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Text function

PHONETIC

Extracts the furigana phonetic characters from a text string.

Rarely usedDifficulty 1350 · AdvancedUsage rank #330 of 520
Practice · 2 questions →

When to use it

Returns the furigana (phonetic reading) stored with Japanese text in a cell.

The shape of it

Syntax
=PHONETIC(reference)

Worked examples

  • Reading of a name

    =PHONETIC(A2) → トウキョウ

    A2 holds 東京 with furigana attached.

  • A range

    =PHONETIC(A2:A3) → concatenated readings

    A range returns the readings joined.

  • No furigana

    =PHONETIC(B2) → ＡＢＣ

    Text without furigana returns itself.

Worth knowing

  • Furigana is attached when text is typed with a Japanese IME; imported text usually has none.
  • Used for sorting Japanese names by pronunciation.
  • Only meaningful with Japanese language support installed.

Where it goes wrong

  • Returns the text itself when no phonetic data exists, which looks like it is not working.
  • Cannot generate readings for text that lacks them.

Related

LEFTRIGHTLENTRIMUPPERLOWER

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