Are your eyes failing you, or is that hiragana character tinier than the other one? In Japanese, since there is a limit of hiragana characters, there is the need for some combinations. There are in total, 33 combination sounds that are made using small ya, yu, and yo.
The following are examples of these combinations:
|
KYA |
KYU |
KYO |
example :
きゃく kyaku ( “customer” ), きゅう kyuu (“nine” )
|
SHA |
SHU |
SHO |
example :
しゃかい shakai (“society” ) ; しゅみ shumi (“hobby” )
| CHA | CHU | CHO |
example :
ちゃいろ chairo (“brown” ) ; ちゅんちゅん chunchun (“chirp chirp” )
|
NYA |
NYU |
NYO |
example :
ぐにゃぐにゃ gunyagunya (“crooked” )
|
HYA |
HYU |
HYO |
example :
ひゃく hyaku (“one hundred” )
|
MYA |
MYU |
MYO |
example :
みゃく myaku (“pulse” ) ; みょうじ myouji (“family name”)
|
RYA |
RYU |
RYO |
example :
りゃく ryaku (“abbreviation” ); みりょく miryoku (“charm” )
|
GYA |
GYU |
GYO |
example :
きんぎょ kingyo (“goldfish”)
|
JA |
JU |
JO |
example :
ジャズ jazu (“jazz”)
|
BYA |
BYU |
BYO |
example :
さんびゃく san-byaku (“three hundred”)
|
PYA |
PYU |
PYO |
example :
はっぴゃく ha-ppyaku ( “eight hundred”)
It is important to keep notice if the character is full size or half-width, as it can really change the pronunciation and meaning. Fore example, こんにゃく(con-nya-ku “Kojnac”..a type of Japanese food ingredient) and こんやく ( con-ya-ku..”engagement” ) !
