振(ふ)り仮名(がな)

ふりがな
noun
furigana, reading gloss above kanji
education
1. furigana, reading aid, phonetic gloss written above or beside kanji
Small kana characters placed above (in horizontal text) or beside (in vertical text) kanji to indicate their pronunciation. Used in children's books, language learning materials, and to clarify rare or unusual readings.
難(むずか)しい漢字(かんじ)に振(ふ)り仮名(がな)をつける。
To add furigana to difficult kanji.
子供向(こどもむ)けの本(ほん)にはすべての漢字(かんじ)に振(ふ)り仮名(がな)がついている。
In books for children, all kanji have furigana.
名前(なまえ)の欄(らん)に振(ふ)り仮名(がな)も記入(きにゅう)してください。
Please also fill in the furigana in the name field.

振(ふ)り仮名(がな) is the standard term for the small phonetic readings placed alongside kanji. The word comes from 振(ふ)る (to assign, to allocate) + 仮名(かな) (kana characters).

Also written as ふりがな (all kana) in everyday usage.

Types

  • 総(そう)ルビ: full furigana on every kanji (common in children's materials)
  • パラルビ: selective furigana only on difficult kanji

Common collocations

  • 振(ふ)り仮名(がな)をつける / 振(ふ)り仮名(がな)を振(ふ)る: to add furigana
  • 振(ふ)り仮名(がな)つき: with furigana included
  • 振(ふ)り仮名(がな)欄(らん): furigana field (on forms)

Note: On Japanese official forms, there is usually a space above or below the name field labeled ふりがな (written in hiragana, meaning write the reading in hiragana) or フリガナ (written in katakana, meaning write the reading in katakana).

Related Words

Compare: ルビ (ruby text)
general
Added 2026.2.22 19:34 · Revised 2026.9.4 21:29
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