Okurigana: Where to Split Kanji and Kana (食べる, Not 食る)
Why is it 食べる and not 食る? Those trailing kana are okurigana (送り仮名) — and putting them in the wrong place is one of the most common writing mistakes learners make. There is a simple idea behind where they go.
What Okurigana Is
Okurigana are the hiragana written after a kanji to complete a word. They mostly appear on verbs and adjectives, where part of the word changes when it conjugates.
The kanji carries the core meaning; the okurigana carries the part that changes.
The Core Rule: Okurigana = the Changing Part
Write the kanji for the unchanging stem, and kana for the part that conjugates. 動く → 動か(ない), 動き(ます): the く is okurigana because that's where the word changes.
okurigana べる shows the conjugating part
く changes: 動かない, 動きます
i-adjective tail しい
かい is okurigana
Accepted Variations
Some words have more than one officially accepted okurigana spelling. Both are correct; the shorter form is more common in modern writing.
How to Get It Right
- Ask “what part changes?” That part is kana.
- Learn the verb/adjective with its okurigana from the start — 食べる, not 食 + べる as separate pieces.
- When typing, the IME inserts okurigana for you — type たべる and pick 食べる.
Teacher's Note
The single most common okurigana error I see is dropping a needed kana (食る for 食べる). When in doubt, include the conjugating syllable. Reading a lot of real Japanese trains your eye for the correct boundary faster than any rule chart.
Write it the way natives do
Nihongo Pass shows every verb and adjective with correct okurigana and conjugations — designed by a JLPT N1 teacher.