nya / ニャ
The first NY combined kana — ニ plus a small ャ becomes “nya,” one syllable. Rare in loanwords — most famous as a cat's “nya.”
Pronunciation
The compound character ニャ represents the syllable 'nya', formed by combining ニ (ni) with a small ャ. Very rare in katakana loanwords — appears mainly in onomatopoeia for cat sounds.
ニャ is ニ (ni) plus a small ャ, read as one syllable, “nya.” It's uncommon in loanwords; you'll meet it most in the cat sound ニャー (meow) and a few borrowed names. The combining rule is the same as every other set.
How to write ニャ
Trace ニャ 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 ニ exactly: a short horizontal stroke up top, then a longer horizontal below it.
Write a small ャ tucked into the lower right at about half height — a miniature ヤ (a hooking stroke, then a vertical).
Origin
Katakana ニャ combines ニ — from the kanji 仁 (ni) — with a small ャ (reduced ヤ, from 也). Together they spell a single “nya” sound.
Common words starting with ニャ
Printable practice sheet
Print this worksheet to practice writing ニャ by hand — the top row shows the stroke order to trace, then fill the blank squares.
Lock it into memory
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