tsu / つ
The middle of the T row — a single curved stroke read 'tsu' (not 'tu'), the third irregular romanisation in the chart.
Pronunciation
The character つ represents the syllable 'tsu', a 'ts' sound followed by 'u'. The 'ts' is similar to the 'ts' in 'cats' or 'pizza'. Note: it is NOT pronounced 'tu' — there is no 'tu' sound in standard Japanese. Part of the た-row. The small version っ is the sokuon, used to double consonants.
つ is the third irregular romanisation: the consonant becomes ts before the う vowel — so we write tsu, not tu. It also doubles as the small-っ (sokuon) which marks a gemmination — a held pause before a consonant in compounds. つ appears in 月 (moon, month), 机 (desk), 一つ ("one of something"), and the verb suffix 〜つ in many compound verbs.
How to write つ
Trace つ on the canvas at the top of the page. Animated arrows show each stroke's direction; trace along them and the stroke fills in. Each numbered step below explains what that stroke does.
A single flowing curved stroke. Start at the upper left, sweep gently down and to the right, curving like the top half of a sideways comma, and ending with a small flick on the lower right. One smooth motion — no lifts.
Origin
Hiragana つ derives from the cursive form of the kanji 川 (tsu as an archaic reading) — meaning "river." The kanji's three parallel vertical strokes compressed into the single sweeping curve we write today, preserving only the flowing right-leaning motion of the original.
Common words starting with つ
Printable practice sheet
Print this worksheet to practice writing つ by hand — the top row shows the stroke order to trace, then fill the blank squares.
Lock it into memory
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