Katakana "Rya" Coloring Pages

The "Rya" in "Llama" for Katakana "Rya"

The letters on this coloring page are the Katakana "Rya".
The word is "Llama". The word starts with "Rya"!
Llamas are animals that have lived together with people for a long time around the Andes Mountains in South America.
The picture on the left is a llama facing sideways. You can see its long neck, fluffy fur, sharp long ears, and 4 slender legs.
Katakana letters are often used for words from other countries, names of animals and plants, and sounds or animal noises. Since "Llama" is the name of an animal from another country, we write it in Katakana.

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

Katakana "Rya" is written by placing a small "ャ" after "リ".
Even though you write it with 2 letters, it makes just 1 sound when you read it, "Rya". A sound like this is called a youon.
If you write a big "ヤ" to make "リヤ", it turns into 2 different sounds, "Ri" and "Ya". The way you read it changes depending on whether you write it small or big.
Try saying "Ryama" while clapping your hands. For "Rya", you only need to clap your hands 1 time.

The Kanji Katakana "Rya" Came From

Katakana are characters made by taking parts of kanji or using the shapes of kanji.
It is said that they started long ago when monks used them to quickly write down how to read kanji in holy books.
The "リ" part of Katakana "Rya" comes from the right side of the kanji "利".
The small "ャ" is just a smaller version of the big "ヤ", and "ヤ" was made from the kanji "也".

Tips for writing

"Ri" takes 2 strokes.
Stroke 1 is the short vertical line on the left.
Stroke 2 is the long vertical line on the right. Go down, and sweep to the left at the end.
The trick is to make the right line longer than the left line!
The small "ya" has the same stroke order as the big "Ya", and takes 2 strokes.
When you write sideways, draw it small in the bottom left of the box. Be careful not to make it the same size as "Ri"!

Words that start with Katakana "Rya"

Words that start with Katakana "Rya" are very rare.
Besides this llama, you will not find many others.
If you look at Hiragana words, "rya" is in words like ryaku, which means making something shorter, or in energetic shouts like eiya and torya.
Try saying "Torya!" with lots of energy while you trace the letters!

Color the Big Katakana "Rya" in Two Colors

The big Katakana "Rya" on the top right is a letter for you to color inside the outline.
If you color the big "Ri" and small "Ya" in different colors, it is easy to see that it is made of two letters.
Try coloring "Ri" a light brown like a llama's fur, and the small "Ya" a red or orange like an Andes cloth to give it a cozy feel.
It is also fun to change colors for each stroke, like stroke 1 and stroke 2 in the stroke order.

Use Gentle Colors for Soft Fur

Llama fur comes in many colors like white, light brown, dark brown, and black.
You can leave the body white and color just the face and legs brown, or even draw spotted patterns.
To make the fluffy fur look soft, hold your colored pencil lightly and color in little circles.
If you draw colorful ribbons on its neck or ears, it will look just like a real llama from the Andes!

Tracing is Two Letters in a Pair

In the bottom right boxes, there are 4 pairs of light gray Katakana "Rya". There is a "Ri" in the left box and a small "Ya" 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 in the boxes as a guide to help you learn the position and size of the letters.
Check to see if the small "Ya" fits neatly in the bottom left of its box.
Say "Rya" out loud every time you trace a pair, and you will learn the letter and sound together!

A relative of the camel

Katakana "Rya" is a relative of the camel.
It doesn't have a hump like a camel, but it has a long neck and a very similar face.
The alpaca, which looks a lot like Katakana "Rya", is also a relative. Katakana "Rya" has a bigger body, and its ears are a little curved like bananas.

A hard worker that carries heavy loads

High up in the Andes mountains, Katakana "Rya" has been hard at work carrying heavy loads for a very long time.
It can walk with a steady step, even on steep mountain paths.
Its fur has also been used to make cloth and yarn.

It spits when it gets angry

When Katakana "Rya" gets angry or doesn't like something, it sometimes spits.
It also spits at other Katakana "Rya" when they fight over food.
If you meet Katakana "Rya" at the zoo, be nice and watch it quietly!

Let's compare it with Hiragana "Rya"

If you write "Rya" in hiragana, it looks like "りゃ".
Actually, both Hiragana "Ri" and Katakana "Ri" were born from the same kanji character, "利".
Hiragana was made by writing the whole kanji in a soft, swoopy way. Katakana was made using just a piece or shape of the kanji. That is why they look different, even though they came from the same kanji!
The small "ゃ" and "ャ" were also both born from the kanji character "也", so they are like brothers too.