HIRAGANA · CHARACTER GUIDE
や (ya) in hiragana
Ya in hiragana is や: a short mark on top, and a long line that leans down to the right.
- Reading
- ya
- Type
ya- Katakana
- ヤ
- Strokes
- 3
- Audio
- see listening section
On this page
How や is written, and how it differs from か.
The full model: 3 strokes, numbered in order.
start end
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Memory hook: Picture a yacht: a curved sail full of wind across a slanting mast, with a small flag at the top. Make your own · All 46 hiragana mnemonics
More hiragana activities
WRITE IT
How to write や: stroke order
Is や the same as the katakana ヤ? No. The katakana ヤ, also read ya, has only two strokes: the first ends in a sharp bend, and there is no short mark on top. Copy this model’s round curve and its short mark.
Shape: About square: a curve that rises to the right and wraps round like an egg on its side, a short mark on top, and a long line slanting down through the curve’s left part.
In this model, stroke 1 sweeps and stroke 3 stops. Sources differ on how stroke 2 ends, so no ending is marked: copy the model. Japanese schools name three kinds of ending: Ending: Stop とめ, Ending: Hook はね, Ending: Sweep はらい. Textbooks and teachers differ on some.
Stroke 1Ending: Sweep はらい
Starts far left of the vertical center line, just above the horizontal one. A straight line rising to the right, across the vertical center line; then curve round on the right, like a fishhook, and come back down toward the center. End with a short sweep, as in the model.
Stroke 2
Starts just left of the vertical center line, near the top. A short mark down to the right, ending on the center line, a little above stroke 1 and clear of it, as in the model.
Stroke 3Ending: Stop とめ
Starts left of the vertical center line, near the top, well above the start of stroke 1. A long, straight line down, leaning a little to the right, through the left part of stroke 1 almost at a right angle, and ending near the bottom on the vertical center line.
One mistake to avoid: stroke 1
- Watch for
- Stroke 1 turns with a sharp corner on the right, so it looks angular, like the katakana ヤ.
- Fix
- Curve round smoothly on the right, like a fishhook, then come back toward the center, as in the model.
Stroke diagrams adapted from KanjiVG, © Ulrich Apel and contributors, CC BY-SA 3.0. License and attribution.
READ IT
Read や in print and in words.
や in handwriting and three typefaces
Handwriting model Textbook style Print, plain (gothic) Print, serif (mincho)
Many printed fonts join や’s short mark to the top of the long line; the long line still leans down to the right. Copy the handwriting model, with the mark on its own.
Find や inside a word.
- やまyamamountain. Up to the Y row
- やすいyasuicheap; inexpensive. Up to the Y row
- はやいhayaiearly; fast. Up to the Y row
- やきゅうyakyuubaseballThe small ゅ joins き into one beat, kyu, and the う makes the u long: said ya-kyū.
“Up to the Y row” marks a word written only with kana from the vowels to the Y row of the chart, so you can read it if you learn the chart in order.
In everyday writing these words use kanji (やま is 山, やすい 安い, やきゅう 野球, and はやい 早い for early or 速い for fast); here they are in hiragana for reading practice.
TELL THEM APART
や or か?
Find the short stroke, then the long line: や has its short mark on top, above the curve, and its long line leans down to the right; か keeps its short stroke apart at the right, and its long line leans down to the left.
A quick check
Four models, handwritten and printed: is each one や or か? Only your first answer to each model counts. The models are pictures; each one is described in words after you answer.
This check changed in another tab. It now shows your latest answers.
Which reading matches this model?
Check finished.
A short practice with pictures of the shapes. It does not test pronunciation, listening or long-term recall.
SOUND AND SPELLING
Small ゃ, and typing.
Sound: A small ゃ joins a kana that ends in i, such as ひ (hi), into one beat: ひゃく (hyaku, a hundred) is two beats, hya-ku. After such a kana, a full-size や is a beat of its own: おみやげ (omiyage, souvenir) is four, o-mi-ya-ge.
Typing: Type ya for や. For a small ゃ, type it as one syllable with the kana before it: hya gives ひゃ, while hiya gives ひや. On its own, xya or lya gives ゃ.
YOUR NEXT STEP
Practice や with か.
A short round of や and か, the shapes this page compares.
Practice the whole Y row: や ゆ よIt includes ゆ and よ, which this page does not teach.
Learn や with its group in lesson 8 · Try it on the hiragana keyboard
Sources, artwork and review status
Teaching content on this page is a draft: a Japanese educator has not reviewed it yet. Generated pronunciation audio is available in the listening section.
Stroke models and drawings: KanjiVG, © Ulrich Apel and contributors, CC BY-SA 3.0. License and attribution.
Two typefaces are served from this site: Klee One and Noto Serif JP (SIL Open Font License). The gothic sample uses this device’s own font.
- Japan Foundation: MARUGOTO-NO-KOTOBA vocabulary (readings and meanings)
- Jisho.org (JMdict): readings and common spellings
- syoka-koyoblog (penmanship): や
- z-shogei calligraphy school: も, や and ゆ
- Matsumoto Shoeido calligraphy school: や
- Matsumoto Shoeido calligraphy school: や
- Japanese-Lesson.com: や ゆ よ
- ryohkei.com: や
- ぷりんときっず (Print Kids): look-alike kana worksheets, や and か
- Tofugu: katakana ヤ beside hiragana や
- University of Texas JOSHU: similar-hiragana quiz, は to ん (や with ヤ)
- JapanKnowledge, 日本語、どうでしょう？ 第54回: print vs textbook kana
- Mozc (open-source Google Japanese Input): romaji table
- Japan Foundation’s Irodori kana materials (spelling reference)
Draft teaching content · Japanese educator review pending · Approved generated audio is available in the listening section; romaji is a reading aid, not a pronunciation guide.
minimachi · HIRAGANA CHARACTER CARD
や · ya
Ya in hiragana is や: a short mark on top, and a long line that leans down to the right.
Write it, stroke by stroke.
- Starts far left, just above the middle; rises right, curves round, sweeps. — sweep (はらい)
- Starts near the top, just left of center; a short mark down to the right.
- Starts high on the left; a long line down to the right, through stroke 1. — stop (とめ)
Sources differ on how stroke 2 ends, so no ending is marked: copy the model.
Watch for: Stroke 1 turns with a sharp corner on the right, so it looks angular, like the katakana ヤ. Fix: Curve round smoothly on the right, like a fishhook, then come back toward the center, as in the model.
Trace, copy, then cover the model and write from memory.
Stroke model: KanjiVG, © Ulrich Apel and contributors · CC BY-SA 3.0 · kanjivg.tagaini.net · license: creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
Draft teaching content; Japanese educator review pending. Generated audio: see full guide.
Full guide and sources: minimachi.com/hiragana/ya/
Listen to the sounds and examples on this page
Generated speech: Google Cloud Text-to-Speech. Checked by a native Japanese speaker. Audio is available only for items with a Listen button. Listen plays at normal speed; Slow gives more listening time at the original pitch. Sound hints are drafts pending educator review.
Kana sounds
- や ya
Example words
- はやい early; fast
- やすい cheap; inexpensive
- やきゅう baseball
- やま mountain