Katakana "Nya" Coloring Pages

The "Nya" in "Nyanko"

The letters on this coloring page are Katakana "Nya".
The word is "Nyanko" (kitten). It starts with "Nya".
"Nyanko" is a friendly word for a cat. It comes from "Nyaa," the sound a cat makes!
The picture on the left is a cat walking sideways with its tail held up high. It looks like it is having fun on a walk!
Katakana is often used for words from other countries, names of animals and plants, and sounds or animal noises. Sounds like "Nyaa" are usually written in Katakana too!

"Ni" and a small "ya" make one sound

To write Katakana "Nya", you write "Ni" and add a small "Ya" after it.
It is written with 2 letters, but you read it as 1 single sound: "Nya". Sounds like this are called 拗音.
If you write a big "Ya" to make "Ni-ya", it splits into 2 different sounds: "Ni" and "Ya". Writing it small or big changes how you read it!
Try saying "Nyanko" while clapping your hands. For Katakana "Nya", you only need to clap 1 time.

The Kanji That Formed Katakana "Nya"

Katakana are characters made by taking a part of a Kanji or using the shape of Kanji.
It is said that long ago, monks started using them to quickly write down how to read Kanji in sacred texts.
"Ni" came from "二", which is on the right side of the Kanji "仁".
The small "ya" is a smaller version of the big "Ya", and "Ya" was made based on the Kanji "也".

Tips for writing Katakana "Nya"

"ニ" is made of 2 strokes.
You write it with 2 horizontal lines, but the key is to make the top line short and the bottom line long.
Leave a little space between the 2 lines, write both from left to right, and stop cleanly at the end.
The small "ャ" is written in the same stroke order as the big "ヤ", and it has 2 strokes.
When writing horizontally, draw it small in the bottom left of the box. Be careful not to make it the same size as "ニ".

Words that start with Katakana "Nya"

Actually, there are very few words that start with "Nya."
Almost all of them are about cats, like a cat's meow—Nyaa or Nyan-Nyan—and Nyanko, a cute word for a kitty.
You could even say that "Nya" is a sound just for cats!
Pretend you are a cat and try meowing in different ways, like "Nyaa," "Nyao," and "Nyan!"

For the big Katakana "Nya", use different colors for the two letters

The big Katakana "Nya" on the top right is a word with outlines for you to color.
If you color the big "ニ" and the small "ャ" in different colors, it is easy to see that it is made of two letters.
It will look cute if you color "ニ" in brown or orange like a cat's fur, and the small "ャ" in pink like a paw pad.
It is also fun to change the color line by line for stroke 1 and stroke 2.

Make the cat with your favorite pattern

Cat fur comes in many colors. Pick your favorite colors, like an orange tabby, a gray tabby, a black cat, or a white cat.
If you add stripes, you can make a tabby cat! If you use three colors—white, black, and brown—you can make a calico cat, too.
Color the inside of the ears and the nose in light pink.
For the eyes, color them in yellow or yellow-green, and make the pupils in the middle black. That will make them look just like real cat eyes!

Tracing is done in pairs of two

In the boxes on the bottom right, there are 4 pairs of light gray Katakana "Nya". The "ニ" is in the left box, and the small "ャ" is in the right box.
Hold your pencil correctly and trace slowly over the gray lines so you do not go outside them.
Using the vertical and horizontal center lines in the boxes as a guide makes it easy to see the place and size of the letters.
Also check if the small "ャ" fits neatly in the lower left of its box.
Every time you trace 1 pair, say "Nya" out loud. That helps you learn the letters and the sound together!

February 22nd is Cat Day

In Japan, February 22nd is "Cat Day."
It was chosen because "2, 2, 2" sounds like "Nyan, Nyan, Nyan" in Japanese.
The sound of Katakana "Nya" even has its own special day!

A Tail Up Means Happy

When a cat walks up to you with its tail straight up in the air, it is saying hello or showing that it feels happy.
Kittens also raise their tails when they want love from their mom.
The cat in this coloring page must be feeling happy too!

English Cats Say "Meow"

In Japan, people write a cat's meow as "Nya."
In English, people write it like "Meow."
Even though it is the same cat sound, different countries write it in different ways!

Compare it with Hiragana "Nya"

When you write Katakana "Nya" in Hiragana, it looks like "にゃ."
Actually, both Hiragana "Ni" and Katakana "Ni" came from the same Kanji character, "仁."
Hiragana was made by smoothing out the whole Kanji, while Katakana was made using just a part of it. That is why they look different, even though they came from the same character!
The small "ya" in Hiragana and Katakana both came from the Kanji "也," so they are like brother and sister letters.