Hiragana "Wa" Coloring Pages

The "Wa" in "Wani" (Alligator)

The letter on this coloring page is the Hiragana "Wa".
The word is "wani" (alligator). The picture on the left of the first page shows a cute kid alligator smiling from the side.
You can see its four legs, long tail, and bumpy back.
Its teeth are rounded, so it has a friendly face.

Hiragana "Wa" Came from "和"

Hiragana "Wa" became its shape today when people long ago wrote the Kanji "和" in a fast, cursive way.
Katakana "Wa" (ワ) was also born from the same Kanji "和".
You can still see the shape of "口" from the right side of "和" inside Katakana "ワ".

Tips for Writing

You write Hiragana "Wa" with 2 strokes.
For the first stroke, draw a straight vertical line down on the left side.
For the second stroke, start to the left of the line, move right across it, bend, and go down to the left.
From there, loop back up, puff it out wide and round to the right, and end by curving inward to stop.
Letters like "れ" (re) and "ね" (ne) have the same straight line on the left. Hiragana "Wa" is special because it curves round and turns inward at the end.

The Second Page Has Lots of Words Starting with "Wa"!

On the second coloring page, pictures of words that start with "wa" are all around the big Hiragana "Wa" in the middle.
There is an washi (eagle) with big wings, wanage (ring toss) where you throw rings on a stick, wakame (seaweed), a collared waishatsu (dress shirt), and a flare-skirt wanpiisu (dress).
In the top left, there is also the same wani (alligator) as the first page.

Let's Play with "Wa" Words

Other words starting with "wa" include wataame (cotton candy), warau (to laugh), waribashi (disposable chopsticks), and wagomu (rubber band).
Hiragana "Wa" also comes at the end of many words, like "kawa" (river), "niwa" (garden), and "denwa" (phone).
Both "わ" (wa) and "は" (ha) can be read as "wa". The "は" in "watashi wa" (I am) sounds like "wa", but you write it with "は".
Think carefully about which one to write when you make a sentence!

How to Enjoy the Two Coloring Pages

On the first coloring page, you can color the alligator and the big Hiragana "Wa", and practice writing Hiragana "Wa" by tracing.
On the second coloring page, you can take your time coloring while finding all kinds of "wa" words.
It is also fun to color the two alligators with different shades of green and compare them!

Color the big Hiragana "Wa" in your favorite colors

Try coloring inside the lines of the big Hiragana "Wa" at the top right with any color you like.
To match the crocodile, you can use dark green for the 1st stroke and light green for the 2nd stroke. That gives you a crocodile-colored Hiragana "Wa"!
It is also fun to color the round part of the 2nd stroke in a different color.

Color the crocodile with 2 shades of green

For the crocodile's body, make its back dark green, and its belly light green or cream color to make it look like a real crocodile.
If you add a slightly darker color over the bumpy back, it will look nice and rugged.
Color the eyes yellow with black in the middle.
Make the inside of the mouth pink, and leave the teeth white.
It is also wonderful to color around it light blue to show a river or pond!

Look at the colors while you work on the 2nd page

For the eagle on the 2nd page, make the body dark brown, the head white, and the beak and feet yellow to make it look cool.
Color the seaweed dark green. Use different colors like red, blue, and yellow for the ring toss rings.
Color the dress shirt white or light blue. Make the dress your favorite color, and you can even draw patterns on it!

Trace each letter neatly, one by one

In the box at the bottom right, there are 8 light gray Hiragana "Wa" letters lined up.
Hold your pencil correctly, and trace slowly over the gray lines without going outside the edges.
Use the vertical and horizontal lines in the center of the box as a guide to keep your letter balanced.
At the end of the 2nd stroke, do not flick outward. Curve it inward and stop.
Every time you write one, compare it with the big sample Hiragana "Wa"!

A Crocodile's Teeth Regrow

When a crocodile loses a tooth, a new one grows right back in.
Their teeth grow back many times throughout their life.
Human teeth only change once, from baby teeth to adult teeth!

Closing Power vs. Opening Power

Crocodiles have super strong power to close their mouths.
On the other hand, it is said that their power to open their mouths is not very strong.
Even so, real crocodiles are very dangerous animals, so please never go near them!

Egg Temperature Decides Boy or Girl

Crocodiles lay eggs on land.
Surprisingly, the temperature while the egg is warmed decides if it becomes a boy or a girl!
When the mother crocodile hears the babies hatch, she sometimes helps by digging up the nest.

The Crocodile in "The White Rabbit of Inaba"

In the old Japanese story "The White Rabbit of Inaba," a rabbit steps across the backs of crocodiles lined up in the sea.
Some people think the "crocodile" in this story actually means a shark that lives in the ocean.
Even today, people in some areas still call sharks "crocodiles!"