Wi (kana)
Encyclopedia
ゐ, in hiragana
, or ヰ in katakana
, is a nearly obsolete Japanese kana
, each of which represent one mora
. It is presumed that ゐ represented wi and that ゐ and い indicated different pronunciations until somewhere between the Kamakura period
and the Taishō period
when they both came to be pronounced [i]. Along with the kana for we
, (ゑ in hiragana, ヱ in katakana), this kana was deemed obsolete in Japanese in 1946, and replaced with い and イ
. It is now rare in everyday usage; in onomatopoeia and foreign words, the katakana form ウィ (U-[small-i]) is preferred.
The kana still sees some modern-day usage, such as the spelling of Nikka Whiskey
, which is written "ニッカウヰスキー" (nikka uwisukī), the name of the comedy duo Yoiko
is written "よゐこ" (yowiko), and a character in the video game series Touhou Project
has the name "てゐ" (Tewi). Katakana ヰ is sometimes written with a dakuten, ヸ, to represent a /vi/ sound in foreign words; however, most IMEs
lack a convenient way to do this. It is far more common for /vi/ to be represented by the combination ヴィ.
Hiragana ゐ is still used in one of the Okinawan orthographies
, New Okinawan, for the syllable /wi/ and in digraphs for /kwi, ɡwi/. In the Ryukyu University system, katakana ヰ is used for /i/, while い is /ʔi/. Katakana ヰ is used in also Ainu for /wi/.
, ヰ was pronounced as [wi] and イ as [i]. In the Man'yōgana, there were characters to represent ヰ (e.g. 井, 位, 為, 猪, 謂, 藍) and イ (e.g. 已, 五, 以, 伊, 怡, 射, 移, 異); no characters for one could be used to pronounce the other. The labial glides ク [kʷi] and グ [gʷi] also existed (though in those days small script kana were not used for glides), and were distinct from キ [ki] and ギ [gi].
, ゐ and い were still recognized as separately pronounced characters. In the mid-to-late 11th century, the Iroha
song was developed, and い, え, and お (i, e, and o) were differentiated from ゐ, ゑ, and を (wi, we, and wo). In the Gojūon
ordering (developed around 1075 by the scholar Hirotomo, based on the Siddhaṃ script), there were no sounds for “yi”, “ye”, “wu”, or “wo”. Although the distinction had been lost between オ (o) and ヲ (wo), there was still a distinction between ア/ワ (a/wa), イ/ヰ (i/wi), and エ/ヱ (e/we).
In Ki no Tsurayuki’s literary work, the Tosa Nikki (originally written in 935, transcribed in 1236), the phrase “海賊報いせむ” (kaizoku mukui semu) is written as “かいぞくむくゐせむ” (kaizoku mukuwi semu), with ゐ where い should be. In this way, examples of confusion between ゐ and い were emerging, little by little; however, during the Heian period these confusions were few and far between.
Since the Nara period, /h/ began to be pronounced as [w] in word-medial position; by the beginning of the 11th century, this phenomenon, called the "Ha-line shift", had become more widespread. In word-medial or word-final position, ひ [ɸi] would be pronounced [wi], therefore becoming the same as ゐ. Because of this, the use of ひ and ゐ also became confused.
At the end of the 12th century, the literary work “Shinkyō Shiki Chū” (which contained katakana
, from the last years of the Insei period
) attests examples of ゐ and い losing their distinction, such as “率て” (wite) being written “イテ” (ite).
Furthermore, in Heian period literature, special kanji readings such as “クヰヤウ” [kʷʲau] and “ヰヤウ” [wʲau] were used, but were not well established.
, the confusion between ゐ and い had become even more widespread, and by the 13th century, ゐ and い were unified. By changing from [wi] to [i], ゐ had merged into い. Also, kanji that were represented by クヰ and グヰ had become pronounced [ki] and [gi] respectively, merging them with キ and ギ.
