How to write や (ya) in hiragana
や (ya) has no voiced form. It grew out of the cursive form of the kanji 也 (“to be (classical)”). Its three strokes begin at the left, heading rightwards then leftwards, and the last one finishes at the bottom. Words that start with it include 野党 (“opposition party”), 野球 (“baseball”), 役割 (“part”) and 山 (“mountain”).
- Romaji
- ya
- Strokes
- 3
- From
- 也
- Katakana
- ヤ
Stroke by stroke
- 1
- 2
- 3
- leftrightwards → leftwards
- topdown and right → leftwards
- top leftdownwards
Where や comes from
- Hiragana
- 也, cursive of the whole kanji
- Katakana
- ヤ from 也
Here both scripts start from the same kanji, 也 (“to be (classical)”).
Trace it
Follow the numbers. Tracing help
Small ゃ
The small form joins the kana before it into one syllable.
Words with や
455 common JMdict words with it; ten shown.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 野党 | やとう yatou | opposition party; the opposition |
| 野球 | やきゅう yakyuu | baseball |
| 役割 | やくわり yakuwari | part; assigning (allotment of) parts |
| 山 | やま yama | mountain; hill |
| 役員 | やくいん yakuin | director; executive |
| 野菜 | やさい yasai | vegetable |
| 役 | やく yaku | role; assignment |
| 休み | やすみ yasumi | rest; recess |
| 大和 | やまと yamato | (ancient) Japan; Yamato kingdom |
| 約束 | やくそく yakusoku | promise; agreement |
Practice sheet
Print at 100%. Several kana: worksheet maker.
Keep going
Hiragana, in chart order: