The katakana yoon chart below shows all 33 katakana combined sounds — the sounds you get by pairing a main katakana character with a small ヤ (ya), ユ (yu), or ヨ (yo). Each card shows the katakana yoon with romaji pronunciation. Tap any character to hear it spoken in natural Japanese.
カタカナ ようおんKatakana Yoon
Tap any character to hear its pronunciation
| ya | yu | yo |
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| ya | yu | yo |
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| ya | yu | yo |
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Katakana yoon pairs a consonant katakana with small ャ, ュ, or ョ to create a single blended sound. Used extensively in foreign loanwords — キャ, シャ, チャ and ジャ appear constantly in everyday katakana vocabulary. 33 characters total across basic, voiced, and semi-voiced rows.
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What Are Katakana Yoon?
Katakana yoon (拗音) are combined katakana sounds formed by pairing one of the イ (i) column characters with a small ャ (ya), ュ (yu), or ョ (yo). Just like in hiragana, the small kana is not pronounced as a separate beat — it blends with the main character to form a single syllable. For example, キ + ャ = キャ (kya), spoken in one smooth sound. Katakana yoon are especially important because they appear constantly in foreign loanwords written in katakana.
Which Katakana Characters Form Yoon?
Only characters from the イ (i) column combine with small ャ, ュ, ョ — giving 11 base characters across three groups:
- Basic katakana yoon (7 rows) · キ、シ、チ、ニ、ヒ、ミ、リ + ャュョ
- Voiced katakana yoon (3 rows) · ギ、ジ、ビ + ャュョ
- Semi-voiced katakana yoon (1 row) · ピ + ャュョ
💡 Note: ジャ、ジュ、ジョ are romanised as ja, ju, jo — not jya, jyu, jyo. Likewise シャ、シュ、ショ = sha, shu, sho and チャ、チュ、チョ = cha, chu, cho in standard romaji.
Why Are Katakana Yoon So Common in Loanwords?
Many foreign words contain consonant clusters and glide sounds that Japanese basic syllables cannot represent on their own. Katakana yoon fill that gap. You will see them everywhere in everyday vocabulary:
- シャツ (shatsu) — shirt
- チャンス (chansu) — chance
- ジャケット (jaketto) — jacket
- ニュース (nyuusu) — news
- ショッピング (shoppingu) — shopping
- キャンセル (kyanseru) — cancel
⚠️ The four most frequent katakana yoon in loanwords are シャ (sha), チャ (cha), ジャ (ja), and キャ (kya). Master these four first and you will immediately be able to read dozens of common words.
Big Katakana vs Small Katakana — How to Tell Them Apart
The size difference is intentional and meaningful — just as in hiragana. Full-size ヤ is an independent syllable meaning “ya.” Small ャ is a modifier with no standalone sound — it only works paired with an イ-column character. In print the difference is clear. In handwriting, make the small kana noticeably smaller and position it slightly to the lower left of the main character. Confusing full-size and small kana changes the meaning of a word entirely, so the distinction is worth practising carefully.
How Long Does It Take to Learn Katakana Yoon?
If you already know basic katakana, two to three days of focused practice is enough. The combinations follow the exact same logic as hiragana yoon — no new pronunciation rules to learn. Start with the 4 high-frequency yoon (シャ, チャ, ジャ, キャ), then work through the rest of the basic rows, and finish with voiced and semi-voiced rows. Reading real loanwords on menus, product labels, and signs is the fastest way to make katakana yoon stick — you will encounter them within minutes of stepping outside in Japan.