Combined Sounds I

Katakana 2

Chapter 7 · Combined Sounds I

🌸 Combined Sounds I — キャギャシャジャ

Combined sounds work in katakana exactly as in hiragana, with the small ャュョ. This chapter covers four rows: キ, ギ, シ and ジ, twelve sounds in all, and gives you juice, shirts, shops and camping. Romaji is shown for everything.

🧩 The Combined Sounds — 拗音

You know this rule from Hiragana 3: an い-row character plus a small ャ, ュ or ョ makes one beat. In katakana the small characters are ャュョ. Today we apply it to キギシジ: twelve sounds in four rows. Click any character for its stroke order.

	ャ (ya)	ュ (yu)	ョ (yo)
キ (ki)	キャ kya	キュ kyu	キョ kyo
ギ (gi)	ギャ gya	ギュ gyu	ギョ gyo
シ (shi)	シャ sha	シュ shu	ショ sho
ジ (ji)	ジャ ja	ジュ ju	ジョ jo

Remember: シ is shi and ジ is ji, so these combine to sha and ja, not "shya" or "jya".

One Beat or Two? — キャ versus キヤ Size decides, exactly as in hiragana: キャ (small ャ) is one beat, kya; キヤ (full-size ヤ) would be two beats, ki-ya. In katakana, ヤ and ャ differ only in size and position, so look carefully at the baseline: small characters sit low and to the right.

Two beats	Say it	One beat	Say it
キヤ	ki-ya	キャ	kya
シヨ	shi-yo	ショ	sho

Long Vowels: ー Instead of う In hiragana a combined sound plus う made a long vowel (しゅう). In katakana the long vowel is written with ー: ジュース is jū-su (juice) and シャワー is sha-wā (shower). Count the beats: ジュース is three (ジュ · ー · ス).

📖 Read It — New Words

Read the Japanese first, then check the romaji and the English word it comes from. Combined sounds are one beat each.

#	Word	Romaji	English	Note
1	ジュース	jūsu	juice	ju-u-su: ュ plus ー is a long ū
2	シャツ	shatsu	shirt	sha-tsu
3	ショップ	shoppu	shop	sho-p-pu: combined sound plus small ッ
4	キャンプ	kyanpu	camp; camping	kya-n-pu
5	シャワー	shawā	shower	sha-wa-a
6	キャベツ	kyabetsu	cabbage	kya-be-tsu: from cabbage
7	ジャム	jamu	jam	ja-mu
8	シャンプー	shanpū	shampoo	sha-n-pu-u
9	キャッシュ	kyasshu	cash	kya-s-shu: ッ then シュ
10	ジョギング	jogingu	jogging	jo-gi-n-gu
11	ジャケット	jaketto	jacket	ja-ke-t-to
12	ジャズ	jazu	jazz	ja-zu

Real Japanese Tip — ジュース Isn't Always Juice ジュース means any soft drink as well as fruit juice: ask for a ジュース in a café and you'll be offered a menu of fizzy drinks too. And キャッシュ (cash) turns up at ATMs: キャッシュ or げんきん are both used, so you'll recognise either.

Review: Words from the Last Chapter ベッド (bed) · サッカー (soccer) · コップ (cup) · チケット (ticket) · キッチン (kitchen) · バッグ (bag).

✍️ Try It Yourself — れんしゅう

Say each answer out loud first, then click to check.

1. How many beats are in キャ, and how many in キヤ?

Show answer

キャ: one (kya). キヤ: two (ki-ya).

2. Read aloud and translate: ジュース · シャツ · ジャム

Show answer

jūsu (juice) · shatsu (shirt) · jamu (jam)

3. Read aloud and translate: ショップ · キャンプ · シャワー

Show answer

shoppu (shop) · kyanpu (camp) · shawā (shower)

4. Read aloud and translate: ジャケット · ジョギング · ジャズ

Show answer

jaketto (jacket) · jogingu (jogging) · jazu (jazz)

5. How is a long vowel written after a combined sound in katakana?

Show answer

With ー: ジュース (jūsu), シャワー (shawā).

6. Write in katakana: jūsu · shatsu · kyanpu (check the small characters).

Show answer

ジュース · シャツ · キャンプ

Coming Up in Chapter 8 The rest of the combined sounds: チャチュチョ, ニャニュニョ and the rarer rows (ヒャビャピャミャリャ). You'll be able to read チョコ (chocolate), ニュース (news) and リュック (rucksack).

Combined Sounds I