okurigana

O1K5U1R1I1G2A1N1A1

noun

In the Japanese language, the kana which follow a stem written with kanji, which record how that stem is inflected, and guides recognition of the appropriate kun'yomi reading (word stem associated with the kanji); for example, く (ku) and かべる (kaberu) in 浮(う)く (uk-u, “to float”, intransitive) and 浮(う)かべる (uk-aberu, “to float”, transitive), or む (mu) and きる (kiru) in 生(う)む (umu, “to birth”) and 生(い)きる (ikiru, “to live”). Perhaps analogous to -st, -nd in English 1st (first), 2nd (second).

Scrabble 14
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounokurigana (plural okurigana)
  1. communicationsIn the Japanese language, the kana which follow a stem written with kanji, which record how that stem is inflected, and guides recognition of the appropriate kun'yomi reading (word stem associated with the kanji); for example, く (ku) and かべる (kaberu) in 浮(う)く (uk-u, “to float”, intransitive) and 浮(う)かべる (uk-aberu, “to float”, transitive), or む (mu) and きる (kiru) in 生(う)む (umu, “to birth”) and 生(い)きる (ikiru, “to live”). Perhaps analogous to -st, -nd in English 1st (first), 2nd (second).

Origin

From Japanese 送(おく)り仮名(がな) (okurigana).

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 送假名
  • 送假名 (sòngjiǎmíng)kana written after kanji
Japanese 送り仮名
  • 送り仮名 (okurigana)kana written after kanji
Korean 오쿠리가나
  • 오쿠리가나 (okurigana)kana written after kanji
Russian окурига́на
  • окурига́на (okurigána)kana written after kanji
Cite this entry
APA

okurigana. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/okurigana

MLA

“okurigana.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/okurigana. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “okurigana,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/okurigana.

Source: okurigana on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.