Hiragana "Shi" Coloring Pages

"Shi" in "Shiba" - Hiragana "Shi"

The Hiragana "Shi" is the second letter in the "Sa-Shi-Su-Se-So" group.
On the first coloring page, there is a baby zebra drawn facing sideways for the Hiragana "Shi" in "Shimauma" (zebra).
It has a mane, four legs, and a tail.
The stripes are just drawn with lines, so you can color them black or use any color you like and have fun!

2 Coloring pages

On this page, there are 2 coloring pages for Hiragana "Shi".
On the 1st one, you will see a baby zebra facing sideways on the left. On the top right, there is a big outlined "し" and the word "しまうま" (zebra). On the bottom right, there are boxes for tracing "し".
The 2nd one is a coloring page with a big "し" in the middle, surrounded by lots of pictures of things that start with "し".
Under each picture, you will find its name, like shizuku (raindrop), shirt, shokupan (loaf of bread), and shio (salt).
Try reading each name out loud as you color!
On both coloring pages, the big "し" is outlined, so you can color inside it.
If you color while looking at the pictures and words together, it will connect the letters to the words and make them easy to remember.

Hiragana "Shi" came from the character "之"

Hiragana was born as people wrote Kanji faster and simpler.
The original Kanji for Hiragana "Shi" was "之".
As people wrote "之" smoothly, it turned into the single-line Hiragana "Shi".
Katakana "シ" came from the same Kanji "之", too!

Tips for writing Hiragana "Shi"

"し" is a character you write with just 1 stroke.
Start at the top and go straight down, curve gently at the bottom, and head up toward the top right.
At the very end, don't flick! Just fade away gently as you lift your pencil.
If you keep the vertical line straight, you will get a lovely Hiragana "Shi".
If you add two little dots to Hiragana "Shi", it becomes "じ"!

Let's find words that start with Hiragana "Shi"

Words that start with "し" include deer, salt, newspaper, white, and tail.
In the second coloring page, "shirt" and "sliced bread" have a small "ゃ" or "ょ" after "し," so you read them together as one sound like "sha" or "sho."
Try reading words with small letters out loud, too!

Color the big "Shi" with your favorite colors

The big outlined "Shi" is made of just one line. Try making a nice gradient by changing the color as you go from top to bottom!
If you change from light blue to blue, Hiragana "Shi" will look pretty like a raindrop.

Zebras have black and white stripes

Try coloring every other stripe on the zebra with black.
If you leave the paper white in between, it will look like a real zebra!
It is also fun to make a dream zebra by using purple, navy blue, or rainbow colors instead of black.
If you color the mane and the tip of the tail the same color as the stripes, it will all match nicely.

The second page is for colors of things around you

Try coloring the raindrop light blue, the shirt white or light blue, and the crust of the bread light brown.
For the salt shaker, coloring the cap red or silver will make it stand out!

Trace each letter one by one with a pencil

In the bottom right boxes, there are 8 light gray Hiragana "Shi" lined up.
Hold your pencil the right way, and slowly trace over the gray lines.
The dotted lines inside the boxes show you where the middle of the letter is.
Do not stop at the curved part at the bottom, but sweep your pencil smoothly upward.
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 fun to draw a big flower mark on the one you wrote best!

Every zebra has a different pattern

Each zebra has a completely different stripe pattern.
Just like human fingerprints, you can tell which zebra is which by looking at its stripes.
It is said that baby zebras memorize their mother's stripes right after they are born.
That way, they never pick the wrong mom, even in a big herd!

Their skin is dark

Zebras look like they have black stripes on a white body, right?
But the skin under their fur is actually a dark color.
It is a cool secret you cannot tell just by looking!

The stripes are a mystery

No one knows for sure why zebras have stripes.
Some people think the stripes keep blood-sucking bugs away, and scientists are still studying it today.

Salt comes from seawater

The salt in the second coloring page comes from seawater.
When you dry out seawater using the heat of the sun or fire, white salt is left behind.
Seawater tastes salty because this salt is dissolved in it!