Due to the Ha-line shift as well as the merging of a number of syllables, soon there were many kana pronounced the same way, and kana orthography was in chaos. Fujiwara no Teika
(1162–1241), in the “Unpleasant Characters” section of Gekanshū (a poetry volume), established rules for about 60 words containing を/お, え/へ/ゑ, and い/ひ/ゐ, based on a number of writings from the mid-11th to 12th century. However, the books that Teika had referenced already contained a number of confusions, with ひ becoming ゐ, such as 遂 (formerly “つひ” tsuhi) being represented as “つゐ” (tsuwi) and 宵 (formerly “よひ” yohi) being represented as “よゐ” (yowi); い becoming either ひ or ゐ, such as 老い (historically “おい” oi) being represented as “おゐ” (owi) or “おひ” (ohi); and various other spellings differing from their original pronunciation. Teika’s syllabary particularly drew from poetry such as waka
and renga
, but a number of examples of confusion between い, ゐ, and word-medial/final ひ were also frequently pulled from other sources.
In Christian rōmaji documents from the 16th century (the later part of the Muromachi period
), ゐ and い were written with either “i”, “j”, or “y”, but the pronunciation was understood to be [i] in any case.
Hiragana
is a Japanese syllabary, one basic component of the Japanese writing system, along with katakana, kanji, and the Latin alphabet . Hiragana and katakana are both kana systems, in which each character represents one mora...
, or ヰ in katakana
Katakana
is a Japanese syllabary, one component of the Japanese writing system along with hiragana, kanji, and in some cases the Latin alphabet . The word katakana means "fragmentary kana", as the katakana scripts are derived from components of more complex kanji. Each kana represents one mora...
, is a nearly obsolete Japanese kana
Kana
Kana are the syllabic Japanese scripts, as opposed to the logographic Chinese characters known in Japan as kanji and the Roman alphabet known as rōmaji...
, each of which represent one mora
Mora (linguistics)
Mora is a unit in phonology that determines syllable weight, which in some languages determines stress or timing. As with many technical linguistic terms, the definition of a mora varies. Perhaps the most succinct working definition was provided by the American linguist James D...
. It is presumed that ゐ represented wi and that ゐ and い indicated different pronunciations until somewhere between the Kamakura period
Kamakura period
The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura Shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo....
and the Taishō period
Taisho period
The , or Taishō era, is a period in the history of Japan dating from July 30, 1912 to December 25, 1926, coinciding with the reign of the Taishō Emperor. The health of the new emperor was weak, which prompted the shift in political power from the old oligarchic group of elder statesmen to the Diet...
when they both came to be pronounced [i]. Along with the kana for we
We (kana)
ゑ, in hiragana, or ヱ in katakana, is a nearly obsolete Japanese kana.It is presumed that ゑ represented . It is thought that, after ゑ and え came to denote the same pronunciation as イェ in the Kamakura period, they came to be pronounced as the modern エ ; there is also the view that the pronunciation...
, (ゑ in hiragana, ヱ in katakana), this kana was deemed obsolete in Japanese in 1946, and replaced with い and イ
I (kana)
い in hiragana or イ in katakana is one of the Japanese kana each of which represents one mora. い is based on the sōsho style of the kanji character 以, and イ is from the radical of the kanji character 伊. In the modern Japanese system of alphabetical order, it occupies the second position of the...
. It is now rare in everyday usage; in onomatopoeia and foreign words, the katakana form ウィ (U-[small-i]) is preferred.
The kana still sees some modern-day usage, such as the spelling of Nikka Whiskey
Nikka Whisky Distilling
The is a producer of Japanese whisky headquartered in Tokyo. They have two malt whisky distilleries, one in Yoichi, Hokkaidō , and the other in Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Northern Honshū...
