Lesson 3 - Yoōn Katakana

Some katakana combine to form Yōon sounds. In these combinations, the first character remains full-sized, while the second is smaller. There are 36 of these combinations. Examples like キャ (kya) and ミュ (myu) represent single, blended syllables rather than separate sounds. This blending is crucial in words like
キャリア (kyaria, career) and ミュージック (myūjikku, music). Each yōon katakana has a matching yōon hiragana that produces the same sound. See diagram:
HiraganaKatakana
きゃ (kya) キャ (kya)
きゅ (kyu) キュ (kyu)
きょ (kyo) キョ (kyo)
しゃ (sha) シャ (sha)
しゅ (shu) シュ (shu)
しょ (sho) ショ (sho)
ちゃ (cha) チャ (cha)
ちゅ (chu) チュ (chu)
ちょ (cho) チョ (cho)
にゃ (nya) ニャ (nya)
にゅ (nyu) ニュ (nyu)
にょ (nyo) ニョ (nyo)
ひゃ (hya) ヒャ (hya)
ひゅ (hyu) ヒュ (hyu)
ひょ (hyo) ヒョ (hyo)
みゃ (mya) ミャ (mya)
みゅ (myu) ミュ (myu)
みょ (myo) ミョ (myo)
りゃ (rya) リャ (rya)
りゅ (ryu) リュ (ryu)
りょ (ryo) リョ (ryo)
ぎゃ (gya) ギャ (gya)
ぎゅ (gyu) ギュ (gyu)
ぎょ (gyo) ギョ (gyo)
じゃ (jya) ジャ (jya)
じゅ (jyu) ジュ (jyu)
じょ (jyo) ジョ (jyo)
ぢゃ (dya) ヂャ (dya)
ぢゅ (dyu) ヂュ (dyu)
ぢょ (dyo) ヂョ (dyo)
びゃ (bya) ビャ (bya)
びゅ (byu) ビュ (byu)
びょ (byo) ビョ (byo)
ぴゃ (pya) ピャ (pya)
ぴゅ (pyu) ピュ (pyu)
ぴょ (pyo) ピョ (pyo)
Yoōn Katakana Exercise