しゃしゅしょ — Hiragana Combined Kana (SH): Pronunciation, Stroke Order, Practice

01

Why the SH yōon?

The SH yōon group is one of the densest in everyday Japanese. しゃ anchors 写真 (shashin, "photograph"), 社会 (shakai, "society"), 会社 (kaisha, "company"), and 電車 (densha, "train"). しゅ shows up in 趣味 (shumi, "hobby"), 主人 (shujin, "husband / master"), 宿題 (shukudai, "homework"). しょ is everywhere: 食堂 (shokudou, "cafeteria"), 書道 (shodou, "calligraphy"), 紹介 (shoukai, "introduction"), 辞書 (jisho, "dictionary"). Together with the J yōon (じゃじゅじょ), they cover a huge slice of Sino-Japanese vocabulary.

Memory trick: し already sounds like English "sh" (not "s"), so しゃ/しゅ/しょ slide cleanly into English sha/shu/sho. Size matters: ょ (small) vs よ (full) is the only visual cue separating しょ ("sho", one syllable) from しよ ("shi-yo", two syllables). Always write the small kana clearly small.

02

Pronunciation at a glance

Kana	Romaji	Pronunciation
しゃ	sha	Like "sha" in "shadow"
しゅ	shu	Like "shoe"
しょ	sho	Like "show"

03

Words you can read with SH combined kana

With every base and diacritic row plus the SH combined kana, you unlock essentials for school, work, hobbies, and society. These examples lean heavily on しゃ, しゅ, しょ. Print these as flashcards →

しゃしんshashinphotograph

しゃかいshakaisociety

かいしゃkaishacompany

でんしゃdenshatrain

おもちゃomochatoy (uses CH combined kana — preview)

しゅみshumihobby

しゅくだいshukudaihomework

しゅっちょうshucchoubusiness trip (uses small っ)

しゅるいshuruikind, type, sort

しょくどうshokudoucafeteria, dining hall

しょどうshodoucalligraphy

しょうかいshoukaiintroduction

じしょjishodictionary

ほんしょうhonshoutrue nature / honest self

としょかんtoshokanlibrary

04

What's next

After SH, the next yōon group is ちゃちゅちょ (cha/chu/cho), which anchors お茶 (ocha, "tea"), おもちゃ (omocha, "toy"), and ちょっと (chotto, "a little / a bit"). After that, you'll continue through にゃ, ひゃ, みゃ, りゃ before reaching the dakuten/handakuten yōon (ぎゃ, じゃ, びゃ, ぴゃ).

← Back to KY yōon See the full chart