Ru (kana)


, in hiragana, or in katakana, is one of the Japanese kana, each of which represent one mora. The hiragana is written in one stroke; the katakana in two. Both represent the sound. The Ainu language uses a small katakana ㇽ to represent a final r sound after an u sound.
FormRōmajiHiraganaKatakana
Normal r-
Ru, Lu
Normal r-
ruu, luu
rū, lū
るう, るぅ
るー, る〜
ルウ, ルゥ
ルー, ル〜

Stroke order

The hiragana for ru is made with one stroke, and its katakana form is made with two.
る begins with a horizontal stroke to the right, followed by a slightly longer, angular stroke going down and to the left. Finally, a curve and loop are added to the bottom that somewhat resembles the hiragana no. The character as a whole is visually similar to the hiragana for ro.
ル is made by first making a curved stroke going down and to the left, and is followed by a stroke that first goes straight down, and then a curved line going up and to the right.

Other communicative representations