| − | '''Manyogana''' were [[Chinese]] characters ([[hanzi]]) used in Classical Japanese to write [[Japanese]] phonetically. That is, a Chinese character was used only to represent a sound, without making use of the semantic value. Manyogana became obsolete in modern [[Japan]], being supplanted by the systems of [[katakana]] and [[hiragana]] which derived from it-- katakana characters consist of radicals or small components of manyogana, while hiragana are stylized cursive versions of the corresponding manyogana. | + | '''Manyogana''' were [[Chinese]] characters ([[kanji|hanzi]]) used in Classical Japanese to write [[Japanese]] phonetically. That is, a Chinese character was used only to represent a sound, without making use of the semantic value. Manyogana became obsolete in modern [[Japan]], being supplanted by the systems of [[katakana]] and [[hiragana]] which derived from it-- katakana characters consist of radicals or small components of manyogana, while hiragana are stylized cursive versions of the corresponding manyogana. |