katakana logo Glides
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1 　Glides ▲　

 

Glides in katakana are written in the same way as those in hiragana. The glide sequences (e.g., /kya/, /kyu/, /kyo/, etc.) are written with a small katakana ャ or ュ or ョ as shown below. The positioning of these small symbols is the same as those of small ッ. (Note that glides occur only with the /i/-sound row of the katakana chart. (Namely,: キ, ギ, シ, ジ, チ, ヂ, ニ, ヒ, ビ, ピ, ミ, and リ.)

 

ry- my- py- by- hy- ny- j- ch- j- sh- gy- ky-start here  
リャ ミャ ピャ ビャ ヒャ ニャ ヂャ チャ ジャ シャ ギャ キャ a
リュ ミュ ピュ ビュ ヒュ ニュ ヂュ チュ ジュ シュ ギュ キュ u
リョ ミョ ピョ ビョ ヒョ ニョ ヂョ チョ ジョ ショ ギョ キョ o

 

In addition to ヤユヨ ending glides, there are three extra glides ending in /e/ sound. These are /she/ as in shell, /je/ as in jet and /che/ as in check as shown below. Click on the chart below to hear the pronunciation.

 

ry- my- py- by- hy- ny- j- ch- j- sh- gy- ky-start here  
　　 　　 　　 　　 　　 　　 　　 チェ ジェ シェ 　　 　　 e

 
2 　Exercises ▲　

 

A. Read the katakana words below and confirm your pronunciation by clicking on the audio icons. Glides are written in red.
1. コンピュータ computer
2. ニューヨーク New York
3. チャット chat
4. キャッシュ cash
5. ミュート mute
B. Click on the audio icons below and write down what you hear on the printout of this page. Note that one katakana needs to be written in each box. Click on the areas below the boxes to see the answers.
1. champaign
  champaign  
2. gap
  gap  
3. news
  news