Master Japanese Yōon: The "Small" や・ゆ・よ Sounds

Welcome to your ultimate guide to mastering Yōon (拗音), commonly known as the "small や (ya), ゆ (yu), よ (yo)" sounds.拗音

At the JLPT N5 level, mastering these contracted sounds is vital. They completely change the meaning and pronunciation of words. Think of them as the "blends" of the Japanese language!

---

1. The Golden Rule of Formation

Contracted sounds are created using a simple mathematical formula:

$$\text{Any } [i]\text{-row Kana (except い)} + \text{Small } ゃ / ゅ / ょ = \text{One New Sound}$$

The "I-Row" Candidates:

To make these sounds, you can only use Hiragana from the second column ($[i]$-row) of the Hiragana chart:

• き (ki), し (shi), ち (chi), に (ni), ひ (hi), み (mi), り (ri)
• This also includes their voiced (dakuten) versions: ぎ (gi), じ (ji), び (bi), ぴ (pi)

The Formula in Action:

When you attach a small ゃ, ゅ, or ょ, the vowel sound of the first character ($[i]$) drops, and it blends directly into the $Y$-sound.

$$\text{き (ki)} + \text{ゃ (small ya)} \rightarrow \text{きゃ (kya)} \quad [\text{Not } \textit{ki-ya}]$$

---

2. Pronunciation & The "One-Beat" Rule

In Japanese, timing is everything. Each standard character takes up one beat (mora) of time.

• Standard size: きや (ki-ya) = 2 beats
• Small size: きゃ (kya) = 1 beat

If you mispronounce the timing, you will say a completely different word!

The Ultimate Comparison:

---

3. High-Frequency N5 Vocabulary Chart

Here are key N5 words utilizing these contracted sounds. Practice reading them aloud, paying close attention to the blended sound.

---

4. How to Write Them Correctly

Visual clarity is essential. If your handwriting is messy, a native speaker will read your small ゃ as a big や.

1. Size: The small ゃ, ゅ, ょ should be approximately $1/4$ the size of the character preceding it.
2. Positioning:
   • Horizontal writing (横書き): Position the small character in the bottom-left of the imaginary character grid square.横書
   • Vertical writing (縦書き): Position the small character in the top-right of the square.縦書
   横書縦

---

5. Quick Check Challenge!

Test your understanding. Romaji-fy the following N5 sentences (Answers below):

1. おちゃを飲みます。 (I drink green tea.)飲
2. ひゃく円です。 (It is 100 yen.)円
3. きょねん、日本に行きました。 (I went to Japan last year.)日本行

<details> <summary><b>Click to reveal answers!</b></summary>

1. O-cha o nomimasu.
2. Hya-ku en desu.
3. Kyo-nen, Nihon ni ikimashitā.

</details>