Combination Characters


So I'm in the beginning stages of learning Japanese, and I'm a little lost on
combination characters such as kya, sho, ryo, or even the voiced characters
such as gya, jo, and byu.

My question is: Are the combined characters representing a specific word in
translation, or is it like a conjunction in English? (i.e. can not -> can't,
do not -> don't, would not -> wouldn't) Or, is it something totally different?
Any explanation on this would be much appreciated. thank you!




For the sake of the answer, I am assuming you are asking about characters
like: `きゃ、しょ、りょ,` and voiced characters like `ぎゃ、じょ、びゅ.`

These combinations are simply phonetic sounds. This is the only way to write
these sounds. These combinations are like English combination sounds like `sh,
ch, ph, etc.`

These combinations in Japanese do not create words on their own, just like how
their English counterparts do not create words. They only represent sounds you
make when you speak, and as such do not carry any meaning.

If you are talking about kanji characters, my answer will be different. Please
comment below and let me know if your question pertains specifically to kanji.

