shi / シ
The second S-row katakana — “shi,” not “si.” Two marks down the left and an upward sweep set it apart from look-alike ツ.
Pronunciation
The character シ represents the syllable 'shi', identical in pronunciation to hiragana し. Take care: シ closely resembles ツ (tsu) — but シ's strokes go from lower left to upper right, while ツ's strokes go from upper right to lower left. Common in loanwords (shirt, shower, shopping, season).
シ matches hiragana し, and it's read “shi,” never “si.” It opens loanwords like シャツ (shirt), シャワー (shower), シーズン (season). Its twin marks sit down the left and its long stroke rises — the opposite of ツ (tsu), whose marks sit along the top and sweep down.
How to write シ
Trace シ 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 short stroke near the top left, like a small tick angled gently down to the right.
A second short tick below it, lower on the left — シ's two marks stack down the left side.
A long stroke sweeping UP from the lower left to the upper right. That upward direction is the key: it's what separates シ from its look-alike ツ (whose marks sit along the top and sweep downward).
Origin
Katakana シ comes from the kanji 之 (shi, a classical word for “of” or “this”). Its flowing strokes were pared down to the three marks of シ during the Heian period.
Common words starting with シ
Printable practice sheet
Print this worksheet to practice writing シ by hand — the top row shows the stroke order to trace, then fill the blank squares.
Lock it into memory
Reading is only half of it. Drill the katakana you’ve learned with spaced-repetition flashcards — the fastest way to make them stick.