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I remember being told that hiragana should be the same size as kanji when
writing them by hand. However, there are times when I see handwritten kana
that are much smaller than the kanji. Does this carry any nuance or is there
any purpose to it?
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2012-08-07T17:12:04.870
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2014-03-09T11:12:27.300
2014-03-06T22:32:22.550
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nuances orthography handwriting
What is the appropriate size of hiragana in proportion to kanji?
In this particular case ギャル文字 is referring to the uber-feminine use of the
language. Some of those characters like the ッ are like our emoticons ;-) and
some are legitimate. For example in ギャル文字, the ギ{gi} is modified by
ャ{ya}(small YA), so instead of reading it "Giyaru" it is read "Gyaru".

Most of the time you see the smaller character it will be modifying the
previous character. Mostly used with the "Y" characters (ya, yu, yo) but it
can be used with others. The small TSU character makes the **following**
character longer, so the double "P" in Sapporo is written "さっぽろ" and not
pronounced "Satsuhoro" but rather "Sapporo". In the example JPG you linked
they used the katakana TSU ッ and only for effect. But can also use it legit in
クスッ{kusu}(swallow the last "U") and still be cutesy.
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2012-08-07T22:16:59.300
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2012-08-07T22:35:47.247
2012-08-07T22:35:47.247
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Usually, they should be the same size, but considering the history that
okurigana used to be markings (like subscripts) on the Chinese text to add
Japanese inflections, it is natural that they are written smaller than kanji.
In fact, in caligraphy, it is usually said that hiragana should be written
smaller than kanji.
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2012-08-07T22:51:18.343
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2012-08-08T04:42:07.710
2012-08-08T04:42:07.710
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In Japanese calligraphy and penmanship, usually kana are written slightly
smaller than kanji. Basically, the more strokes a character has, the larger it
should be written for proper balance and appearance. This is because [simple
characters look larger than complicated ones with human
eyes](http://shodotebiki.com/c02point.html). [This
article](http://milda2t.web.fc2.com/kaizou1.html) says,
"漢字：10、ひらがな：8、カナ・ローマ字・数字：7～6、特殊記号：6".

Addition: This is not only in handwriting and not only in Japanese. [Even in
typography, kana are designed _slightly_ smaller than
kanji.](http://soudan1.biglobe.ne.jp/qa1463059.html) It is pretty common from
traditional metal types to modern computer-designed fonts. Also, in Chinese
calligraphy, characters with few strokes are written _slightly_ smaller than
characters with many strokes.
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2012-08-08T06:46:17.107
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2012-08-08T17:57:40.893
2012-08-08T17:57:40.893
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