A type of Japanese syllabary that is characterized by its angular shapes and is primarily used to represent foreign words and onomatopoeia in written form.

A system of phonetic characters in the Japanese writing system, created by taking parts of kanji characters; it serves to facilitate the pronunciation of words borrowed from other languages and is distinct from hiragana.

One of the two main scripts in Japanese writing, katakana is utilized to denote sounds and convey the pronunciation of words, especially in contexts involving foreign terms, scientific names, and certain stylistic expressions.

A phonetic script derived from simplified parts of kanji, katakana is often employed in modern Japanese to write loanwords and express sounds vividly, highlighting its role in distinguishing specific linguistic and contextual nuances.