Katakana "Na" Coloring Pages

"Na" in "Eggplant"

This coloring page features Katakana "Na".Katakana "Na"This is for learning Katakana "Na".
Words are"Eggplant"! On the left, two eggplants are drawn.
On top, there are jagged linesPoorhas a tag on it.
Eggplants are tasty vegetables from summer to autumn, and you can eat them grilled, simmered, or pickled.

Plant names are written in Katakana

"Nasu" is a word that has been used in Japan for a very long time, so it is not a word from another country.
But, in books like the Nurie Zukan, the names of animals and plants are written in Katakana "Na".Katakanais often written in this way.
Katakana "Na" is used for words from other countries and sound words like "doki doki," too.
Eggplant is sometimes written as "なす" or "茄子" in Japanese, too.

Katakana "Na" comes from the character "奈"

Katakana "Na" comes from the Kanji"Na"This character was made by taking the top part of の.
The horizontal line and the line that sweeps to the left at the very top of "奈" turned into the shape of Katakana "Na".
The hiragana "Na" also came from the same character, "奈"!
It's so cool that two different characters came from the same original kanji!

How to write Katakana "Na"

"Na" is2 strokesLet's write Katakana "Na"!
The first stroke goes from left to rightHorizontal lineLet's draw Katakana "Na"!
For the second stroke, start above the horizontal line and slide down toward the bottom left.Sweepnda.
For the 2nd stroke, start a little to the right of the middle of the horizontal line. This will help Katakana "Na" look nice and neat!
It looks a lot like "メ" and "ノ", so try comparing them to Katakana "Na"!

Let's find words that start with Katakana "Na"!

Words that start with Katakana "Na" includeKnife,Catfish,Nuts,Neapolitan Spaghetti... and more!
Words like knives and nuts come from other countries, don't they?
Just like "eggplant," a catfish is the name of a living thing, so its name is often written in Katakana "Na".

Let's find the secrets of Katakana "Na"!

Eggplants have smallThornsSometimes there is a .
Eggplants with sharp prickles are freshly pickedA new eggplantsIt is said to be like that!
Eggplants come in many different shapes! Some are long and thin, some are round, and some look just like eggs.
Kyoto'sKamo eggplantAs you can see, there are also round, cute eggplants like this.
Try looking for eggplants in all kinds of shapes at the supermarket, okay?

Color the big Katakana "Na" like an eggplant

Color the big Katakana "Na" on the top right with your favorite color.
If you use purple to match the eggplant, it becomes the "Na" in eggplant!
You can also color the first stroke purple and the second stroke green to easily see the stroke order.

Make the eggplant shiny with dark purple

Color the body of the eggplant with dark purple or navy blue.
If you leave just one thin white line uncolored, it will look shiny!
Color the stem with green or dark green.
If you color the part right under the stem a pale purple, it will look just like a real eggplant.
It is also fun to color the two eggplants differently using dark purple and light purple.

Watch out for the sweeping stroke when tracing

There are 8 light gray Katakana "Na" in the boxes on the bottom right.
Try tracing them neatly one by one with a pencil.
Use the vertical and horizontal lines inside the box as a guide, and draw the horizontal line a little above the center.
For the sweeping stroke, try letting go of your pressure softly at the very end.

Add shadows to make it look plump

Add a little navy blue or black to the bottom of the eggplant where the light does not hit.
If you color the top lightly and the bottom darkly, the eggplant will look nice and plump.
Where the two eggplants overlap, make the one in the back a little darker to easily show which one is in front.

Eggplants come from India

Eggplants are said to come from around India.
They were brought to Japan more than a thousand years ago.
It is a vegetable that people in Japan have eaten for a very long time.

Ichifuji, Nitaka, San'nasu

There is a saying about the first dream of the New Year, which brings good luck: "Ichifuji, Nitaka, San'nasu."
Number 1 is Mount Fuji, number 2 is a hawk, and number 3 is an eggplant.
You can see that eggplants have been cared for as something that brings good luck.

Eggplant flowers are purple too

Eggplants do not just have purple fruit; their flowers are purple too.
After the flower blooms, fruit grows right there and gets bigger and bigger.
The purple color of the eggplant skin comes from a color source called anthocyanin.

Eggplants for Obon

In the summer during Obon, some areas put legs on eggplants with chopsticks and make them look like cows to display.
Cucumbers are used as fast-running horses, and eggplants are used as slow-walking cows.
People say this shows the wish for ancestors to come home quickly on the horse and go back slowly on the cow.