Hiragana "Ki" Coloring Pages

“Ki” in “Kirin” (Hiragana "Ki")

The Hiragana "Ki" is the second letter in the "Ka-Ki-Ku-Ke-Ko" line.
On the first coloring page, a whole baby giraffe is drawn for the "Ki" in "Kirin" (giraffe).
Its long neck, two little horns on its head, and four long legs are its special features.
The spots on its body are drawn with just lines, so you can color them in one by one yourself.

2 Coloring pages of Hiragana "Ki"

There are 2 Hiragana "Ki" coloring pages on this page.
The 1st page has a baby giraffe on the left. On the top right, you will see a big outlined "き" and the word "きりん" (giraffe). On the bottom right, there are boxes to trace "き".
The 2nd page is a coloring page with a big "き" in the middle, surrounded by many pictures of words that start with "き".
Below each picture, you can find its name, like きのこ (mushroom), きもの (kimono), きんぎょ (goldfish), and きりかぶ (tree stump).
Try reading each name out loud as you color!
On both coloring pages, the big "き" has an outline, so you can color inside it.
When you color while looking at the pictures and words together, it connects the letters to the words and makes them easy to remember.

The letter "Ki" came from "幾"

Hiragana were created by simplifying the shapes of Kanji characters.
The original Kanji for Hiragana "Ki" is "幾".
It is a hard Kanji with many strokes, but as people wrote it quickly and smoothly, it turned into the shape of Hiragana "Ki".
The Katakana "キ" comes from the very same Kanji, "幾", too!

Tips for writing Hiragana "Ki"

The Hiragana "Ki" you learn at school is written in 4 strokes.
For the 1st and 2nd strokes, draw two lines going straight across from left to right, slanting up just a little bit.
For the 3rd stroke, draw a slanting line going down towards the bottom right, right through the two straight lines.
For the 4th stroke, make a curved line at the bottom, away from the 3rd stroke.
In some books, you might see a Hiragana "Ki" with the bottom parts connected, but be careful because you write them apart at school!

Find words that start with Hiragana "Ki"

Words that start with "ki" include fox (kitsune), postage stamp (kitte), mushroom (kinoko), yellow (kiiro), and steam train (kisha).
"Goldfish" (kingyo) on the second coloring page has "gyo" in it, which uses a small "yo" after "ki".
The letter "ki" also means "tree" all by itself!

Color the Big "き" in Your Favorite Colors

Try coloring the two side-to-side lines of the big "き" with a border in the same color. Then, color the slanting line and the bottom line in a different color.
We also recommend using yellow and orange to make a "き" with giraffe colors.

The Giraffe Has Yellow and Brown Spots

Try coloring the giraffe's body light yellow, and its spots brown or dark brown.
If you leave the thin lines between the spots mostly white, it will look just like a real giraffe!
Color the tips of its horns and hooves dark brown, and use the same color for the hair at the tip of its tail.

Make the Kimono Bright on the 2nd Page

For the kimono, coloring the fabric pink or red and the flower patterns yellow or white will make it look lovely and bright.
The goldfish will look great in red or orange, and the mushroom cap will look cute in red with white polka dots!

Trace Each Letter One by One with a Pencil

In the boxes on the bottom right, there are 8 light gray Hiragana "Ki".
Hold your pencil the right way, and trace slowly over the gray lines.
The up-and-down and side-to-side dotted lines inside the boxes are guides to show you the center of the letter.
Leave a space when you trace the curved line for the 4th stroke so it does not touch the 3rd stroke.
It is okay to go slow at first, so write each one carefully.
When you finish tracing, check to see if you stayed inside the gray lines.
It is a great idea to draw a flower star on the one you wrote the best!

The Same Number of Neck Bones as Humans

Giraffes have very long necks, but they actually have 7 neck bones, just like humans!
Each bone is super long, which makes their whole neck so long.
Because their necks are so long, they can easily reach leaves high up in the trees.
Some grown-up giraffes can even reach up to 5 meters off the ground!

A Long and Handy Tongue

A giraffe's tongue is very long, and its color is a dark purplish shade.
They wrap this long tongue around tree branches to cleverly eat leaves high above.
When you go to the zoo, be sure to watch how giraffes eat!

Every Giraffe Has a Unique Pattern

The patterns on a giraffe's body are different for each and every one.
Just like human fingerprints, you can tell which giraffe is which by looking at its pattern.
As you color the coloring page, imagine you are making your very own special giraffe!

Goldfish Are Relatives of the Crucian Carp

The goldfish on the second coloring page was originally a relative of a fish called the crucian carp.
A long time ago in China, people carefully raised red crucian carps, and over time, goldfish of many different shapes and colors were born.
They came to Japan a very long time ago, too!