第8課Lesson 8 of 16
Y row
Only three kana here: ya, yu, yo. As in hiragana, these also shrink to small ャ, ュ, ョ to make blended sounds like kya.
ヤユヨ
All lessonsPronunciation
How it sounds
y is the y of yes, glided straight into the vowel. There is no yi or ye here. ユ is the sound at the start of universe, so humor is ユーモア, yūmoa. Each of these has a small version (ャ ュ ョ) for blends in lesson 14.
Reading tips
Easy to mix up
ユ and コ (lesson 2): ユ's base runs out past the vertical stroke.
ヨ and コ (lesson 2): ヨ has a third bar in the middle.
ヤ and セ (lesson 3) both start with a bar that hooks down on the right. ヤ's second stroke is straight; セ's curves into a flat base.
New kana
Picture each shape, then say it.
A Yawl, a small sailboat.
A U-turn arrow. Say "yoo".
Yoga shorts, with the three bars as the waistband and legs.
Real vocabulary
Words you can read now
- ヨーヨーyōyōyo-yo
- ユーモアyūmoahumor
- タイヤtaiyatire
- ユニホームyunihōmuuniform
- ユースyūsuyouth