cho / チョ
The last CH combined kana — チ plus a small ョ becomes “cho.” Opens chocolate, chalk, and choice.
Pronunciation
The compound character チョ represents the syllable 'cho', formed by combining チ (chi) with a small ョ. Very common in loanwords — chocolate, chalk, choice, anchovy, chop.
チョ is チ (chi) plus a small ョ, read as one syllable, “cho.” It opens loanwords like チョコレート (chocolate), チョーク (chalk), チョイス (choice), and appears in マッチョ (macho), アンチョビ (anchovy).
How to write チョ
Trace チョ 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 チ exactly: a short top bar, a longer bar across the middle, then a long stroke descending and curving to the lower left.
Write a small ョ tucked into the lower right at about half height — a miniature ヨ (a top-and-right stroke, a middle bar, then a bottom bar).
Origin
Katakana チョ combines チ — from the kanji 千 (chi) — with a small ョ (reduced ヨ, from 與). Together they spell a single “cho” sound.
Common words starting with チョ
Printable practice sheet
Print this worksheet to practice writing チョ by hand — the top row shows the stroke order to trace, then fill the blank squares.
Lock it into memory
Reading is only half of it. Drill the katakana you’ve learned with spaced-repetition flashcards — the fastest way to make them stick.