tsu / ツ
The middle of the T row — read “tsu.” Its two marks sit ACROSS the top and the long stroke sweeps DOWN — the opposite of シ.
Pronunciation
The character ツ represents the syllable 'tsu', identical in pronunciation to hiragana つ. The small version ッ is the sokuon, used to double consonants in loanwords (e.g., カップ kappu — cup). Take care: ツ resembles シ (shi) — but ツ's strokes go from upper right to lower left, while シ's strokes go from lower left to upper right.
ツ matches hiragana つ, read “tsu” (one sound, not “t-su”). It opens loanwords like ツアー (tour) and ツリー (tree), and appears in スーツ (suit) and スポーツ (sports). ツ is the partner of シ in katakana's classic look-alike pair: its marks line up along the top and its long stroke sweeps down, the mirror of シ.
How to write ツ
Trace ツ 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 mark near the top left, ticking down to the right.
A second short mark beside it along the top — ツ's two marks sit ACROSS the top (not down the side like シ).
A long stroke sweeping DOWN from the upper right to the lower left. Top marks + a downward sweep is ツ; left-side marks + an upward sweep is シ.
Origin
Katakana ツ is commonly traced to the kanji 川 (tsu / kawa, “river”), whose three vertical strokes echo ツ's three marks — though ツ already appears fully formed in the earliest records, so its exact origin is debated.
Common words starting with ツ
Printable practice sheet
Print this worksheet to practice writing ツ by hand — the top row shows the stroke order to trace, then fill the blank squares.
Lock it into memory
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