Shiritori (しりとり) is a Japanese word game in which the players are required to say a word which begins with the final kana of the previous word. No distinction is made between hiragana, katakana and kanji. "Shiritori" literally means "taking the bottom" as Japanese language can be written vertically. Japanese writing Kanji 漢字 Kana 仮名 Hiragana 平仮名 Katakana 片仮名 Manyogana 万葉仮名 Uses Furigana 振り仮名 Okurigana 送り仮名 Rōmaji ローマ字 For other meanings of Kana, see Kana (disambiguation). ... Japanese writing Kanji Kana Hiragana Katakana Hentaigana Manyōgana Uses Furigana Okurigana Rōmaji Hiragana ) is a Japanese syllabary, one component of the Japanese writing system, along with katakana and kanji; the Latin alphabet is also used in some cases. ... Katakana ) is a Japanese syllabary, one component of the Japanese writing system along with hiragana, kanji, and in some cases the Latin alphabet. ... Japanese writing Kanji Kana Hiragana Katakana Hentaigana Manyōgana Uses Furigana Okurigana Rōmaji   ) are the Chinese characters that are used in the modern Japanese logographic writing system along with hiragana (平仮名), katakana (片仮名), and the Arabic numerals. ...

Basic Rules

• Two or more people take turns to play.
• Only nouns are permitted.
• A player who plays a word ending in the mora N (ん) loses the game, as no word begins with that character.
• Words may not be repeated.
• Phrases connected by no (の) are permitted, but only in those cases where the phrase is sufficiently fossilized to be considered a "word".

Example: sakura (さくら)-> rajio (ラジオ)-> onigiri (おにぎり)-> risu (りす)-> sumou (すもう) -> udon (うどん) Noun or noun substantive is a lexical category which is defined in terms of how its members combine with other grammatical kinds of expressions. ... Mora (plural moras or morae) is a unit of sound used in phonology that determines syllable weight (which in turn determines stress or timing) in some languages. ... “Cherry Blossom” redirects here. ... Onigiri Onigiri (お握り) also known as Omusubi (おむすび) is a Japanese (short grain) rice ball snack most commonly formed into triangle or oval shapes and wrapped in seaweed (nori). ... Tempura Udon Udon (Hiragana:うどん; Kanji:饂飩, rarely 餛飩; Traditional Chinese: , wÅ«dōng, sometimes 烏冬麵, wÅ«dōngmiàn) is a type of thick wheat-based noodle popular in Japanese cuisine. ...

The player who played the word udon lost this game.

There are various optional and advanced rules, which must be agreed on before the game begins.

Optional rules

• Dakuten and handakuten may be ignored. Thus suupu (すーぷ) may be followed by furo (ふろ).
• A long vowel may either be ignored or considered as a vowel. Mikisaa (ミキサー/みきさー) can be followed by either sakura or aki (あき).
• Common pronouns and place names may not be permitted. Edo jou (えどじょう) lit. Edo castle is safe.
• Two words spelled with the same kana but different kanji may be permitted. For example, Su (す) can either be spelled as "巣" (lit. a birdnest) or "酢" (lit. vinegar).

Dakuten ), colloquially ten-ten (dot dot), is a diacritic sign most often used in the Japanese kana syllabaries to indicate that the consonant of a syllable should be pronounced voiced. ... Dakuten (濁点), colloquially ten-ten (dot dot), is a diacritic sign most often used in the Japanese kana syllabaries to indicate that the consonant of a syllable should be pronounced voiced. ...

Advanced Rules

• Words are limited to a certain genre.
• Instead of using only the last kana, the final two kana must be used again. In this case, neither kana may be N.
• The length of a word must be three or more syllables.
• Only words beginning and ending in dakuten and handakuten may be used.

English Shiritori

A Shiritori game using only English words was invented to help one learn English. Most rules are the same, yet there are several original and optional rules that are used.

• For students of English, any words including nouns, verbs, and adjectives can be used.
• Players cannot use past tenses of a verb except when a verb does not follow the standard pattern. A player may use "be," "was," or "is" but not "kick" and "kicked."
• When a word ends in a vowel, like "life," one may use the preceding consonant instead.