, which is written "ニッカウヰスキー" (nikka uwisukī), the name of the comedy duo Yoiko
Yoiko
is a Japanese comic duo duo from Osaka working for Shōchiku Geinō, the second largest comedy talent agency in Japan following Yoshimoto Kōgyō.Yoiko are known otakus, even appearing on the variety show LINCOLN cosplaying as Char Aznable and Amuro Ray of the Gundam anime series and taking Downtown to...
is written "よゐこ" (yowiko), and a character in the video game series Touhou Project
Touhou Project
The , also known as Toho Project or Project Shrine Maiden, is a Japanese dōjin game series focused on bullet hell shooters made by the one-man developer Team Shanghai Alice, whose sole member, known as ZUN, is responsible for all the graphics, music, and programming for the most part...
has the name "てゐ" (Tewi). Katakana ヰ is sometimes written with a dakuten, ヸ, to represent a /vi/ sound in foreign words; however, most IMEs
Input method editor
An input method is an operating system component or program that allows any data, such as keyboard strokes or mouse movements, to be received as input. In this way users can enter characters and symbols not found on their input devices...
lack a convenient way to do this. It is far more common for /vi/ to be represented by the combination ヴィ.
Hiragana ゐ is still used in one of the Okinawan orthographies
Okinawan writing system
Okinawan language, spoken in Okinawa Island, was once the official language of the Ryukyuan Kingdom. At the time, documents were written in kanji and hiragana, derived from Japan. However, after Japan annexed the kingdom, the language was labeled as the "dialect" of mainland Japanese...
, New Okinawan, for the syllable /wi/ and in digraphs for /kwi, ɡwi/. In the Ryukyu University system, katakana ヰ is used for /i/, while い is /ʔi/. Katakana ヰ is used in also Ainu for /wi/.
Nara period (710 – 794 CE)
During the Nara periodNara period
The of the history of Japan covers the years from AD 710 to 794. Empress Gemmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō . Except for 5 years , when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the capital of Japanese civilization until Emperor Kammu established a new capital, Nagaoka-kyō, in 784...
, ヰ was pronounced as [wi] and イ as [i]. In the Man'yōgana, there were characters to represent ヰ (e.g. 井, 位, 為, 猪, 謂, 藍) and イ (e.g. 已, 五, 以, 伊, 怡, 射, 移, 異); no characters for one could be used to pronounce the other. The labial glides ク [kʷi] and グ [gʷi] also existed (though in those days small script kana were not used for glides), and were distinct from キ [ki] and ギ [gi].
Heian Period (794 – 1184 CE)
During the Heian periodHeian period
The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. The period is named after the capital city of Heian-kyō, or modern Kyōto. It is the period in Japanese history when Buddhism, Taoism and other Chinese influences were at their height...
, ゐ and い were still recognized as separately pronounced characters. In the mid-to-late 11th century, the Iroha
Iroha
The is a Japanese poem, probably written in the Heian era . Originally the poem was attributed to the founder of the Shingon Esoteric sect of Buddhism in Japan, Kūkai, but more modern research has found the date of composition to be later in the Heian Period. The first record of its existence...
song was developed, and い, え, and お (i, e, and o) were differentiated from ゐ, ゑ, and を (wi, we, and wo). In the Gojūon
Gojuon
The is a Japanese ordering of kana.It is named for the 5×10 grid in which the characters are displayed, but the grid is not completely filled, and, further, there is an extra character added outside the grid at the end: with 5 gaps and 1 extra character, the current number of distinct kana in a...
ordering (developed around 1075 by the scholar Hirotomo, based on the Siddhaṃ script), there were no sounds for “yi”, “ye”, “wu”, or “wo”. Although the distinction had been lost between オ (o) and ヲ (wo), there was still a distinction between ア/ワ (a/wa), イ/ヰ (i/wi), and エ/ヱ (e/we).
In Ki no Tsurayuki’s literary work, the Tosa Nikki (originally written in 935, transcribed in 1236), the phrase “海賊報いせむ” (kaizoku mukui semu) is written as “かいぞくむくゐせむ” (kaizoku mukuwi semu), with ゐ where い should be. In this way, examples of confusion between ゐ and い were emerging, little by little; however, during the Heian period these confusions were few and far between.
