Hiragana "Ho" Coloring Pages

What is Hiragana "Ho"?

Hiragana "Ho" sounds like "h" mixed with "o". Make your mouth round and breathe out gently to say it! It sounds very soft and warm. In English, we write it as "Ho". People also use this sound in fun ways and old stories to add a gentle feel to words.

How Hiragana "Ho" Was Born

Hiragana letters came from curvy writing of Kanji characters long ago. Hiragana "Ho" came from the Kanji character "保", which means to keep or protect.

• First stroke: The left part of the Kanji changed into the line on the left that hooks up.

• Second and third strokes: The top right part became two simple flat lines.

• Fourth stroke: The line going down and making a loop at the bottom came from the bottom part of the Kanji.

  Now you can see how the left line holds up Hiragana "Ho", while the right side curves nicely!

Tips for Writing Hiragana "Ho"

When you write Hiragana "Ho", be careful not to mix it up with "Ha" or "Ma"!

• How it is different from "Ha": Hiragana "Ho" has two flat lines across.

• How it is different from "Ma": Hiragana "Ho" has a line on the left side. The middle line does not poke through the top line.

  Remember not to poke through the top line! That is the secret to writing a great Hiragana "Ho".

Fun Words Starting with Hiragana "Ho"

You can find lots of fun words starting with Hiragana "Ho" on our learning coloring pages. You might know these from storybooks, daily life, or tasty foods!

Coloring to Make the Character Shape Look Great

When you color the big Hiragana "Ho" in the middle, try to think about how it is built!

• Color different parts: Use different color groups for the vertical line on the left and the parts on the right. This makes it super easy to see how the character is made!

• Make the loop shine: The little loop at the end of the fourth stroke will look amazing if you color it shiny gold or silver, just like a jewel (houseki)! It gives the whole character a fancy touch.

• Inside design: You can color the inside of the thick lines dark blue, like a night sky full of stars (hoshi). That is a fun and pretty idea!

Coloring Tips to Bring Pictures to Life

Here are some fun ideas to make your pictures look even cooler!

• Show lights and shines: Color the stars (hoshi) bright yellow and fade them to white in the middle so they look glowing! For the firefly (hotaru), color its glowing tail with a highlighter or bright yellow. Then blend a darker color around it to make it look like it is shining in the dark night sky!

• Make food look yummy: For the pancakes (hottookeeki), layer brown, orange, and yellow to look like nice cooked colors! Add yellow on top for melting butter to make it look tasty. For the scallop (hotate), add shadows along the lines of the shell.

• Try different textures: For the jewel (houseki), use different colors on each side to make it sparkle like a diamond! For the broom (houki), use wood-like brown for the handle and pale yellow for the straw part. That makes it feel real!

• Make it cute and friendly: Color the cheeks (hoppe) with soft light pink. Use lots of fun colors for the nursery school (hoikuen) building to make a warm and happy scene!

Page Layout and Finishing Touches

When your coloring page has lots of pictures, a neat background helps the main parts pop out!

• Color the empty spaces softly with light pastel colors. This helps Hiragana "Ho" and all the pictures fit together nicely!

• Simple pictures like the bone (hone) or book (hon) can stand out too! Just pick one spot on them to color with your favorite bright color to make the whole page pop!

It came from the Kanji character "保"!

The Hiragana "Ho" comes from the Kanji character "保 (Ho / Tamotsu)", which means to protect and keep something safe. People say the left side "人" and the right side "呆" changed their shapes over time to become the modern Hiragana "Ho".

Here is how it is different from "Ha"!

Hiragana "Ho" looks a lot like the coloring page for "Ha", doesn't it? But Hiragana "Ho" has two side-to-side lines on the right side. Also, make sure your top-to-bottom line on the right does not stick out at the top!

Let's make a soft, round loop

Your writing will look great if you make the bottom loop gentle and round. Try to twist it around nicely under the two side-to-side lines, just like you are wrapping up something very special.

What words start with "Ho"?

There are so many wonderful words that start with Hiragana "Ho", like twinkling "Hoshi" (star), clever "Hon" (book), and glowing "Hotaru" (firefly). Yummy, warm "Hottokeeki" (pancakes) starts with Hiragana "Ho", too!