Katakana "Gya" Coloring Pages

The "Gya" in "Gallery"

This coloring page is for practicing the Katakana "Gya".
The word is "ギャラリー" (gallery). It is a place where people display artwork like paintings and photos for everyone to see.
On the left, there are 3 framed paintings hanging on the wall of an art museum.
You can see different pictures lined up: a mountain, flowers, and a cat.
Take a look and think about which picture you like best!

One Sound Made of Two Letters

"Gya" uses two letters, "Gi" and a small "ya," to make one sound.
Letters made like this with a small "ya," "yu," or "yo" to make one sound are called contracted sounds.
When you say it out loud, do not split "Gi" and "ya." Try to say them all at once! Katakana "Gya" is a lively sound that comes from the back of your throat.

How Katakana "Gya" came to be

Long ago, people made Katakana by taking one part of a Kanji or making its shape simpler.
"ギ" is the letter "キ" with two little dots. These dots are also called dakuten.
The original "キ" came from one part of the Kanji "幾".
The small "ャ" is just a tiny version of "ヤ". "ヤ" was made by simplifying the shape of the Kanji "也".
While Hiragana was made by rounding whole Kanji, Katakana was made from parts of Kanji, so it has a lot of straight lines.

How to write Katakana "Gya"

Katakana "Gya" has 5 strokes in total—the 3 strokes of "Ki" plus the 2 strokes for the dots.
"Ki" is made of 2 horizontal lines with a vertical line crossing through them.
If you make the bottom horizontal line a little longer than the top one, it will look just right.
For the dots, draw 2 short dots next to each other at the top right at the very end.

The small "ャ" has 2 strokes. The 1st stroke is a line that bends like "フ", and the 2nd stroke is a slanted line that crosses it, written from top to bottom.
Write small letters about one-quarter the size of the box. Place them near the bottom left of the box when writing horizontally, and near the top right when writing vertically.
Be careful, because if you write "ャ" too big, it will be read as two sounds like "ギヤ".

Words with Katakana "Gya"

Katakana is often used when writing words that come from other countries.
The word "gallery" comes from English, too.
Words that start with Katakana "Gya" include gag (something funny that makes people laugh), gallop (how a horse runs fast), and gap (a big difference between things).
Katakana "Gya" is also used for sound words, like the screaming sound "Gyaa!" when you get a surprise.
Let's look for other words that have Katakana "Gya" in them!

Color Katakana "Gya" in Any Color You Like

Try coloring the big outlined Katakana "Gya" at the top right in your favorite colors.
If you change colors for the "Ki", the two dots, and the small "Ya", you can easily see how the character is made!
To keep it neat, color slowly along the outside lines first, and then fill in the inside.

Color the 3 Pictures in Their Own Colors

For the mountain picture, make the mountain green or blue-purple, and the sky light blue for a fresh view.
For the flower picture, use pink, red, or yellow petals to make it look bright and pretty.
For the cat picture, make it your favorite kind of cat, like a brown tabby, a black cat, or a calico cat!

Make Your Pictures Stand Out with the Frame and Wall

Color the frame in gold, yellow-ochre, or dark brown to give it a fancy art museum feel.
Color the wall in a bright, soft color like white or light cream to make the 3 pictures pop!

Trace the Letters Carefully, One Pair at a Time

In the bottom-right boxes, light gray Katakana "Gya" are set in 4 pairs, with 2 characters per pair.
Use a dark or soft pencil to trace over the light letters slowly.
Use the vertical and horizontal center lines in the boxes as a guide to see the difference between big and small letters.
Say the stroke order out loud as you write to help you remember it!
Make sure the two dots sit right on the top right of the "Ki", too.

A gallery was originally a "hallway"

"Gallery" is an English word. At first, it meant a long, narrow hallway inside a building.
Long ago in European castles and mansions, people hung many paintings on the walls of those long hallways.
Because of that, people started calling places where art is shown a gallery.

People watching golf are galleries too

People who come to watch a golf match are also called the gallery.
They walk along with the players and enjoy watching them play.
It is neat how the same word can mean different things in different places!

The most famous painting in the world

In the Louvre Museum in France, the Mona Lisa painted by Leonardo da Vinci is on show.
So many people come from all over the world just to see this painting.
Wouldn't it be great if you could go see a real masterpiece someday, too?

Let's write it in Romaji

When you write Katakana "Gya" in Romaji, it becomes gya.
For sounds with a small "ya," "yu," or "yo," you put in a y when writing Romaji.
You will learn Romaji in Japanese class around 3rd grade.
It is also written on station names and street signs, so try reading it when you find it!