Katakana "Kya" Coloring Pages

The "Kya" in "Candy"

This coloring page helps you practice tracing Katakana "Kya".
The picture on the left shows one round lollipop with a spiral pattern and one wrapped candy.
"Candy" is a word that came from English, and it means hard candy.
We often use Katakana to write words that came from other countries, names of animals and plants, and sound or feeling words like "bow-wow" or "thump-thump".
Many names of sweets from other countries use Katakana!

Katakana "Kya" uses two letters for one sound

You write Katakana "Kya" using two letters: "Ki" and a small "ya".
But when you say it out loud, you do not split it into "Ki-ya". You read it as one single sound: "Kya".
Sounds like this, made with a small "ya", "yu", or "yo" to form one sound, are called contracted sounds.
Try saying "Kya," "Kyu," "Kyo" out loud one after another!
If you write a big "Ya", it becomes "Ki-ya" and makes a different sound, so be careful!

The Kanji that made "Ki" and "Ya"

The letter "Ki" was born by taking a part of the Kanji character 「幾」.
The letter "Ya", which made the small "ya", was made from the shape of the Kanji character 「也」.
People say monks long ago created Katakana by taking parts of Kanji characters so they could quickly write down how to read holy books.

Tips for writing Katakana "Kya"

You write "Ki" with 3 strokes, and "ya" with 2 strokes.
For "Ki", first write two side-to-side lines. Last, draw a straight up-and-down line right through them.
Make the top side line short and the bottom side line a little longer to make it look nice and neat!
The rule for the small "ya" is to write it small in the bottom left of the box.
If you write it big, it will look like "Ki-ya", so aim to make it about half the size of "Ki"!

Words that start with Katakana "Kya"

Besides candy, other words that start with Katakana "Kya" include cabbage, camp, caramel, and cap.
All of these are words that came from other countries.
Katakana "Kya" also shows up in happy sound words like "kya-kya" or "kyak-kyak" when you squeal with joy!
If you eat cabbage and lick a caramel at a camp, you get lots of Katakana "Kya"!
Try making up a story with someone in your family using words that have Katakana "Kya" in them!

Color the big Katakana "Kya" in two different colors

Try coloring inside the lines of the big Katakana "Kya" on the top right with your favorite colors.
If you use different colors for the big "Ki" and the small "ya", you can easily see that it is made of two characters.
Just like candy, sweet and cute colors such as red, pink, yellow, and light blue are recommended.
To stay inside the lines, color slowly near the edges and color freely in the middle.

Alternate colors on the spiral candy

If you alternate 2 or 3 colors on the lollipop spiral, the swirling pattern will look beautiful.
Pick your favorite combinations, like red and white, pink and yellow, or light blue and purple.
Color slowly along the spiral lines, working your way from the middle to the outside.
You can leave the stick white or color it light yellowish-brown.
For the wrapped candy, you can make it cute by coloring the candy in the middle orange or red, and coloring the twisted ends a different color.
If you leave the top left of the candy white, it will look shiny and bright!

Trace the two characters as a set

In the boxes on the bottom right, there are 4 sets of light gray Katakana "Kya".
Use a pencil instead of a crayon to trace over the gray lines.
The vertical and horizontal dotted lines inside the boxes will help you.
First, write "Ki" to fill the box, then write a small "ya" in the bottom left of the next box.
You can draw the vertical line of "Ki" straight by following the vertical dotted line in the box.
If you say "Kya" out loud as you trace each set, you will learn the sound and character together.
When you finish tracing all 4 sets, show it to your family!

Candy is made by boiling sugar at high temperatures

Hard candy is made by boiling sugar and starch syrup in a pot until it gets very hot.
When the melted mixture cools down, it turns into hard, see-through candy.
It gets very hot, so always make it with an adult.

Japanese candy from long ago

In Japan, people have eaten starch syrup made from rice for a very long time.
There are also cheap sweets where you wrap thick starch syrup around chopsticks to eat it.
Having many candies with different colors and shapes, like we do today, came much later.

Be careful when you eat candy

Candy is a sweet that you eat by letting it melt slowly in your mouth.
It is important for young children to be careful so they do not choke on the candy.
Do not run or play while holding a lollipop in your mouth.
Do not forget to brush your teeth after eating, either.
If you clean your teeth after eating sweet things, you are less likely to get cavities.