HIRAGANA · CHARACTER GUIDE
ち (chi) in hiragana
Chi in hiragana is ち. Its long stroke bulges out to the right: nearly a mirror image of さ.
On this page
How ち is written, and why it is not さ.
The full model: 2 strokes, numbered in order.
start end
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Memory hook: Picture a puffed-out cheek: a crossbar on top, then one line that drops through it to the left and bulges out to the right. Make your own · All 46 hiragana mnemonics
More hiragana activities
WRITE IT
How to write ち: stroke order
Shape: Tall, like an upright oval: a top line, and one long stroke that drops through it and bulges out to the right.
In this model, stroke 1 stops and stroke 2 sweeps. Japanese schools name three kinds of ending: Ending: Stop とめ, Ending: Hook はね, Ending: Sweep はらい. Textbooks and teachers differ on some.
Stroke 1Ending: Stop とめ
Starts far left of the vertical center line, well above the horizontal one. A line rising gently to the right, stopping soon after the vertical center line.
Stroke 2Ending: Sweep はらい
Starts just left of the vertical center line, near the top, above stroke 1. Down through stroke 1, leaning slightly left, to below the middle; a sharp turn, then up to the right, round over a big bulge on the right, and down and back to the left, ending near the bottom on the center line.
One mistake to avoid: strokes 1 and 2
- Watch for
- Starting stroke 1 too close to the center, so the bar hardly reaches left and ち looks squeezed.
- Fix
- Start stroke 1 far out on the left and stop soon after the vertical center line, as in the model.
Stroke diagrams adapted from KanjiVG, © Ulrich Apel and contributors, CC BY-SA 3.0. License and attribution.
READ IT
Read ち in print and in words.
ち in handwriting and three typefaces
Handwriting model Textbook style Print, plain (gothic) Print, serif (mincho)
In every typeface ち’s long line leans left and turns into one big curve. Copy the handwriting model.
Find ち inside a word.
- くちkuchimouth. Up to the T row
- ちかてつchikatetsusubway. Up to the T row
- ちいさいchiisaismall. Up to the T row
- ともだちtomodachifriend
“Up to the T row” marks a word written only with kana from the vowels to the T row of the chart, so you can read it if you learn the chart in order.
In everyday writing these words use kanji (くち is 口, ちかてつ 地下鉄, ちいさい 小さい, and ともだち 友達 or 友だち); here they are in hiragana for reading practice.
TELL THEM APART
ち or さ?
Follow the long line: in ち it leans down to the left and turns into one big curve; in さ it leans down to the right, with a separate small curve below.
A quick check
Four models, handwritten and printed: ち or さ? Only your first answer to each model counts. The models are pictures; each one is described in words after you answer.
This check changed in another tab. It now shows your latest answers.
Which reading matches this model?
Check finished.
A short practice with pictures of the shapes. It does not test pronunciation, listening or long-term recall.
SOUND AND SPELLING
Typing ち and ぢ.
Typing: The romaji on this site (Hepburn) writes ち as chi; on a keyboard chi and ti both give ち, and di gives ぢ.
WITH DAKUTEN
ぢ (ji): ち with dakuten.
Two short marks at the upper right, called dakuten, change chi to ji (typed di); write them last, the left one first. ぢ is read ji, the same as じ, and is rare: it is written where ち repeats as ちぢ (ちぢむ), or where a word starting with ち comes second in a compound you can still see and its ち becomes ji (はなぢ, from はな and ち). Otherwise ji is written じ, even in some compounds such as せかいじゅう (sekaijuu, all over the world); when in doubt, write じ.
Type di.
- はなぢ hanaji · nosebleed
- ちぢむ chijimu · to shrink
YOUR NEXT STEP
Practice ち with さ.
A short round of ち and さ, the shapes this page compares.
Practice the whole T row: た ち つ て とIt includes た, つ, て and と, which this page does not teach.
Learn ち with its group in lesson 4 · Try it on the hiragana keyboard
Sources, artwork and review status
Teaching content on this page is a draft: a Japanese educator has not reviewed it yet. Generated pronunciation audio is available in the listening section.
Stroke models and drawings: KanjiVG, © Ulrich Apel and contributors, CC BY-SA 3.0. License and attribution.
Two typefaces are served from this site: Klee One and Noto Serif JP (SIL Open Font License). The gothic sample uses this device’s own font.
- Japan Foundation: MARUGOTO-NO-KOTOBA vocabulary (readings and meanings)
- Jisho.org (JMdict): readings and common spellings
- syoka-koyoblog (penmanship): ち
- z-shogei calligraphy school: ち
- Matsumoto Shoeido calligraphy school: ち
- Matsumoto Shoeido calligraphy school: ち
- Matsumoto Shoeido calligraphy school: dakuten
- Japanese-Lesson.com: た ち つ て と
- ryohkei.com: ち and ぢ
- Agency for Cultural Affairs: Modern Kana Usage, when ぢ and づ are written
- Mozc (open-source Google Japanese Input): romaji table
- Japan Foundation’s Irodori kana materials (spelling reference)
Draft teaching content · Japanese educator review pending · Approved generated audio is available in the listening section; romaji is a reading aid, not a pronunciation guide.
minimachi · HIRAGANA CHARACTER CARD
ち · chi
Chi in hiragana is ち. Its long stroke bulges out to the right: nearly a mirror image of さ.
Write it, stroke by stroke.
- Starts far left, above the middle; rises gently, stops just past center. — stop (とめ)
- Starts near the top; down-left through 1, sharp turn, big curve right. — sweep (はらい)
Watch for: Starting stroke 1 too close to the center, so the bar hardly reaches left and ち looks squeezed. Fix: Start stroke 1 far out on the left and stop soon after the vertical center line, as in the model.
Trace, copy, then cover the model and write from memory.
Stroke model: KanjiVG, © Ulrich Apel and contributors · CC BY-SA 3.0 · kanjivg.tagaini.net · license: creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
Draft teaching content; Japanese educator review pending. Generated audio: see full guide.
Full guide and sources: minimachi.com/hiragana/chi/
Listen to the sounds and examples on this page
Generated speech: Google Cloud Text-to-Speech. Checked by a native Japanese speaker. Audio is available only for items with a Listen button. Listen plays at normal speed; Slow gives more listening time at the original pitch. Sound hints are drafts pending educator review.
Kana sounds
- ち chi
Example words
- ちいさい small
- くち mouth
- ちかてつ subway
- ちぢむ to shrink
- ともだち friend