byu / びゅ
The middle BY combined kana — び plus a small ゅ becomes 'byu'. Rare — mostly onomatopoeia for wind (びゅう) and the loanword 'debut' (デビュー).
Pronunciation
The compound character びゅ represents the syllable 'byu', formed by combining び (bi) with a small ゅ.
びゅ is び (bi) plus a small ゅ (yu). Together they make a single syllable /byu/. It's rare in everyday vocabulary — its main native uses are onomatopoeia for wind (びゅう byuu, the whoosh sound; びゅーびゅー byuubyuu, "howling wind"), and the loanword デビュー (debyuu, "debut") which is one of the most-used English loanwords in modern Japanese (especially in entertainment contexts: アイドルがデビューする, "the idol makes their debut"). Otherwise, you'll rarely write びゅ in hiragana.
How to write びゅ
Trace びゅ on the canvas at the top of the page. Animated arrows show each stroke's direction; trace along them and the stroke fills in. Each numbered step below explains what that stroke does.
Write び exactly: three strokes (ひ + dakuten).
Write a small ゅ next to び. Stroke 4 is the small looping body (a tiny tear-drop); stroke 5 is the horizontal anchor crossing through it. Keep ゅ at roughly half the height of び.
Origin
びゅ is the written combination of び (ひ + dakuten ゛) and a small ゆ (from 由, yu). The /byu/ sound is rare in native Japanese — it functions mostly to render foreign "byu" sounds (especially "debut") and as wind onomatopoeia.
Common words starting with びゅ
Printable practice sheet
Print this worksheet to practice writing びゅ by hand — the top row shows the stroke order to trace, then fill the blank squares.
Lock it into memory
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