Hiragana for Lesson 24

つ is pronounced /tsu/. It is the 三番目のかな in the た行, the ４行目 よんぎょうめ in the hiragana. There is only one stroke from top around to bottom. つ comes from the 漢字 川. Words to practice for today: つまらない boring つなみ（津波） tsunami, tidal wave つぎ（次） next けいさつ（警察） police つえ（杖） cane かつ（勝つ） win さつ（札） bill たつ（立つ） stand (up)

The pronunciation of つ is problematic for many. Two English words with the /ts/ sound are tsunami (from Japanese 津波) and tse-tse, but many pronounce them like sunami and se-tse, without the initial /t/. The /ts/ sound is found in English speech, though. Take the "tsoo" from "not soon" or the "tsou" from "nut soup." This is a close equivalent to the sound.

Another place it is found is in "mozzerella." The "zze" gives a /tsa/ sound. Change the /a/ to a /u/ and you have it.

A final way to try is to start out pretending you are going to make a /t/ sound but say "Sue" instead.

When a 濁点 is added to つ, it becomes づ zu. The sound /zu/ is usually written with ず, however. The rules governing づ and ず usage are technical; they can be found at 仮名遣い. Use ず as the default as it is correct the vast majority of the time.

A special function of つ

When written small like, っ, つ has a special function. It doubles consonants. いき iki becomes いっき ikki. What does this mean for pronunciation? The two "syllables" of iki become three ikki. The kk sound is the same as in bookkeeper. There is a pause at the first "k" before actually saying it.

Before a た? Same thing. いた ita becomes いった itta. The sound is like in foot-tapper.

Vocabulary notes

つまらない is another ーい形容詞（けいようし） adjective.

勝つ and 立つ are ーつ動詞 -tsu verbs.

札 is used after a number: ５ドル札（ごどるさつ） a five-dollar bill, 千円札（せんえんさつ） a thousand-yen bill, 一万円札（いちまんえんさつ） a ten-thousand-yen bill.

Remember to keep the 書き順 and 方向!

書き順と方向をしっかりと守ってください。

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Copyright 12/02/98 Benjamin Barrett

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