Katakana "Me" Coloring Pages

The "Me" in "Melon"

This coloring page is here to help you learn the Katakana "Me" "メ".
The word is "melon". On the left, there is 1 whole melon and 1 slice of melon.
The skin of the whole melon has a net-like pattern.
Melon is a sweet, juicy fruit that everyone loves!

Words from Other Countries

"Melon" is a word that came from English.
Words that came from other countries like this are often written in Katakana.
Katakana is also used for the names of animals and plants, and for sound words like "sizzle."

"Me" in Katakana came from the kanji for "woman"

The Katakana "Me" was made from a part of the kanji 「女」.
The two diagonal lines crossing inside 「女」 became the shape of Katakana "Me".
The Hiragana "me" was also born from the same kanji, 「女」.
The Hiragana "me" has a nice round shape, doesn't it?

How to Write Katakana "Me"

You can write Katakana "Me" in 2 strokes.
The 1st stroke goes from the top right to the bottom left with a nice sweeping stroke.
The 2nd stroke goes from the top left to the bottom right and crosses the 1st stroke.
If you cross the 2nd stroke a little above the middle of the 1st stroke, it will look super neat!

Let's compare Katakana "Me" with "Na" and "No"

Letters that look like Katakana "Me" are "ナ" and "ノ".
"ノ" is just a single swooping line. "ナ" is made of a line across and a swoop to the left.
Katakana "Me" has a short slanting line crossing a swoop to the left.
Try writing them side by side to see how they are different!

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

Words that start with "メ" include glasses (megane), killifish (medaka), medals (medaru), memos (memo), and merry-go-rounds (merīgōrāndo).
Killifish is the name of a living creature, while medals and memos are words that came from other countries.
Just like "melon," try looking for other fruit names that have Katakana "Me" in them, too!

Body words that start with Katakana "Me"

The "me" sound is written as "め" in Hiragana.
The same sound is in "me" for eyes and "ame" for rain.
Let's compare the two ways to write it: "メ" in Katakana and "め" in Hiragana.

For the big Katakana "Me", use melon colors

Color the big Katakana "Me" on the top right in any color you like.
It would be great to make stroke 1 green and stroke 2 yellow-green for a melon-colored Katakana "Me".
Color slowly along the lines.

For the whole melon, use green and light gray

Color the skin of the whole melon light green or grayish green.
If you color the net pattern in a slightly whiter color or light yellow-ocher than the skin, it will look like a real melon.
Color the vine on top in brown or dark green.

For the sliced melon, choose the fruit color

If you color the sliced melon fruit yellow-green, it becomes a green-fleshed melon.
If you color it orange, it becomes a red-fleshed melon.
Making the part near the skin a bit dark green and the middle bright makes it look juicy.
Color the seeds small using light yellow or light brown.

Tracing practice: do it neatly with a pencil

In the boxes on the bottom right, there are 8 light gray Katakana "Me".
Try to trace them neatly one by one with a pencil.
Using the vertical and horizontal centerlines of the box as a guide helps you get the letter size and position right.
Look closely at where the 2 lines cross as you write.
Once you get used to tracing, try writing in the open space outside the boxes without looking at anything.

The net design is made from cracked skin

The net design on Katakana "Me" comes from cracks in its skin. As the fruit inside grows bigger, the skin cannot keep up and cracks open.
Those cracks heal like scabs, and that makes the net pattern.
There are also Katakana "Me" without any net designs!

Is Katakana "Me" a vegetable?

People eat Katakana "Me" as a fruit, but it grows on vines in a field.
Because of this, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries places Katakana "Me" in the vegetable group.
Watermelons and strawberries are grouped as vegetables, too.

Just one on each plant

For some fancy Katakana "Me", farmers leave only one fruit on each plant to grow.
When they do this, all the nutrients go into that single fruit. It grows up to be super sweet and big!
Farmers take a lot of time and care to grow them.

The color inside Katakana "Me"

The inside of Katakana "Me" can be green, orange, or whitish.
Katakana "Me" with orange flesh is also called red-flesh Katakana "Me".
There are lots of seeds in the very middle.
When you eat it, ask an adult to help you scoop out the seeds with a spoon before you slice it!