sha / しゃ
The first SH combined kana — し plus a small ゃ becomes 'sha', a single syllable. Anchors photographs, society, companies, and trains.
Pronunciation
The compound character しゃ represents the syllable 'sha', formed by combining し (shi) with a small ゃ. It is one of the most common yōon syllables in Japanese vocabulary.
しゃ is し (shi) plus a small ゃ (ya). Together they make a single syllable /sha/ — sounding exactly like English "sha" in shadow or shall. It's one of the most-used yōon in everyday speech: 写真 (shashin, "photograph"), 社会 (shakai, "society"), 会社 (kaisha, "company"), 電車 (densha, "train"), 喋る (shaberu, "to chat"). Because し already begins with the "sh" sound (not "s"), the leap to しゃ is intuitive for English speakers.
How to write しゃ
Trace しゃ 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 し exactly: a single flowing stroke. Start at the upper middle, drop down with a faint inward curve, then sweep around at the bottom and exit with a small upward flick on the lower right.
Write a small ゃ next to し, tucked into the lower right. Stroke 2 is a short slanted dash; stroke 3 is the looping body (small version of や); stroke 4 is the tiny upper-right accent. Keep ゃ at roughly half the height of し — the size difference is what marks it as a combiner.
Origin
しゃ is the written combination of し (from 之, shi) and a small や (from 也, ya). Like all yōon, the combination spells a palatalized syllable that has long existed in spoken Japanese; the small-ya convention was standardized in the Meiji period.
Common words starting with しゃ
Printable practice sheet
Print this worksheet to practice writing しゃ by hand — the top row shows the stroke order to trace, then fill the blank squares.
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