第14課Lesson 14 of 16
Blended sounds: KY, SH, CH, NY
A kana from the i column followed by a small ャ, ュ, or ョ blends into one syllable: キ + ャ = kya. The rule is the same one hiragana uses.
キャキュキョシャシュショチャチュチョニャニュニョ
All lessonsPronunciation
How it sounds
A blended sound is one beat, not two: キャ is kya said in a single motion, not ki-ya. シャ, シュ, ショ are sha, shu, sho; チャ, チュ, チョ are cha, chu, cho. Where hiragana lengthens a blend with う, katakana uses ー: news is ニュース, nyūsu.
Reading tips
Easy to mix up
Size matters. チャ (cha, one beat) is different from チヤ (chi-ya, two beats). The small kana is about half size and sits at the lower right.
Only ヤ, ユ, ヨ shrink to make blends this way, and only after kana from the i column.
New kana
Picture each shape, then say it.
キ + small ヤ: kya.
キ + small ユ: kyu.
キ + small ヨ: kyo.
シ + small ヤ: sha.
シ + small ユ: shu.
シ + small ヨ: sho.
チ + small ヤ: cha.
チ + small ユ: chu.
チ + small ヨ: cho.
ニ + small ヤ: nya, as in a cat's meow.
ニ + small ユ: nyu.
ニ + small ヨ: nyo.
Real vocabulary
Words you can read now
- シャツshatsushirt
- シャワーshawāshower
- チョコレートchokorētochocolate
- ニュースnyūsunews
- メニューmenyūmenu
- キャンプkyanpucamping