Small ゃゅょ: why きゃ is kya, not ki-ya

An i-row kana followed by small ゃ, ゅ or ょ makes a combined sound: きゃ is kya, きゅ is kyu, and きょ is kyo.

One beat or two?

きゃ fits into one beat. きや, with full-size や, has two: ki / ya. Look closely at the second character rather than assuming every pair is pronounced the same way. The same distinction appears in katakana: キャ versus キヤ.

Practise the combinations

きゃ・きゅ・きょ (kya / kyu / kyo) — start from the k sound and glide into the vowel
しゃ・しゅ・しょ (sha / shu / sho) — do not insert a separate shi syllable
ちゃ・ちゅ・ちょ (cha / chu / cho) — do not read these as chi-ya, chi-yu, chi-yo

Watch the vowel that follows

きょう (kyō, today) has a combined きょ plus a long-vowel beat: kyo / long o. It is not ki / yo / u. Likewise, しゅう has shu plus a long u. A small kana combines sounds; a following vowel can extend their duration.

Say one pair slowly, then compare it with its full-size version. When listening, count the beats before looking at the spelling. This catches the common habit of pronouncing a hidden i in every combination.

Try it before looking

Is きゃ one beat or two?
Which has a separate ya: きゃ or きや?
How do you read しょ?

Show answers and reasons

One combined beat.
きや: ki / ya.
Sho, without a separate shi syllable.

Next: read long vowels after combined sounds.

Listen and repeat

Play an example, repeat it, then cover its reading and try again.

きゃ
きゅ
きょ
しゃ
しゅ
しょ

Keep practising

Listen to the hiragana chart and practise words with pictures. Read a short example, cover the reading, then say it again from the script.

Reference: The Japan Foundation: Irodori. Explanations and practice here are written by Remlori.

Practise sounds, words and sentence building in the free first chapter.

Start Japanese Lesson 1

Read small kana combinations

Choose a mode and a group. Each round has up to ten questions. Wrong answers go into a retry round.

Try these questions, then open the answers. The interactive version needs JavaScript.

Choose the reading of きゃ.
Answer and explanation
kya — Small ゃ combines with き into one beat.
Choose the reading of しゅ.
Answer and explanation
shu — Small ゅ combines with し; do not add an extra i beat.
Choose the reading of ちょ.
Answer and explanation
cho — Small ょ combines with ち.
Which has a separate ya beat?
Answer and explanation
きや — Full-size や in きや is a separate beat.
How many beats does きゃ have?
Answer and explanation
1 — The combined sound fits in one beat.
How many beats does きや have?
Answer and explanation
2 — Full-size characters give ki / ya.

Small ゃ ゅ ょ: why きゃ is kya, not ki-ya