kyo / キョ
The last KY combined kana — キ plus a small ョ becomes “kyo,” one syllable. Less common in loanwords than キャ or キュ.
Pronunciation
The compound character キョ represents the syllable 'kyo', formed by combining キ (ki) with a small ョ (yo). Rare in everyday katakana loanwords — most 'kyo' sounds in Japanese appear in native words (written hiragana or kanji) rather than loanwords.
キョ is キ (ki) plus a small ョ, read as a single syllable, “kyo.” It's the rarest of the KY set in loanwords — you'll meet it more often in onomatopoeia like キョロキョロ (looking around) and in katakana renderings of names — but the combining rule is exactly the same.
How to write キョ
Trace キョ 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 キ exactly: two short crossbars angling up to the right, then a long vertical descending through both.
Write a small ョ tucked into the lower right at about half height: a miniature ヨ — a top-and-right stroke, then a middle bar, then a bottom bar (strokes 4, 5, 6).
Origin
Katakana キョ combines キ — from the kanji 幾 (ki) — with a small ョ, the reduced form of ヨ (from 與). Together they spell a single “kyo” sound.
Common words starting with キョ
Printable practice sheet
Print this worksheet to practice writing キョ by hand — the top row shows the stroke order to trace, then fill the blank squares.
Lock it into memory
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