Katakana Letter Small Ka

Katakana Letter Small Ka at U+30F5 is a small Japanese katakana kana used mainly to write the “ka” element in a limited set of fixed spellings. It belongs to the Katakana block and is not simply a decorative small version of the ordinary katakana ka; in modern usage it has specialized orthographic roles. Its most common appearance is in Japanese counters and date-like expressions where it represents the syllable read ka or ga, especially in compounds such as 一ヵ月 for “one month” and 三ヵ所 for “three places.” In these words it often alternates with small hiragana か, full-size katakana カ, or the kanji 箇, depending on style, publisher, and formality. It is also seen in place names and organization names where the spelling has been conventionalized, such as names containing ヶ or ヵ before a following noun element. Compared with the more frequent small ke-looking ヶ, small ka ヵ is less common and may be chosen to make the intended reading “ka” visually explicit. Because several visually and functionally similar forms coexist in Japanese text, searching official names or addresses may require trying the exact character used in the source.