Older quotations may preserve spellings that differ from modern Japanese.
The idea
Historical kana usage reflects older spelling conventions, not a letter-by-letter guide to modern pronunciation. For example, けふ and きやう correspond to きょう, てふてふ to ちょうちょう, and ゐる to いる.
| Historical | Modern |
|---|---|
| けふ | きょう |
| きやう | きょう |
| てふてふ | ちょうちょう |
| ゐる | いる |
| ゑ | え |
| かは | かわ |
Examples
- この引用には「けふ」が出てきます。The quotation contains “けふ”.
- この引用には「きやう」が出てきます。The quotation contains “きやう”.
- この引用には「てふてふ」が出てきます。The quotation contains “てふてふ”.
- この引用には「ゐる」が出てきます。The quotation contains “ゐる”.
- この引用には「ゑ」が出てきます。The quotation contains “ゑ”.
- この引用には「かは」が出てきます。The quotation contains “かは”.
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Watch out
Do not replace every ふ with う mechanically: context and the word matter. Preserve the original when quoting, and check unfamiliar forms in a dictionary.
Try it yourself
「けふ」→ ＿
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きょう
けふ corresponds to きょう, “today”.
「てふてふ」→ ＿
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ちょうちょう
てふてふ corresponds to ちょうちょう, “butterfly”.
「ゐる」→ ＿
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いる
ゐる corresponds to いる; historical ゐ is now written い here.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Japanese sentences where available. We keep your score.
「けふ」→ ＿
「てふてふ」→ ＿
「ゐる」→ ＿
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
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Find each quoted form, identify its modern equivalent in the table, then read the whole sentence.