When writing kana in Japanese, does any syllable have a higher value than another?

Question

Such as in English how A>D but D>Z and D

Answer 1

Sort of...

The roman alphabet is usually layed out vertically in a line. So we usually ascribe "values" going from left to right. For example A always comes first, and first is synomous with 1...so A is seen as comming first in the alphabet. But if you think about it...the order really has no relation on how we use the alphabet. They could be in any order and we would still use them the same. The song we all know and love would just be a little harder to sing....

The same thing kind of applies in Japanese as well. Since there are more characters the kana is usually laid out in a grid style. "a" (prounced ah) being the first kana and "n" (prounced like the n in no) being the last. Depending on the text book..Japanese style or western style...that "a" could appear to be at the front (top left) or the back of the grid (top right).

This grid is a set way of displaying the kana, so going from the top left (if it is displayed in a western style book) top would be greater than bottom and left would be greater than right. For example, "ka" is greater then "ko", and "na" is greater then "ma"...etc.

The strongest evidence I have to support that there is a value system going on is that at Shinto and Buddist temples, there are usually a pair of staues of lions, or warriors at the entrance that you have to pass inbetween to enter.

The left one always has its mouth open to simulate saying "a", the first kana..while the right one always has its mouth closed to simulate saying "n" the last kana. The meaning is that you are passing from the realm of "humans" to the realm of the "gods" (or just simple a sacred place). You do this by leaving behind everything from "a" to "n" (like saying you are leaving everything from A to Z behind......everything that you know that has a name).

This seems to suggest that "a" would be greater since it comes first and "n" is the last. Thus an order is constructed and when looking at the grid, there would be "values" for each kana.

If asked an English speaker might see G as being "higher" than H since the vertical layout can be easly connected to value (as seen when kids assign numbers to the alphabet and make secret codes). But if you asked a Japanese person, they might not see that "ka" would have a higher value then "ko" would as there are various layouts for the kana.

Answer 2

Your question is not entirely clear. By "value" do you simply mean order, as in a-b-c-d-etc.? The kana (both hiragana and katakana) can be given in two different orders: a-i-o-u-ka-ki-ko-ku, etc., or the i-ro-ha order. The latter comes from an arrangement of the kana into a Buddhist poem and is used in much the way we use Roman numerals I, II, III.
Is this what you were asking?

Answer 3

For Kan'ji it's the order of the brush strokes.

The second guy on here obviously doesn't speak Japanese because aside from giving you a lame explanation, he left out the "e" sounds. Ano hito ha sugoku urusai to omou~ na... zenzen wakarinai yo.