-~), it has the same meaning as Template:Category handler (~-no-~) which is more common in modern Japanese and is commonly used in place names, though rare in everyday words.

One relatively common word using Template:Category handler is Template:Category handler karigane (kari-ga-ne – goose-'s-sound, the cry of the wild goose).

In place names, it is generally a conjunction, and hence pronounced ga, particularly as Template:Category handler (-ga-hara) "field of ...", as in Template:Category handler (Aokigahara, field of blue trees). It may also be a counter, where it will generally be pronounced ka, as in Template:Category handler (Mikkabi, place name, "three days").

In some cases both Template:Category handler and Template:Category handler (and even Template:Category handler) are used to write a place name, depending on the specific place with a given name or usage. This may have also changed over time, so older documents may use a different form, and older institutions may use an outdated spelling. The most conspicuous example is Jiyūgaoka, which refers to a number of places throughout Japan (see Template:Category handler), some of which officially use Template:Category handler, Template:Category handler, or Template:Category handler. The best-known of these is a popular neighborhood in Tokyo, whose official form is Template:Category handler, but it was formerly Template:Category handler, changing in 1965 (the station changed in 1966), and some businesses use the older form.

The hiragana version of the character exists as Template:Category handler, but it is virtually unused.

External links

• Monash FAQ