Katakana Unicode Block
Katakana is a Japanese syllabary used primarily for writing foreign loanwords, onomatopoeia, scientific terms, and for emphasis in a manner similar to italics in English. This set of characters consists of straight, angular strokes, distinguishing it from the more rounded hiragana script. Each character represents a single mora, such as a vowel or a consonant-vowel combination, with the script historically evolving from simplified fragments of Chinese characters. In modern usage, it also includes the prolonged sound mark and the iteration mark, which help indicate vowel lengthening and repeated sounds respectively. Though its primary role is transcription, it is also commonly seen in product names, advertising, and manga to convey a modern or foreign feel, and it pairs with hiragana and kanji to form the complete Japanese writing system.