The Japanese consonant sounds are combined with the /ya/, /yu/ and /yo/ syllables to form a single contracted syllable. For example, /ki/ and /ya/ combine to form the single syllable /kya/, represented in hiragana as きゃ. See the following chart for the complete list of these contracted syllables.
| Consonant/i/ + /ya/ | Consonant/i/ + /yu/ | Consonant/i/ + /yo/ |
|---|---|---|
| きゃ kya | きゅ kyu | きょ kyo |
| しゃ sya (sha) | しゅ syu (shu) | しょ syo (sho) |
| ちゃ tya (cha) | ちゅ tyu (chu) | ちょ tyo (cho) |
| にゃ nya | にゅ nyu | にょ nyo |
| ひゃ hya | ひゅ hyu | ひょ hyo |
| みゃ mya | みゅ myu | みょ myo |
| りゃ rya | りゅ ryu | りょ ryo |
Note that these contracted syllables are always considered to be one syllable, not two. Compare the two (totally different!) following sounds:
きゃ kya (one syllable)
きや kiya (two syllables)
When /n/ is followed by another consonant, or if a word ends with /n/, then that /n/ is a syllable in itself, and is written with the symbol ん. In JSL this syllable /n/ is represented as /n/.
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