GY
ギャギュギョ — The GY Row
01
Read “gya, gyu, gyo”
The GY set is a full-size ギ (gi — キ with a dakuten) plus a small ャ, ュ, or ョ: ギ + ャ = ギャ (gya), ギ + ュ = ギュ (gyu), ギ + ョ = ギョ (gyo), one syllable each. It's the first of the voiced combined kana — same combining rule as KY, just with a dakuten on the base.
One syllable: ギャ is “gya,” one beat with a hard g — not “gi-ya.” Two marks to keep separate: the dakuten ゛ on ギ (upper right of the big kana) and the small ャ ュ ョ below it.
02
Pronunciation at a glance
03
Loanwords with the GY kana
The GY kana open a handful of everyday loanwords. Here are two for each.
ギャングgyangugang
ギャラリーgyararīgallery
ギャンブルgyanburugamble, gambling
レギュラーregyurāregular
フィギュアfigyuafigure, figurine
ギョーザgyōzagyoza (dumpling)
04
What's next
Next is the J set (ジャ ジュ ジョ) — built on ジ (シ with a dakuten), and read “ja, ju, jo.”