Katakana "Sa" Coloring Pages

"Sa" for "Soccer"

Katakana "Sa" is the first letter in the Sa-line of Katakana.
The word on this coloring page is "Soccer". It is a sport where you kick a ball with your feet to score in the other team's goal.
On the left side, we drew 1 soccer ball.
The surface of the ball is made by combining pentagon and hexagon shapes.
Count the corners to find which ones are pentagons and which ones are hexagons!

Katakana "Sa" Comes from the Kanji "散"

Katakana are letters made by taking a part of a Kanji character.
Katakana "Sa" was born from the top left part of the Kanji "散".
Hiragana "Sa" was made by simplifying the Kanji "左".
So, even though Katakana "Sa" and Hiragana "Sa" have the same sound, their original Kanji characters are different.
If you look closely, the shape of Katakana "Sa" also looks like the grass radical!

How to Write Katakana "Sa"

You write Katakana "Sa" in 3 strokes.
The 1st stroke is a long horizontal line.
For the 2nd stroke, write a short vertical line on the left side of the horizontal line, going straight down through it.
For the 3rd stroke, start from above the right side of the horizontal line, go down through it, and make a big sweep to the left.
The key is to make the 3rd stroke longer than the 2nd stroke!

Small "ッ" and Long Sound "ー"

The word "Soccer" has two special marks: a small "ッ" and a long sound line "ー".
The small "ッ" is a letter written where the sound pauses.
When you say "Sok-", it feels like your breath stops for a moment, right?
The long sound line "ー" is a mark to make the sound before it longer.
The word on this coloring page is written vertically, so the "ー" is drawn as a vertical line.
When writing vertically, you write the small "ッ" small in the top right of the box.

Words Starting with Katakana "Sa"

Soccer comes from English, so we write it in Katakana.
Other words starting with Katakana "Sa" are monkey (Saru), shark (Same), sandwich (Sandoitchi), salad (Sarada), and cherry blossom (Sakura).
Monkeys, sharks, and cherry blossoms are names of living things, while sandwiches and salads are words from other countries.
See how many words starting with Katakana "Sa" you can say!

Let's Compare Katakana "Sa" and Hiragana "Sa"

Line up Katakana "Sa" and Hiragana "Sa".
Both start with a horizontal line, but Hiragana "Sa" has a curved line at the bottom.
Katakana "Sa" has 2 vertical lines and a sharp, clean shape.

Color Katakana "Sa" in Bright Colors

Color the big Katakana "Sa" in any color you like.
It looks cool if you use bright colors like blue or red, just like a soccer uniform.
We also recommend using different colors for the 3 lines so you can check the stroke order.

Color the Soccer Ball White and Black

The classic soccer ball has a pattern of white hexagons and black pentagons.
If you color just the pentagons in black or dark gray, it will look like a classic soccer ball.
Soccer balls today come in many colors and patterns, so you can also use blue, red, or yellow.
If you add a light gray shadow on the bottom right of the ball, it will look round and full.
If you leave a white spot on the top left, it will look like light is shining on it.

How to Trace the Letters

Trace Katakana "Sa" in the bottom right boxes with a pencil.
For stroke 1, write the horizontal line a little above the center line to make it look neat.
Start writing strokes 2 and 3 so they both go through the horizontal line.
Once you write 8 of them, check if the sweeping stroke for stroke 3 stretches out long.

Finally, Read the Word Out Loud

In the top right, next to the big Katakana "Sa", the word "Soccer" is written vertically.
When you finish coloring, trace it with your finger and read "Soccer" out loud.
When you connect the picture, the letter, and the word, it gets much easier to remember the letter.
It is also fun to save your finished coloring page by putting it on a wall or keeping it in a folder.

Secrets of the Ball's Shape

Old-school soccer balls are made by connecting 12 pentagons and 20 hexagons, for a total of 32 patches.
By joining shapes with lots of corners, you can make a shape that is almost a circle.
Today, some balls are made with even fewer patches!

11 Players on a Team

In soccer, you play a match with 11 players on each team.
The only person who can touch the ball with their hands is the goalkeeper who guards the goal, and only inside a set area.
Everyone else moves the ball using their feet, head, chest, and more.

"Soccer" and "Football"

In the UK, where soccer was born, people often call soccer "football."
They say the name "soccer" came from shortening the name of the rules group made in the UK.
It is cool how different countries call the same sport by different names!

Super Popular All Over the World

Soccer is a very popular sport all around the world.
The best part is that as long as you have one ball, you can play right away at a park or schoolyard.
National teams from all over the world aim to play in the World Cup, which happens once every 4 years.