This kana is derived from the base katakana 『テ』 (te) with a dakuten (゛) added, representing the sound 'de'. It is commonly used in loanwords and native Japanese words written in katakana. As a grammatical particle, 『で』 (in hiragana) marks the location of an action, means, or reason, but in katakana, 『デ』 is typically used within vocabulary. For example, in the word 『デパート』 (depāto, 'department store'), it functions as part of the word.