Katakana "Byu" Coloring Pages

The "Byu" in "Buffet"

This coloring page is for practicing the Katakana "Byu".
The word is "Buffet". It is a style of eating where you take as much food as you like from the table onto your plate.
On the left, there is a buffet of food lined up on the table.
There are sandwiches, fried chicken, salad, and fruit on big plates.
It might be hard to choose what to eat first!

One sound made of 2 letters

Katakana "Byu" uses two letters, "ビ" and a small "ュ", to make one single sound.
When we add a small "ャ", "ュ", or "ョ" to make one sound like this, it is called a youon sound.
When you say it out loud, try saying it all at once in one breath, without separating "ビ" and "ユ". The "ッ" in "ビュッフェ" (buffet) is a mark to pause the sound, and "フェ" is also one sound made with a small "ェ".

How Katakana "Byu" was created

Katakana are characters that long-ago people made by taking one part of a Kanji or making its shape simpler.
"Bi" is the character "Hi" with two little dots added. These dots are also called dakuten.
The original "Hi" came from the right side of the Kanji "比".
The small "ュ" is a smaller version of "ユ". "ユ" came from a part of the Kanji "由".
While Hiragana was made by rounding out Kanji, Katakana was made from parts of Kanji, so it has lots of straight lines!

How to write Katakana "Byu"

Katakana "Byu" has 4 strokes in all. It is made by adding 2 little dots to the 2 strokes of "Hi".
The 1st stroke of "Hi" is a short line going across.
For the 2nd stroke, go down from the top and turn to the right.
At the very end, draw 2 short dots side by side on the top right.

The small "ュ" has 2 strokes. With stroke 1, write a line that bends from horizontal to vertical, and with stroke 2, make the bottom line a little longer.
Write small letters about one-fourth the size of a full square. Put it in the bottom left of the square for horizontal writing, and the top right of the square for vertical writing.
If you write "ュ" too big, it will sound like two separate sounds, "ビユ", so be careful!

Words with Katakana "Byu"

Katakana is often used when writing words that come from other countries.
"Buffet" is a word that came from French.
For words that start with Katakana "Byu", there are sound words like byun (whiz) and byubyu (whoosh) for a strong wind blowing.
In the middle of words, you can find Katakana "Byu" in words like interview when you listen to someone talk, or debut when someone comes out in front of everyone for the first time.
If you find Katakana "Byu" on TV or at a store, point at it and tell me!

Color Katakana "Byu" in Any Color You Like

Try coloring Katakana "Byu" outlined at the top right in your favorite colors.
To match the yummy food, try using bright, tasty colors like orange, yellow, or yellow-green.
To make it look nice and neat, color the outside edge slowly so you do not go out of the lines, and then fill in the middle.

Think of Real Colors for the Food

Try coloring the sandwich bread cream, and the fillings lettuce green, tomato red, and egg yellow.
Color the fried chicken golden-brown or brown, making some parts darker so it looks nice and crispy.
Mix green and yellow-green for the salad, and color the cherry tomatoes red to make it look bright and colorful.
For the fruit, make it colorful with strawberry red, orange, and grape purple.

The Table and Plates

If you make the tablecloth white or light blue, the colors of the food will really stand out.
Leaving the big plate white and drawing colored lines on the edge looks fancy, too.

Trace Carefully, One Pair at a Time

In the boxes at the bottom right, there are light gray Katakana "Byu" written in four pairs of two characters.
Slowly trace over the light letters using a dark or soft pencil.
Using the center lines inside the boxes helps you see the size difference between the big and small characters.
Saying the stroke order out loud as you write makes it easier to remember.
Write them one pair at a time, just like taking one plate of food at a time.

Buffet is a French word

"Buffet" is a French word that used to mean a table where food and dishes are set out.
From there, people started calling the dining style where you pick and eat food set out on a table a buffet, too.

It is also called "Viking" in Japan

In Japan, people also call a buffet a Viking.
This is said to have started when the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo created a restaurant inspired by Northern European food where you could pick what you like to eat, and named it "Viking."
Vikings were people who were active on the seas of Northern Europe long ago.

Buffet manners

At a buffet, it is good manners to take only as much as you can eat on your plate.
You can take a little bit at a time, and when you finish eating, you can just go get more.
It is also important to use a fresh new plate instead of a plate you already used.

Let's try writing it in Romaji

When you write Katakana "Byu" in Romaji, it becomes byu.
For sounds with small "ya," "yu," or "yo," you use the letter y in Romaji.
You learn Romaji in Japanese class around the 3rd grade of elementary school.
It is also written on station names and street signs, so try reading it if you find it!