Lesson 15 of 16
Blended sounds: HY, MY, RY
The same blending rule works for the h, m, and r rows.
Pronunciation
How it sounds
These blends work like the last set. ひゃ, ひゅ, ひょ are hya, hyu, hyo, with a breathy h. みゃ, みゅ, みょ are mya, myu, myo. りゃ, りゅ, りょ are rya, ryu, ryo with the same quick tongue tap you learned for り, followed by the y.
Reading tips
Easy to mix up
りょ shows up constantly in everyday words, such as りょうり and りょこう, so it's a good one to drill.
The small kana is always the second half of the pair, so read きゃ as one unit, not as two kana.
ひゃhya
ひ + small や: hya.
ひゅhyu
ひ + small ゆ: hyu.
ひょhyo
ひ + small よ: hyo.
みゃmya
み + small や: mya.
みゅmyu
み + small ゆ: myu.
みょmyo
み + small よ: myo.
りゃrya
り + small や: rya.
りゅryu
り + small ゆ: ryu.
りょryo
り + small よ: ryo.
Real vocabulary
Words you can read now
ひゃく
hyaku
one hundred
りょこう
ryokō
travel
りょうり
ryōri
cooking
りゅう
ryū
dragon
みょうじ
myōji
family name