Nintendo Princess
Okay, so this answer may or may not be hiding somewhere around these forums, but I can't find it. So I'm just gonna ask you guys. :]
I noticed that there are two different hiragana for "ji", and also for "zu". Is there a difference between the two different ways to write ji or between the two different ways to write zu? Are they interchangeable or do they have different uses, like shi and yon?
Just wondering; it's really been bothering me. The short answer: they're pronounced exactly the same way.
Long answer: As it is with other living languages, Japanese has been changing and evolving for a long, long time, and thus sometimes you'll see leftovers of a long gone era still present in the language. Those two, for example, are the product of when the word was produced and the double mark was needed to indicate a separate pronunciation(as with the word 続[つづ]ける ). You'll see it pop up in your language studies, and you shouldn't give it a whole lot of thought, considering they're both kind of archaeic and don't pop up much in modern usage. Just remember they are pronounced the same, and you'll be fine.
If you need one, here's a handy
chart to explain it
Reply
