HIRAGANA · CHARACTER GUIDE
つ (tsu) in hiragana
Tsu in hiragana is つ: one curve that starts across, unlike し, with nothing on top, unlike う.
On this page
How つ is written, and how to tell it from う and し.
The full model: one stroke.
start end
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Memory hook: Picture a big wave seen from the side: one long curve that runs right, then curls over and down. Make your own · All 46 hiragana mnemonics
More hiragana activities
WRITE IT
How to write つ: stroke order
Shape: Wider than tall, like an egg lying on its side: one long curve, open at the lower left.
In this model, the stroke 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.
One strokeEnding: Sweep はらい
Starts far left, a little above the horizontal center line. Rise to the right, leveling off past the vertical center line; then curve slowly round, out to the far right at the level of the horizontal center line, and come down and back to the left, sweeping away a little left of the vertical center line, near the bottom.
One mistake to avoid: stroke 1
- Watch for
- Turning with a sharp corner on the right, so つ looks angular, like the katakana フ (fu).
- Fix
- Once past the vertical center line, slow down and curve round, as in the model: turning late or fast makes a corner.
Stroke diagrams adapted from KanjiVG, © Ulrich Apel and contributors, CC BY-SA 3.0. License and attribution.
READ IT
Read つ in print and in words.
つ in handwriting and three typefaces
Handwriting model Textbook style Print, plain (gothic) Print, serif (mincho)
In every typeface つ is one wide curve with nothing at the top. Copy the handwriting model.
Find つ inside a word.
- くつkutsushoes. Up to the T row
- つくえtsukuedesk. Up to the T row
- つきtsukimoon; month. Up to the T row
- あついatsuihot. Up to the T row
“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 (くつ is 靴, つくえ 机, つき 月; あつい is 暑い for the weather and 熱い for something you touch); here they are in hiragana for reading practice.
TELL THEM APART
つ, う or し?
Follow the stroke and look above it: つ goes across first and ends low on the left, with nothing at the top. し goes down first and ends rising to the right, and う has a short mark at the top, over a taller curve.
Open the guide for u (う)Open the guide for shi (し)
A quick check
Four models, two by hand and two in print: つ, う or し? 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
Saying つ, small っ, and typing.
Sound: Say つ as one beat that starts with ts, close to the end of “cats”: not su, and not too. A small っ is not read tsu: it doubles the next consonant, so きって is kitte (stamp), with a short pause before the t.
Typing: The romaji on this site (Hepburn) writes つ as tsu; on a keyboard tsu and tu both give つ, and du gives づ. For a small っ, type the next consonant twice, as in きって (kitte), or type xtu.
WITH DAKUTEN
づ (zu): つ with dakuten.
Two short marks at the upper right, called dakuten, change tsu to zu (typed du); write them last, the left one first. づ is read zu, the same as ず, and is rare: it is written where つ repeats as つづ (つづく), or where a word starting with つ comes second in a compound you can still see and its つ becomes zu (みかづき, crescent moon, from みか and つき, moon). Otherwise zu is written ず, even in some compounds such as いなずま (inazuma, lightning); when in doubt, write ず.
Type du.
- つづく tsuzuku · to continue
- みかづき mikazuki · crescent moon
YOUR NEXT STEP
Practice つ with う and し.
A short round of つ, う and し, the shapes this page compares.
Practice the whole T row: た ち つ て とIt includes た, ち, て and と, which this page does not teach.
Learn つ 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): つ
- z-shogei calligraphy school: ち, つ and て
- Matsumoto Shoeido calligraphy school: つ
- Matsumoto Shoeido calligraphy school: つ
- Matsumoto Shoeido calligraphy school: dakuten
- Japanese-Lesson.com: た ち つ て と
- ryohkei.com: つ and づ
- Tofugu, Learn Hiragana: う and つ look alike
- ぷりんときっず (print-kids.net): look-alike hiragana, う and つ
- わくわく教材 (kyozaisupport.com): look-alike hiragana sheets, つ and し
- えもプリ (emopri.com): telling look-alike hiragana apart, う and つ, し and つ
- 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
つ · tsu
Tsu in hiragana is つ: one curve that starts across, unlike し, with nothing on top, unlike う.
Write it, stroke by stroke.
- Starts far left; rises, curves round at the right, sweeps back left. — sweep (はらい)
Watch for: Turning with a sharp corner on the right, so つ looks angular, like the katakana フ (fu). Fix: Once past the vertical center line, slow down and curve round, as in the model: turning late or fast makes a corner.
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/tsu/
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
- つ tsu
Example words
- あつい hot
- つき moon
- くつ shoes
- つくえ desk
- つづく to continue