We (kana)

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The hiragana ゑ.
The hiragana ゑ.
The katakana ヱ.
The katakana ヱ.
kana - gojūon
n wa ra ya ma ha na ta sa ka a
tsu wi ri mi hi ni chi shi ki i
ru yu mu fu nu tsu su ku u
we re me he ne te se ke e
wo ro yo mo ho no to so ko o

, in hiragana, or in katakana, is one of the Japanese kana, which each represent one mora.

This kana is obsolescent, and rare in everyday usage. In fact, in onomatopoeia or foreign words, the katakana form ウェ (we) is preferred.

It is presumed that ゑ was pronounced as "we" listen . It is thought that after ゑ and え merged into the same pronunciation as イェ (ie) listen  in the Kamakura period they came to be pronounced as the modern エ (e), but there is also the view that the pronunciation difference between the two kana remained until the Taishō period.

One modern-day usage of this kana is in the name of the beer Yebisu, which is written "ヱビス" or "ゑびす."

[edit] See also

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