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'ゑ', in hiragana, or 'ヱ' in katakana, is an obsolete Japanese kana, each of which represent one mora.
It is presumed that ゑ was pronounced as "we" (IPA: ) ''. It is thought that after ゑ and え merged into the same pronunciation as イェ (IPA: ) '' in the Kamakura period they came to be pronounced as the modern エ (IPA: ), but there is also the view that the pronunciation difference between the two kana remained until the Taishō period.
This kana became obsolete in 1946, and is now rare in everyday usage. In fact, in onomatopoeia or foreign words, the katakana form ウェ (we) is preferred. One modern-day usage of this kana is in the name of the beer Yebisu, which is written "ヱビス" or "ゑびす."

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See also

★ U (kana)

★ E (kana)