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I've noticed that this site supports furigana for 漢字{かんじ} and ローマじ{romaji} and I think this is a great feature to aid Japanese learners. However, I'm not sure on the guidelines on when to use which in answers.

I think it's safe to assume that:

  • Those asking questions in Kana can read answers in these scripts
  • Those asking questions in Romaji cannot

However we cannot assume that:

  • Those posting questions with examples in Kanji can read other Kanji in answers

  • Only those who posted the question or at the same reading ability will wish to participate in answering or be interested in other answers

Since so many Japanese learners are familiar with Hiragana, I think it is safe to omit romaji from questions in Kana. However, would this be considered exclusionary for those that can't read Hiragana yet or can we expect them to learn to participate in these discussions? Should we require furigana for all uses of Kanji or should it similarly be expected that only those able to use Kanji need to read more advanced level grammatical discussions.

For a technical gripe: would it be possible to show romaji for 漢字{kanji}? Currently this is not supported.

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    It's rōmaji not romanji.
    – Earthliŋ Mod
    Jun 7, 2018 at 8:39
  • Indeed it is. I was using a device that was more difficult to type macron and ローマ is derived from the English word “Roman” or “Rome”. I think I’ve managed to make myself understood but there’s an edit button if you think it’s that important to the question being interpreted correctly.
    – Tom Kelly
    Jun 7, 2018 at 8:45
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    No, it is not derived from the English word Roman, nor indeed derived from English at all. However, it's understandable; Romanji is a common mistake made by English-speaking learners. Anyway, omitting the macron is fine, but including the 'n' is not.
    – user1478
    Jun 7, 2018 at 8:46
  • Also people who know better but would rather discuss better issues. Does anyone feel this passionately about furigana? I’d like to hear whether you agree or disagree with me. I’m new to this forum and wish to know how to best assist other Japanese learners. よろしくお願いします。
    – Tom Kelly
    Jun 7, 2018 at 8:50
  • でも、日本語で書けたら、どうローマ字で「ローマ字」のが要りません。
    – Tom Kelly
    Jun 7, 2018 at 8:53
  • Of corse you made yourslef understood wrting "romanji', just thouhgt I.d point it out in case you didnt know. Not strictly necessray to fix ur post tho.
    – Earthliŋ Mod
    Jun 7, 2018 at 8:54
  • You can write [漢字] and {kanji} and it will show up as [漢字]{kanji}.
    – user1478
    Jun 7, 2018 at 8:55
  • はい、いいですね。分かりました。みんなありがとうございました。
    – Tom Kelly
    Jun 7, 2018 at 9:00

1 Answer 1

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Basically, you can freely use rōmaji, furigana, kanji however you like in your own posts (questions and answers).

You can even answer a simple question that was asked using only rōmaji in standard Japanese, using kanji (without furigana), but of course it would make sense to adapt your style to the level of the question, so that the asker can understand your answer.

However, we have a policy about editing someone else's posts, which basically says "don't change the style of someone else's post":

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    It’s good to know about this policy to avoid over-editing others posts. I’ve experienced this on other SE sites and it is frustrating. However, user “Chocolate” formatted furigana in my posts and I’m grateful for this. I had given kana in brackets and had no idea furigana was supported, especially as there was no markup on the mobile iOS app and this only appears on the web for me. It was good to learn about it so I think there is a balance to be struck for teachable moments for newcomers on the site.
    – Tom Kelly
    Jun 7, 2018 at 12:37

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