'''Furigana''' (振り仮名) are kana characters (either [[hiragana]] or [[katakana]]) used as a reading aid in Japanese. Usually furigana, which are written in a small typeface, appear next to or below [[kanji]] to give the reader some idea as to their pronunciation. Usually this is used in [[child]]ren's books (since [[kanji]] might present difficulty for small children) or in case the kanji used are relatively obscure or nonstandard. A third use, which is not commonly seen, is the use of katakana furigana to give a kanji compound a reading in a borrowed language. For example, one might see 神様 (kami-sama, [[God]]) in written text with ゴッヅ (''goddzu,'' pronounced like English "God"). | '''Furigana''' (振り仮名) are kana characters (either [[hiragana]] or [[katakana]]) used as a reading aid in Japanese. Usually furigana, which are written in a small typeface, appear next to or below [[kanji]] to give the reader some idea as to their pronunciation. Usually this is used in [[child]]ren's books (since [[kanji]] might present difficulty for small children) or in case the kanji used are relatively obscure or nonstandard. A third use, which is not commonly seen, is the use of katakana furigana to give a kanji compound a reading in a borrowed language. For example, one might see 神様 (kami-sama, [[God]]) in written text with ゴッヅ (''goddzu,'' pronounced like English "God"). |