What are some good ways to say "how to spell" in Japanese?


I wanted to know the correct way to spell a compound word in Japanese, and was
wondering if there is a verb that correlates to "to spell" in the Japanese
language. I found 綴る, but was told this is used only for foreign languages; as
I was told, it may be used in a linguistic context to speak of spelling in
Japanese, but in common usage it is used mainly to refer to the spelling of
foreign words. To sum it up, if I want to know the kana spelling of a word or
compound word (for instance １件）what would be a few ways to ask this? Is the
word 綴る used primarily in linguistic contexts? If I want to ask friends or
acquaintances, are there other terms besides 書く, スペル or 読む to use? Would 仮名遣い
be okay to use in this context? (I wanted to avoid saying something like
そのスペルを教えてください。／そのスペルは？ as this seemed too easy)




The best way to request anything in Japanese (in Japan, to Japanese) is to say
as little as possible and to leave as much wiggle room as possible.

I think you want [読]{よ}み[方]{かた} 'way of reading' when you have kanji to point
at, and [書]{か}き方 'way of writing' when you have sound. 'Spelling' is not safe
to use because there are so many ways to be wrong with kanji.

Of course always start with the usual self deprecating set-pieces about how
stupid you are and how difficult Japanese is. You may think you don't have to
do this with friends and colleagues, but this is part of friendliness and good
manners.




The best way to request anything in Japanese (in Japan, to Japanese) is to say
as little as possible and to leave as much wiggle room as possible.

I think you want [読]{よ}み[方]{かた} 'way of reading' when you have kanji to point
at, and [書]{か}き方 'way of writing' when you have sound. 'Spelling' is not safe
to use because there are so many ways to be wrong with kanji.

Of course always start with the usual self deprecating set-pieces about how
stupid you are and how difficult Japanese is. You may think you don't have to
do this with friends and colleagues, but this is part of friendliness and good
manners.

