Hiragana "Mu" Coloring Pages

The Sound and How We Use It

Hiragana "Mu" makes its sound when you combine the "m" sound with the "u" sound. Close your lips tight and let the sound flow out through your nose! It makes a warm, deep sound. A long time ago, people used this sound to talk about the future or what they wanted to do. You can still feel that old style today!

How It Was Born: From the Kanji "武"

Hiragana letters came from smooth, flowing cursive kanji. The character for Hiragana "Mu" comes from 武, a strong kanji that means power and bravery.

• First and second strokes: The top-left part of the kanji changed into the crossing lines you draw today.

• Third stroke: The big curve, the little loop in the middle, and the dot on the right came from the other parts of the kanji made simple.

  When you learn this history, you can see how that little loop in the middle holds all the energy of the old kanji!

Fun Words and Pictures

Our learning pages are full of great "mu" words that you can find all around you. As you look at the pictures and learn the words, you will get much better at reading and knowing new words!

Bring Out the Beauty of the Character

When you color the big Hiragana "Mu" in the center, try to show off its fun loops and soft curves.

• Color-Changing Stroke: Change your colors slowly from the start of the line to the loop, and all the way to the end. This makes Hiragana "Mu" look like it was drawn in one smooth, exciting motion!

• Design Inside the Lines: Fill the inside of the thick character outline with a blend of murasaki (purple) shades! You can also draw tiny mushi (bugs) inside. It is super fun to connect the art with the word's meaning.

How to Color the Fun Pictures

Here are great tips to make all the neat pictures look awesome!

• Focus on Textures: For the mushi (bug) picture, leave a little white spot on the beetle's horn and wings. This shiny highlight makes its shell look hard and cool! For the musubi (rice ball), use dark black for the seaweed and bright white for the rice. Add soft shadows to make the rice grains look yummy!

• Colors for Scenery: When you color mura (village) or mugi (wheat), mix rich greens and bright golden yellow. Think of classic Japanese countryside views! For mukou (the other side), color people in the distance lightly like shadows. This makes your page look deep and dreamy.

• Fun Ideas to Try: For the mukashibanashi (folktale) picture scroll, use beige or light brown to look like old paper. Then color the story characters with lots of bright colors! For mushiba (cavity), try using a dark gray. It is a neat way to remind you to brush your teeth!

Final Touches

Your page has lots of wonderful art! The background helps pull it all together.

• Mugen means infinity! Color dark space-blue around the infinity sign. Then put soil brown under the mukade (centipede). This gives each item its own cool mini-world!

• Lightly shade soft yellows or greens all over the background. This brings Hiragana "Mu" and every picture together. You will have a beautiful coloring page you can be proud of!

It Came from the Kanji "武"!

The Hiragana "Mu" came from the strong and cool kanji "武" (mu/bu). People say that the difficult kanji with many lines was cleaned up and transformed into the current Hiragana "Mu" shape.

Does It Look Like "Su" with a Dot?

Hiragana "Mu" looks a little bit like the hiragana "Su". But while "Su" sweeps down at the end, Hiragana "Mu" stretches out to the side, and ends with a "dot" on the top right. Be careful not to forget the dot!

Loop It, Then Finish with a "Dot"!

When you write it, make a loop in the middle, stretch the line out to the right, and flick it up. Then, put a little dot by itself to finish. It is a fun letter to balance!

What Words Start with "Mu"?

There are many natural words that start with "Mu", like "Mushi" (bugs) hiding in the grass, "Mugi" (wheat) for making yummy bread, and "Murasaki" (purple) with its pretty color. "Mura" (village) where people live starts with "Mu", too.