DAKUTEN Meaning and
Definition
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Dakuten is a term derived from the Japanese language that refers to a diacritical mark used in written Japanese called the "voicing mark." In Japanese scripts such as Hiragana and Katakana, dakuten is represented by two small strokes or lines placed diagonally on the upper right corner of a character, altering its pronunciation.
The primary function of dakuten is to modify the sound of a consonant in Japanese phonetics. When applied to specific phonetic symbols, it converts an unvoiced sound into its voiced counterpart. For instance, adding dakuten to the "k" character changes the pronunciation to "g," while applying it to "s" transforms it into "z." This alteration affects the voicing of the consonant sound produced when pronouncing the character.
The word "dakuten" itself translates to "voiced point" in English, reflecting its purpose of altering the sound of a particular character. This diacritic mark is significant in distinguishing the phonetic differences between various words and sentences in the Japanese language.
Dakuten plays a crucial role in the proper reading and writing of Japanese texts, including words, sentences, and even names. Proper usage of dakuten is essential to ensure accurate communication and comprehension in Japanese speech and writing, as it affects the phonetic nuances and distinctions among words that share similar characters.
Common Misspellings for DAKUTEN
- sakuten
- xakuten
- cakuten
- fakuten
- rakuten
- eakuten
- dzkuten
- dskuten
- dwkuten
- dqkuten
- dajuten
- damuten
- daluten
- daouten
- daiuten
- dakyten
- dakhten
- dakjten
- dakiten
- dak8ten
Etymology of DAKUTEN
The word "dakuten" (濁点) is derived from the Japanese language. It is composed of two kanji characters: "daku" (濁), meaning "muddy" or "impure", and "ten" (点), meaning "dot" or "mark".
The dakuten symbol ( ゛ ) is a diacritical mark used in written Japanese language to indicate the voicing or pronunciation change of a consonant sound. It is placed on the upper right side of a kana character, and it modifies the sound from an unvoiced consonant to its voiced counterpart. For instance, the "k" sound changes to "g", "s" to "z", "t" to "d", etc.
The term "dakuten" was coined to describe this mark due to the voicing effect it produces.
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