1.
ruby text; furigana; reading annotations placed above or beside kanji
Small characters placed above (in horizontal text) or beside (in vertical text) kanji to indicate their pronunciation. Named after the typographic term 'ruby' for small-sized type.
From the English typographic term 'ruby,' which refers to a small type size (5.5 points). In Japanese publishing and web design, ルビ refers to the small reading annotations placed above or beside kanji characters.
Common collocations
- ルビを振る: to add ruby/furigana text
- ルビを付ける: to attach ruby text
- ルビ付き: with ruby text
- 総ルビ: full ruby (every kanji annotated)
Similar words
- 振り仮名 (furigana): furigana — the native Japanese term for the same concept; more commonly used in everyday language
- 読み仮名: reading kana — another term for pronunciation guides
Usage
ルビ is the preferred term in publishing, typography, and web development (HTML has a `<ruby>` tag). 振り仮名 is more common in educational contexts and everyday conversation. Both refer to the same thing.