Katakana "Ke" Coloring Pages

"Ke" in "Cake"

Katakana "Ke" is the 4th letter in the Ka-row.
The word on this coloring page is "cake." It is a sweet treat that makes you happy on birthdays and celebrations.
On the left side, we drew 1 slice of strawberry shortcake on a plate.
You can see a strawberry and cream on top, and stripes of sponge cake and cream on the side.
Try counting how many layers of sponge cake and cream there are!

Katakana "Ke" comes from the Kanji character "介"

Katakana letters were made by taking a part of Kanji characters.
Katakana "Ke" came from a part of the shape of the Kanji character "介."
Hiragana "ke" was made by changing the shape of the Kanji character "計."
So, even though Katakana "Ke" and Hiragana "ke" make the same sound, they came from different Kanji characters.
Their shapes do not look very similar either.

How to write Katakana "Ke"

You write Katakana "Ke" in 3 strokes.
The 1st stroke is a short line that sweeps from the top right to the bottom left.
The 2nd stroke goes straight to the right from the middle of the 1st stroke.
The 3rd stroke is a long line that sweeps to the bottom left from near the middle of the flat line.
If you draw the 3rd sweeping stroke long and smooth, your Katakana "Ke" will look nice and bold!

The "ー" sound stretcher

The word "cake" has a "ー" mark that stretches out the sound.
This "ー" is called a sound-stretching bar. It is a symbol mostly used with Katakana words.
In Hiragana, you stretch sounds by writing letters like "a" or "i," but in Katakana, you usually use "ー."
The word on the coloring page is written top-to-bottom, so the "ー" is a vertical line too.
It becomes a horizontal line when writing side-to-side, and a vertical line when writing top-to-bottom. Compare them and see!

Words with Katakana "Ke"

The word "cake" comes from English, so you write it in Katakana.
Words that start with Katakana "Ke" include ketchup, caterpillar, cable car, and zelkova tree.
Ketchup and cable car come from foreign languages. Caterpillar and zelkova tree are the names of living things.
There are fewer words that start with Katakana "Ke" than with other letters, so if you find one, tell someone in your family!

For the big Katakana "Ke", try cake colors!

Color the big Katakana "Ke" in any color you like.
If you use strawberry red or light pink like frosting, it will match the cake!
Changing the color for each of the 3 lines makes the stroke order easy to see.

Use 3 colors for the strawberry shortcake

Color the sponge cake light yellow or cream color.
If you make the baked outer edge light brown, it will look like a real cake!
Leave the whipped cream white to make it look soft and fluffy.
Color the strawberry red, the top leaf green, and try making yellow dots for the seeds.
It also looks lovely if you just color the rim of the plate in light blue or light yellow.

How to trace the letter

Trace the Katakana "Ke" in the bottom right boxes with your pencil.
Start the 2nd stroke right where it touches the 1st stroke.
Start the 3rd stroke a little to the right of the middle of the line to make it look neat and balanced.
Once you write all 8 of them, check if the sweeping end of your 3rd stroke stretches out nicely!

To finish up, let's read the word too

At the top right, next to the big Katakana "Ke", the word "Cake" is written from top to bottom.
When you are done coloring, point at the letters and read "Cake" out loud!
Connecting the picture, the letter, and the word helps you remember letters much better.
When your coloring page is all done, you can hang it on your wall or put it in a folder to keep!

Strawberry Shortcake Was Made in Japan

Strawberry shortcake with fresh cream and sponge cake became popular in its current style right here in Japan.
In America, a "shortcake" is made with crunchy, biscuit-like dough filled with fruit and cream.
Even with the same name, cakes can look very different in other countries!

Why Sponge Cake Is So Fluffy

Cake sponge is made by whipping eggs really well.
Whipped eggs have lots of tiny air bubbles inside.
When you bake it, those bubbles expand to make a soft and fluffy sponge cake!

The Little Dots on Strawberries

The tiny seeds on the outside of a strawberry are actually the real strawberry fruits!
The red part we eat is really the swollen base of the flower.
Inside each little dot, there is a seed.

Blow Out the Candles

We often put candles on birthday cakes, don't we?
It is so much fun to put as many candles as your age and blow them all out!
Always ask a grown-up to help you when using fire.