Why is katakana sometimes used to replace hiragana?


> **Possible Duplicate:**  
>  [Why "dame" is written as katakana (ダメ) in
> manga?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/1930/why-dame-is-
> written-as-katakana-%e3%83%80%e3%83%a1-in-manga)

The question title kinda says it all! This confuses me, as I thought katakana
was used exclusively for loan words. For example,

> ホウキ雲 (the name of a J-Pop song)

Isn't ほうき a native word already?




Well, one reason I know this happens is to emphasize the word you are reading.
There will be cases, in some manga, where you will see — for example:
まじで！(really, seriously) as マジで！

The example above creates an emphasis, it's like reading something in caps.

[As shown in the
pic.](http://livedoor.blogimg.jp/mizuho_izuna/imgs/0/1/0180118a.jpg)

Bonus: The small っ at the end of the expression is also a sort of emphasis,
but in this case, it's as if you were emphasizing last sound as a hard-stop.
Say the word, out loud & calmly, "stop." Now say it with a little anger and a
hard-stop at the letter "p," "stop!"

Make sense? 頑張ってっ!

