Japanese Kana/Kanji meanings

I think it would be a good idea if this thread were here to give people help in understanding meanings or usage of certain kana/kanji symbols.


I myself am having some trouble trying to understand a symbol in a manga I'm trying to read.

I'm new, so it may (or may not) be obvious. On the left, is the symbol I really don't know what it is. On the right is the hirigana "shi". They are distinctly different and both appear in the same manga. Can anyone help me as to its pronunciation?

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...e_fan/scan.jpg



Thanks.

The symbol on the left looks like "shi" to me, but if the whole word doesn't make sense, then it's probably katakana for "re".



If you have anymore questions, do go here: http://www.animeonline.net/f23/japan...earning-12348/ For some reason the 2-week rule doesn't apply to the thread. Happy reading. And posting. I'll be glad to answer any of your questions there as long as the thread remains open. :)

The symbol on the left also has nigori (or ten-ten) that can be attached to it. And since it seems that there is no nigori marks for a ra, it probably is a shi.

It's just that I haven't seen a shi like that before. But I bought a japanese dictionary today to find out what it meant. (usually I use the internet free dictionary, but it seems it can't do everything...)

Actually, you can attach a nigori to just about any symbol, except that exactly how it alters the pronunciation of the "letter" I can't really say. It usually just denotes a sort of emphasis on the syllable. Appears in mostly manga, and sometimes in novels. It's only used for exclamations, though... you know, kind of like "Aaaaa", except with nigori for each of the a's. I haven't yet figured out how to do this with a keyboard though...

Oh. Also, you're bound to see many types of differently-written shi's if you ask a variety of people to write it for you. This isn't a particularly well-written shi; it looks to me like it was written by someone unskilled with a brush... but the curved form does suggest that it is a shi. If the person wanted to write a re he would have given the character a straighter back, and a pointer... er, point.