Katakana "シュ" Coloring Pages

"シュ" in "シュークリーム"

The character on this coloring page is the Katakana "シュ".
The word is "シュークリーム" (cream puff). The word starts with "シュ".
The picture on the left shows two cream puffs on a plate. They have powdered sugar on top, and you can see the cream inside.
It is a popular sweet treat with lots of sweet cream packed inside soft pastry.
Katakana are characters often used for words from other countries, names of animals and plants, and sounds or animal noises. "シュークリーム" is also a word that came from another country.

"シ" and a small "ュ" make one sound

Katakana "シュ" is a character you write by adding a small "ュ" after "シ".
Even though you write it with 2 characters, you read it as 1 single sound, "シュ". We call this kind of sound a youon (contracted sound).
If you write "ュ" big like "シユ", it turns into 2 separate sounds, "シ" and "ユ". Writing it small or big changes how you read it!
Try clapping your hands while saying "シュークリーム" (cream puff). You only need to clap 1 time for "シュ".

The Kanji That Formed Katakana "シュ"

Katakana are letters made by taking a part of a Kanji or using a Kanji's shape.
It is said that they started long ago when monks needed a way to quickly write down how to read the Kanji in holy books.
"シ" came from the Kanji "之".
The small "ュ" is just a smaller version of the big "ユ", and "ユ" came from the Kanji "由".

Tips for writing Katakana "シュ"

"シ" takes 3 strokes.
Strokes 1 and 2 are short dots that you write stacked one above the other on the left side.
Stroke 3 starts from the bottom left and sweeps up to the top right.
The similar character "ツ" has dots lined up side by side, and stroke 3 goes from top to bottom. Pay close attention to how the dots line up and which way the last line goes!
Small "ュ" is written in the same stroke order as big "ユ", and it takes 2 strokes.
When writing horizontally, put it small in the bottom left of the box. Be careful not to make it the same size as "シ".

Words that start with Katakana "シュ"

Words starting with Katakana "シュ" include a soccer shoot, shoes you wear on your feet, and a snorkel for looking underwater.
Katakana "シュ" also pops up in sound words like the fizzy shuwa-shuwa of juice bubbles or the shu-shu of a spray bottle.
Try looking around your house for things that make a Katakana "シュ" sound!

Color the Big Katakana "シュ" with Two Colors

The big Katakana "シュ" at the top right is a letter for you to color inside the lines.
If you color the big "シ" and the small "ュ" in different colors, you can easily see that it is made of two letters.
If you make "シ" a light yellow like cream, and the small "ュ" a brown like pastry, it will look just like a cream puff!
It is also fun to change colors for each line, like the 1st stroke and 2nd stroke of the writing order.

Golden Brown Pastry and Yellow Cream

Let's color the cream puff pastry in light brown or ochre. If you make the top of the puffy mounds a little darker, it will look freshly baked!
For the cream inside, use light yellow for custard, or leave it white for whipped cream.
If you leave the powdered sugar on top white, it will look like it has snow on it!
If you color the rim of the plate in light blue or pink, it will look super cute.

Tracing Is Done in Pairs of Two

In the boxes at the bottom right, there are 4 pairs of light gray Katakana "シュ". There is a "シ" in the left box and a small "ュ" in the right box.
Hold your pencil correctly and trace over the gray lines slowly so you do not go outside the lines.
If you use the vertical and horizontal center lines inside the boxes as a guide, it will be easy to get the position and size of the letters right.
Check to see if the small "ュ" fits nicely in the bottom left of its box, too.
Every time you trace 1 pair, say "シュ" out loud, and you can learn the letter and its sound together!

"Choux" Means Cabbage

"Choux" in "choux cream" (cream puff) means cabbage in French.
People say it got its name because the round, puffy pastry looks like a cabbage.
Then, the English word "cream" was added to make the Japanese word "choux cream".

It Might Not Work in English

If you say "choux cream" in an English-speaking country, people might think of shoe cream, which is shoe polish!
In English, people usually call this yummy treat a "cream puff".

The Secret to the Puffy Pastry

Before it goes into the oven, the pastry dough for cream puffs is flat.
When you bake it in the oven, the water inside the dough turns into steam and pushes the dough out from the inside.
That is why it turns into a puffy shape with a hollow middle. Then, you fill it up with cream!

Let's Compare Katakana "シュ" and Hiragana "しゅ"

If you write Katakana "シュ" in Hiragana, it is "しゅ".
Actually, both Hiragana "し" and Katakana "シ" came from the same kanji character, "之".
Hiragana was made by smoothing out the whole kanji character. Katakana was made using a part or shape of the kanji character. That is why they look different even though they came from the same kanji character.
The small "ゅ" and "ュ" both came from the kanji character "由", so they are like brother and sister characters!