sho / しょ
The last SH combined kana — し plus a small ょ becomes 'sho', a single syllable. Anchors cafeterias, calligraphy, introductions, and dictionaries.
Pronunciation
The compound character しょ represents the syllable 'sho', formed by combining し (shi) with a small ょ. It is pronounced as a single syllable 'sho'.
しょ is し (shi) plus a small ょ (yo). Together they make a single syllable /sho/ — sounding exactly like English "show". It's one of the densest combined kana in vocabulary: 食堂 (shokudou, "cafeteria / dining hall"), 書道 (shodou, "calligraphy"), 紹介 (shoukai, "introduction"), 辞書 (jisho, "dictionary"), 図書館 (toshokan, "library"), 商売 (shoubai, "business / commerce"), 小学校 (shougakkou, "elementary school"). It also appears in many polite-form verb endings.
How to write しょ
Trace しょ 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.
Write a small ょ next to し. Stroke 2 is a short horizontal at the upper middle (of the small character); stroke 3 is the looping body. Keep ょ at roughly half the height of し.
Origin
しょ is the written combination of し (from 之, shi) and a small よ (from 与, yo). The size difference between ょ (small) and よ (full) is the only visual cue separating /sho/ (one syllable, しょ) from /shiyo/ (two syllables, しよ) — write the small one small.
Common words starting with しょ
Printable practice sheet
Print this worksheet to practice writing しょ by hand — the top row shows the stroke order to trace, then fill the blank squares.
Lock it into memory
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