HIRAGANA · AN OLD CHARACTER
ゑ (we) in hiragana
ゑ is an old hiragana for we. Since 1946, standard spelling writes え instead, so when you meet ゑ, as in ゑびす, or its katakana ヱ, as in ヱビス, read it e.
- Old reading
- we
- Read today
- e
- Modern spelling
- え
- Katakana
- ヱ
- The sound we today
- ウェ, in katakana loanwords
- Type
- wye
- Strokes
- 1
- See also
- ゐ (wi), the other old kana
On this page
Then and now.
The full model: one stroke.
start end
More hiragana activities
WHY IT IS NO LONGER USED
Why ゑ is no longer used.
ゑ was read we. In the Kamakura period (1185–1333) it came to be said like え, which was then pronounced ye; in the Edo period (1603–1868) that ye became today’s e.
In 1946 new spelling rules (現代かなづかい) based spelling on modern pronunciation, with a few exceptions such as the particles は, へ and を: ゐ and ゑ became い and え, and を was kept only for the particle.
The current rules (現代仮名遣い, 1986) list no ゐ or ゑ. Their W row has only わ, and を for the particle.
WHERE YOU MAY STILL SEE IT
Where you still see ゑ.
- Yebisu beer writes its name ヱビス, with the katakana ヱ, read e.
- Kyoto Ebisu Shrine (京都ゑびす神社) and its festival 十日ゑびす use the hiragana ゑ.
- The iroha poem, which uses each kana once, has ゑ in its last line, ゑひもせす (read ei mo sezu: in the old spelling ひ inside a word is read i, and dakuten were not written, so す here is zu).
- Classical Japanese texts (school textbooks still print them in the old spelling), some haiku and tanka, and books and documents in the old spelling, mostly printed before 1946.
OLD SPELLINGS
Words once written with ゑ.
- こえ (koe, voice) was written こゑ.
- すえ (sue, end) was written すゑ.
- うえる (ueru, to plant) was written うゑる.
- ちえ (chie, wisdom) was written ちゑ.
QUESTIONS PEOPLE ASK
Short answers to what people ask.
Is ゑ still used?
Not in standard spelling, since 1946. You still see it in names, old texts and the iroha poem.
How do you pronounce ゑ?
As e, like え. When people name the old letter itself, they may say we. Audio is not available on this page.
How do you write the sound we today?
In katakana, with ウェ, as in ウェブ (web). ウエ is also allowed, as in ウエディングケーキ (wedding cake).
What is ゑ in katakana?
ヱ. ゑ comes from a cursive form of 恵; sources differ on whether ヱ comes from 恵 or from 衛.
Why is Yebisu spelled with a Y?
Old romanizations for foreigners wrote エ as ye, as in Yedo and Yen, and the beer has kept the name YEBISU since 1890. Its kana ヱ is the old katakana for we, read e today.
Is there a kana for ye or yi?
Not in modern use. Very early Japanese had separate e and ye syllables; they merged about a thousand years ago into one sound, said ye until it became e in the Edo period, so the kana table has a single え. Loanwords write ye as イェ, as in イェール (Yale). Modern standard Japanese has no separate yi sound.
How do I type ゑ?
With Japanese input switched on, type wye: Apple documents it for the Mac, and Google’s open-source input table has it. Typing we gives うぇ instead.
How many strokes is ゑ?
One, in the model on this page.
WRITE IT
How to write ゑ: stroke order
Shape: A rounded triangle in one stroke: a small part like る on top, and a wavy base.
One stroke
One continuous stroke. The top half is like a small る: a short line, a sharp turn, a slant down-left, a sharp turn, then a small curl. The bottom half slants down-left, turns sharply, and ends in a wave with two humps to the right.
You will rarely need to write ゑ, because modern spelling uses え. It is here so you can recognize it and copy it. The model shows the shape and stroke order; it does not label the stroke ending.
Stroke diagrams adapted from KanjiVG, © Ulrich Apel and contributors, CC BY-SA 3.0. License and attribution.
THE W ROW
The W row, then and now.
The old W row had wa, wi, we and wo; there was no separate wu sound. Modern hiragana keeps わ (wa) and を, read o and used only as the particle. ん (n) sits outside the rows.
Sources and review status
This page is a draft: a Japanese educator has not reviewed it yet.
Stroke model: KanjiVG, © Ulrich Apel and contributors, CC BY-SA 3.0 (source record). License and attribution.
- Agency for Cultural Affairs: 現代かなづかい, the 1946 rules (ゐ and ゑ written い and え)
- Agency for Cultural Affairs: 現代仮名遣い, the current 1986 rules (the kana list)
- Agency for Cultural Affairs: 現代仮名遣い appendix (old spellings with ゐ and ゑ)
- Agency for Cultural Affairs: 外来語の表記, loanword spelling (ウィ, ウェ)
- NINJAL: the gaps in the kana table (45 kana; no yi or wu)
- Kotobank (デジタル大辞泉 and others): ゑ
- Kotobank: いろは歌 (the iroha poem)
- Unicode: hiragana and katakana code charts
- Apple: Japanese input, typing wyi and wye
- Mozc (open-source Google Japanese Input): romaji table
- Sapporo: the YEBISU brand (ヱビス)
- Kyoto Ebisu Shrine (京都ゑびす神社)
- sci.lang.japan FAQ: the wi and we kana
- syoka-koyoblog (penmanship): ゑ
- Matsumoto Shoeido calligraphy school: ゑ
Draft content · Japanese educator review pending.
minimachi · AN OLD HIRAGANA
ゑ · we
ゑ is an old hiragana for we. Since 1946, standard spelling writes え instead, so when you meet ゑ, as in ゑびす, or its katakana ヱ, as in ヱビス, read it e.
Write it in one stroke.
- One continuous stroke. The top half is like a small る: a short line, a sharp turn, a slant down-left, a sharp turn, then a small curl. The bottom half slants down-left, turns sharply, and ends in a wave with two humps to the right.
Trace, then copy.
Stroke model: KanjiVG, © Ulrich Apel and contributors · CC BY-SA 3.0 · kanjivg.tagaini.net · license: creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
Draft content; Japanese educator review pending.
Full page and sources: minimachi.com/hiragana/we/