Kanji 何: why is it missing in 今なにしてる (facebook text in status editbox)?


I had the impression that 何 is pretty common kanji and that it is used in
situations as above (after all, 今 is there, so it is not that it wanted to be
hiragana-only). Do I understand it right that it could be written as 今何してる and
if yes, what is the reason it is written 今なにしてる instead?




As ジョン said, 今なにしてる could be written as 今何してる. However, I can think of two
plausible reasons why they write 今なにしてる instead of 今何してる.

First, hiragana gives more informal and casual impression than kanji. I do not
know the overall tone of text used on Facebook, but I assume that it is quite
informal, judging from the colloquial expression してる (instead of している), so
writing なに in hiragana is aligned with this casual atmosphere they want to
give.

Second, some people prefer to avoid writing two kanji letters in a row when
they do not form one word, because two kanji letters suggest that they form a
[Sino-Japanese word](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sino-Japanese_vocabulary).
Compare 今何してる to 勉強してる and notice that 今何 may look like one word, especially
if you are not paying attention.




As ジョン said, 今なにしてる could be written as 今何してる. However, I can think of two
plausible reasons why they write 今なにしてる instead of 今何してる.

First, hiragana gives more informal and casual impression than kanji. I do not
know the overall tone of text used on Facebook, but I assume that it is quite
informal, judging from the colloquial expression してる (instead of している), so
writing なに in hiragana is aligned with this casual atmosphere they want to
give.

Second, some people prefer to avoid writing two kanji letters in a row when
they do not form one word, because two kanji letters suggest that they form a
[Sino-Japanese word](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sino-Japanese_vocabulary).
Compare 今何してる to 勉強してる and notice that 今何 may look like one word, especially
if you are not paying attention.

