Lesson 14 of 16
Blended sounds: KY, SH, CH, NY
A kana from the i column followed by a small や, ゆ, or よ blends into one syllable: き + ゃ = kya. The small kana is written lower and to the right.
Pronunciation
How it sounds
A blended sound is one beat, not two: きゃ is kya said in a single motion, not ki-ya. しゃ, しゅ, しょ are sha, shu, sho; ちゃ, ちゅ, ちょ are cha, chu, cho. When a blend is followed by う, the vowel is held for an extra beat: きょう (kyō, “today”) is kyo-o.
Reading tips
Easy to mix up
Size matters. ちゃ (cha, one beat) is different from ちや (chi-ya, two beats). The small kana is about half size and sits at the lower right.
Only や, ゆ, よ shrink to make blends this way, and only after kana from the i column.
き + small や: kya.
き + small ゆ: kyu.
き + small よ: kyo.
し + small や: sha.
し + small ゆ: shu.
し + small よ: sho.
ち + small や: cha.
ち + small ゆ: chu.
ち + small よ: cho.
に + small や: nya, as in a cat's meow.
に + small ゆ: nyu.
に + small よ: nyo.
Real vocabulary
Words you can read now
おちゃ
ocha
tea
しゃしん
shashin
photograph
きょう
kyō
today
しゅみ
shumi
hobby
しょうゆ
shōyu
soy sauce
きゃく
kyaku
guest, customer