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2 unusual facts about Modern kana usage


Modern kana usage

Regarding じぢずづ – these four morae are distinguished or merged to varying degrees in different Japanese dialects, with some dialects (Tohoku) merging all 4 into 1, while other dialects (Tosa dialect, Kagoshima dialect) distinguishing all 4.

Note that there are a small number of counterexamples, e.g., あひる "duck", pronounced ahiru rather than airu, or ふぢはら, pronounced Fujiwara, despite being a compound of Fuji (Wisteria) + hara (field).



see also