Katakana "Hya" Coloring Pages

The "Hya" in "Hyahhoo"

The character on this coloring page is Katakana "Hya".
The word is "Hyahhoo". It starts with Katakana "Hya".
"Hyahhoo" is not the name of a thing. It is what you shout when you are happy or having fun.
The picture on the left shows a child riding a sled down a snowy hill, shouting "Hyahhoo!" They are whiz-zihng through the wind!
Katakana is often used for words from other countries, names of animals and plants, and sounds or cries. Writing shout words in Katakana makes them sound super energetic!

"Hi" and small "ya" make 1 sound

You write Katakana "Hya" by adding a small "ya" after "Hi".
You write it with 2 characters, but you read it as 1 sound: "Hya". Sounds like this are called Youon.
If you write a big "ya" to make "Hiya", it becomes 2 sounds: "Hi" and "Ya". The way you read it changes depending on whether you write it small or big!
Try saying "Hyahhoo" while clapping your hands. You only need to clap 1 time for "Hya".

The Kanji that made Katakana "Hya"

Katakana characters were made by taking parts of Kanji or using their shapes.
It is said that monks long ago started using them to quickly write down how to read Kanji in holy books.
"Hi" comes from the right side of the Kanji "比".
The small "ya" is a smaller version of the big "ya", and "ya" was made from the Kanji "也".

How to write Katakana "Hya"

"Hi" has 2 strokes.
Stroke 1 goes from left to right. Make it slant up a little bit to the right.
Stroke 2 goes straight down, then bends to the right at the bottom.
Make the straight line of Stroke 2 cross through the end of Stroke 1 to make it look neat!
The small "ya" has 2 strokes, just like the big "ya".
When writing sideways, put it small in the bottom left of the box. Be careful not to make it the same size as "Hi".

Words that start with Katakana "Hya"

There are very few words that start with Katakana "Hya".
Most of them are sound words, like "Hyat" when you touch something cold, or "Hyaa" when you get surprised.
If you write in Hiragana, the number 100, "Hyaku", also has "hya" in it!
Talk with your family about when you might say "Hyat!"

Color the big Katakana "Hya" in two different colors

The big Katakana "Hya" at the top right is a letter you can color inside the outline.
If you color the big "ヒ" and the small "ャ" in different colors, it is easy to see that it is made of two letters.
It will look like winter if you make "ヒ" red like a sled, and small "ャ" light blue like a snowy sky.
It is also fun to change colors for each line, like stroke 1 and stroke 2 in the stroke order.

Color the sled and clothes so they stand out in the snow

If you color the sled in red or orange, it will stand out nicely on top of the white snow.
Choose bright colors like blue, yellow, or green for the child's jacket, hat, and gloves.
If you make the cheeks pink, they will look red from the cold.
Leave the snowy slope white, and only put light cyan where the shadows fall. This makes the snow look soft and fluffy.

The tracing letters come in pairs

In the boxes at the bottom right, 4 pairs of light gray Katakana "Hya" are lined up. "ヒ" is in the left box, and small "ャ" is in the right box.
Hold your pencil correctly and trace over the gray lines slowly so you do not go outside the lines.
Use the vertical and horizontal center lines inside the boxes as a guide. They help you get the position and size of the letters just right.
Check to see if the small "ャ" fits neatly in the bottom left of its box, too.
Every time you trace 1 pair, say "Hya" out loud. This helps you remember the letter and its sound together.

Snow crystals are six-sided shapes

If you look at snowflakes with a magnifying glass, you can sometimes see tiny patterns called crystals.
Most snow crystals are based on a hexagon shape, which means they have six corners.
Even though they are all six-sided shapes, they come in many different forms, like stars or flat plates!

Fresh snow is full of air

Snow that has just fallen has lots of air trapped between the snowflakes.
That is why it feels so soft and fluffy!
Do you notice how quiet it feels all around on snowy days? That is because the tiny spaces in the snow soak up sound.

Dogs pulling a sled

In cold countries, people have used dogs to pull sleds across snow and ice for a very long time.
This is called a dog sled.
Many dogs work together as a team to pull a sled with people and heavy loads on it!

Let's compare Katakana "Hya" to Hiragana

When you write Katakana "Hya" in Hiragana, it becomes "ひゃ".
Actually, both Hiragana "ひ" and Katakana "ヒ" came from the same Kanji character, "比"!
Hiragana was made by smoothing out the whole Kanji, while Katakana was made by taking just one part or shape of it. That is why they look so different, even though they came from the same character!
The small "ゃ" and "ャ" also both came from the Kanji character "也", so they are like brother and sister letters!