Since the Nara period, /h/ began to be pronounced as [w] in word-medial position; by the beginning of the 11th century, this phenomenon, called the "Ha-line shift", had become more widespread. In word-medial or word-final position, ひ [ɸi] would be pronounced [wi], therefore becoming the same as ゐ. Because of this, the use of ひ and ゐ also became confused.
At the end of the 12th century, the literary work “Shinkyō Shiki Chū” (which contained katakana
Katakana
is a Japanese syllabary, one component of the Japanese writing system along with hiragana, kanji, and in some cases the Latin alphabet . The word katakana means "fragmentary kana", as the katakana scripts are derived from components of more complex kanji. Each kana represents one mora...
, from the last years of the Insei period
Cloistered rule
The Insei system , or cloistered rule, was a specific form of government in Japan during the Heian period. In this bifurcated system, an Emperor abdicated, but he retained power and influence. The emperors who withdrew to live in monasteries continued to act in ways which were intended to...
) attests examples of ゐ and い losing their distinction, such as “率て” (wite) being written “イテ” (ite).
Furthermore, in Heian period literature, special kanji readings such as “クヰヤウ” [kʷʲau] and “ヰヤウ” [wʲau] were used, but were not well established.
Kamakura Period (1185–1333 CE)
By the Kamakura periodKamakura period
The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura Shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo....
, the confusion between ゐ and い had become even more widespread, and by the 13th century, ゐ and い were unified. By changing from [wi] to [i], ゐ had merged into い. Also, kanji that were represented by クヰ and グヰ had become pronounced [ki] and [gi] respectively, merging them with キ and ギ.
Due to the Ha-line shift as well as the merging of a number of syllables, soon there were many kana pronounced the same way, and kana orthography was in chaos. Fujiwara no Teika
Fujiwara no Teika
Fujiwara no Teika , also known as Fujiwara no Sadaie or Sada-ie, was a Japanese poet, critic, calligrapher, novelist, anthologist, scribe, and scholar of the late Heian and early Kamakura periods...
(1162–1241), in the “Unpleasant Characters” section of Gekanshū (a poetry volume), established rules for about 60 words containing を/お, え/へ/ゑ, and い/ひ/ゐ, based on a number of writings from the mid-11th to 12th century. However, the books that Teika had referenced already contained a number of confusions, with ひ becoming ゐ, such as 遂 (formerly “つひ” tsuhi) being represented as “つゐ” (tsuwi) and 宵 (formerly “よひ” yohi) being represented as “よゐ” (yowi); い becoming either ひ or ゐ, such as 老い (historically “おい” oi) being represented as “おゐ” (owi) or “おひ” (ohi); and various other spellings differing from their original pronunciation. Teika’s syllabary particularly drew from poetry such as waka
Waka (poetry)
Waka or Yamato uta is a genre of classical Japanese verse and one of the major genres of Japanese literature...
and renga
Renga
' is a genre of Japanese collaborative poetry. A renga consists of at least two or stanzas, usually many more. The opening stanza of the renga, called the , became the basis for the modern haiku form of poetry....
, but a number of examples of confusion between い, ゐ, and word-medial/final ひ were also frequently pulled from other sources.
Muromachi Period (1333–1573 CE)
In the Nanboku-chō period, the scholar Gyōa published the Kanamojidzukai (Kana Character Syllabary, completed in 1363), drastically augmenting the lexicon by over 1000 words. Though the Kanamojidzukai was generally as widely accepted as Teika’s syllabary, in practice there were a number of kana pronunciations that did not conform to it.In Christian rōmaji documents from the 16th century (the later part of the Muromachi period
Muromachi period
The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate, which was officially established in 1338 by the first Muromachi shogun, Ashikaga Takauji, two years after the brief Kemmu restoration of imperial...
), ゐ and い were written with either “i”, “j”, or “y”, but the pronunciation was understood to be [i] in any case.