HIRAGANA · HISTORICAL KANA
we
ゑ · paired with ヱ
Sound and use
A historical kana normally written え under modern spelling.
See ヱ, the katakana counterpart →
Kana represent sounds and spelling functions. They do not have lexical meanings of their own.
How the shape formed
This character belongs to historical kana spelling. Its ordinary modern equivalent is described below.
History and change
Japanese writers used Chinese characters for their sounds. The source characters belonged to that wider practice; the kanji meaning was not inherited by ゑ.
Hiragana and katakana developed as Japanese syllabaries in the early Heian period (794–1185). This is the script-level period, not a first attested date for ゑ.
A historical kana normally written え under modern spelling.
What is documented?
The sources above support the script’s broad period and the modern writing function. A first surviving appearance of this exact modern shape has not been established for this entry.
For a look at earlier hiragana variants, use the NINJAL hentaigana index ↗.