sha / シャ
The first SH combined kana — シ plus a small ャ becomes “sha,” one syllable. Opens shirt, shower, and shampoo.
Pronunciation
The compound character シャ represents the syllable 'sha', formed by combining シ (shi) with a small ャ. One of the most common yōon in katakana loanwords — shirt, shower, shampoo, champagne, sharp.
シャ is シ (shi) plus a small ャ, read as one syllable, “sha.” It opens loanwords like シャツ (shirt), シャワー (shower), シャンプー (shampoo), シャンパン (champagne). The base keeps シ's two left marks and upward sweep.
How to write シャ
Trace シャ 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 シ exactly: two short marks down the left side, then a long stroke sweeping up from the lower left to the upper right.
Write a small ャ tucked into the lower right at about half height — a miniature ヤ (a hooking stroke, then a vertical).
Origin
Katakana シャ combines シ — from the kanji 之 (shi) — with a small ャ (reduced ヤ, from 也). Together they spell a single “sha” sound.
Common words starting with シャ
Printable practice sheet
Print this worksheet to practice writing シャ by hand — the top row shows the stroke order to trace, then fill the blank squares.
Lock it into memory
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