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The small ke (ヶ) is a Japanese character, typographically a small form of the katakana character ケ ke.^[1]

While identical in shape to a small ケ, ヶ is actually an abbreviation for the kanji 箇, specifically by writing half of the bamboo radical 竹 (⺮). 箇, alternatively written as 個 (or 个), is a common Japanese counter word. ヶ is also as an abbreviation for the Japanese conjunctive particle が.

It is unrelated to the katakana character ケ (which is an abbreviation for 介) but ヶ is sometimes written as a large character ケ.

Although it resembles the katakana character ke (ケ), it is pronounced ka (sometimes ko) when it specifies a counter (or ga when it specifies a conjunction), but not ke.

When used as a counter, the katakana カ or ヵ are sometimes used instead. When used as a counter but pronounced ko, the katakana コ is sometimes used instead (chiefly in informal writing).

However, ヶ is not used as a general abbreviation for 箇 or 個. For example, 個人 kojin, "individual" will not be written as ^×ヶ人 (except possibly as very informal ryakuji; contrast with 〆, as an abbreviation for 締). Note that 個 is used in various words, but 箇 is generally only used as a counter, or as a variant of 個.

The most familiar example as a counter is for counting months, as in 1ヶ月 (ik-ka-getsu, one month [duration]) where it is pronounced ka. Other common examples are places 〜ヶ所　(~-ka-sho) and countries 〜ヶ国 (~-ka-koku).

An example where it is pronounced as ko is when counting small objects, such as pieces of fruit or candy, where one may write 一ヶ (ik-ko), rather than the more formal 一個; this is particularly common in hand-written signs at shops, though 一コ is also common.

When used as the conjunction 〜が〜 (~-ga-~), it has the same meaning as 〜の〜 (~-no-~) which is more common in modern Japanese and is commonly used in place names, though rare in everyday words.

One relatively common word using ヶ is 雁ヶ音 karigane (kari-ga-ne – goose-'s-sound, the cry of the wild goose).

In place names, it is generally a conjunction, and hence pronounced ga, particularly as 「～ヶ原」 (-ga-hara) "field of ...", as in 青木ヶ原 (Aokigahara, laurel-'s-field, field of laurel). It may also be a counter, where it will generally be pronounced ka, as in 三ヶ日 (Mikkabi, place name, "three days").

In some cases both ヶ and が (and even ケ) are used to write a place name, depending on the specific place with a given name or usage. This may have also changed over time, so older documents may use a different form, and older institutions may use an outdated spelling. The most conspicuous example is Jiyūgaoka, which refers to a number of places throughout Japan (see 自由ヶ丘), some of which officially use 自由が丘, 自由ヶ丘, or 自由ケ丘. The best-known of these is a popular neighborhood in Tokyo, whose official form is 自由が丘, but it was formerly 自由ヶ丘, changing in 1965 (the station changed in 1966), and some businesses use the older form.