Ru (hiragana: ãÂÂ, katakana: ã«) is one of the Japanese kana, each of which represent one mora. The hiragana is written in one stroke; the katakana in two. Both represent the sound . The Ainu language uses a small katakana ã½ to represent a final r sound after an u sound (ã¦ã½ ur). The combination of an R-column kana letter with handakuten ãÂÂ- ãÂÂã in hiragana, and ã«ã in katakana was introduced to represent [lu] in the early 20th century.
The hiragana for ru (ãÂÂ) is made with one stroke, and its katakana form (ã«) is made with two.
ã (hiragana) begins with a horizontal stroke to the right, followed by a slightly longer, angular stroke going down and to the left. Finally, a curve and loop are added to the bottom that somewhat resembles the hiragana no (ã®). The character as a whole is visually similar to the hiragana for ro (ãÂÂ).
ã« (katakana) is made by first making a curved stroke going down and to the left, and is followed by a stroke that first goes straight down, and then a curved line going up and to the right.