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Sample use of ruby characters: (Note: not all web browsers can display ruby; font size was increased to show details)
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When writing in Japanese or Chinese, pronunciation hints can be written on top of or alongside (when written vertically) of Chinese characters whose pronunciation is in question. These annotations are called furigana in Japanese and Zhuyin in Chinese. They are not restricted to printed material, but are used in handwriting as well. This may be done for many reasons:
"Ruby" was originally the name of a British 5.5 pt font. Because of its size, it was originally used for the annotations in printed documents. In Japanese, this word lost its meaning "name of font" and became "typeset furigana". When it was translated back into English, the word was rendered by some as "rubi", which is the standard romanization for the Japanese ルビ However, the spelling "ruby" has become more common since being adopted as a W3C standard.
In Japanese and Chinese, Ruby retains its connotation of referring to typeset, as opposed to handwritten, annotations. As English has no native word for such annotations, this connotation is lost in English.
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