Small Tsu

Hiragana 3

Chapter 1 · Small Tsu

🌸 Small っ — The Silent Beat

Hiragana 1 gave you the 46 basic characters, and Hiragana 2 added the voiced ones. Hiragana 3 completes the set with the three things left: the small っ (today), long vowels, and the combined sounds such as きゃ and しゅ. Let's start with the smallest character of all. Romaji is shown for everything.

⏸️ What Small っ Does — 促音

The small っ (sokuon) is the same shape as つ but written about half the size, low and to the right. It has no sound of its own. It means: pause for one beat, then say the next consonant again. In romaji, it shows up as a doubled consonant.

っ

(pause)

a silent beat: hold your mouth shut for one beat, then release the next consonant

1 stroke · stroke order ▸

Memory hook: a つ that has been squashed to half size, like a tiny clenched fist before a punch. It's a full beat, so きっぷ has three beats.

Count the Beats きっぷ (ticket) has three beats: ki · (pause) · pu. In English you would say it as two syllables, "kip-pu", with no gap. In Japanese, the middle beat is real: tap the table three times as you say it. The pause happens with your mouth closed on the consonant: for きっぷ your lips close for p and stay shut for one beat, then open.

⚖️ Short or Long? — A Meaning Changes

Without the small っ these are different words, so the pause matters.

Without っ	Say it	English	With っ	Say it	English
おと	oto	sound	おっと	otto	husband
さか	saka	slope	さっか	sakka	writer
きて	kite	come!	きって	kitte	stamp
もと	moto	origin	もっと	motto	more

Not つ The small っ and the full-size つ (tsu) are easy to mix up when you're reading fast. Check the size: if the character is small and sits low and to the right, it's the pause. If it is full size, it is tsu.

📝 Where っ Appears

Before k, s, t and p: the sounds you see in がっこう (kk), ざっし (ss), まって (tt) and いっぱい (pp). These are by far the most common.
Before ch, sh and ts: the same rule, written tch, ssh and tts in romaji, as in zasshi (ざっし).
Never at the start of a word, and never before a vowel, n, m or r in native Japanese words.
At the end of an exclamation: あっ！ ("Oh!") and えっ？ ("What?!") end with a small っ that shows a sudden, sharp stop.

📖 Read It — New Words

Read the Japanese first, then check the romaji. Remember to count the pause.

#	Word	Romaji	English	Note
1	きっぷ	kippu	ticket	ki-p-pu: three beats, with っ a silent one in the middle
2	ざっし	zasshi	magazine	za-s-shi: っ doubles the s
3	にっき	nikki	diary	ni-k-ki
4	さっか	sakka	writer; author	sa-k-ka
5	まって	matte	wait!	ma-t-te: a very useful word
6	いっぱい	ippai	full; a lot	i-p-pa-i
7	もっと	motto	more	mo-t-to
8	がっこう	gakkō	school	ga-k-ko-u
9	ひっこし	hikkoshi	moving house	hi-k-ko-shi
10	せっけん	sekken	soap	se-k-ke-n

Real Japanese Tip — まって and もっと Two small っ words you'll use all the time: まって ("wait!", casual; the polite form is まってください) and もっと ("more"), as in もっとゆっくり ("more slowly"). If you can only learn two, learn those.

Review: Words from the Last Chapter さんぽ (a walk) · たんぽぽ (dandelion) · ぺらぺら (fluent) · ぽかぽか (warm) · おなかがぺこぺこ (I'm starving).

✍️ Try It Yourself — れんしゅう

Say each answer out loud first, then click to check.

1. What does the small っ do?

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It adds a one-beat pause and doubles the following consonant: kippu, zasshi, matte, gakkō.

2. How many beats are in きっぷ?

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Three: ki · (pause) · pu.

3. Read aloud and translate: がっこう · ざっし · にっき

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gakkō (school) · zasshi (magazine) · nikki (diary)

4. Read aloud and translate: おと · おっと and もと · もっと

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oto (sound) · otto (husband); moto (origin) · motto (more)

5. How do you tell っ from つ?

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Size and position: っ is small and low to the right (a pause); つ is full size (tsu).

6. Write in hiragana: kippu · matte · motto (check the small っ).

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きっぷ · まって · もっと

Coming Up in Chapter 2 Long vowels: how おかあさん (mother) differs from おかさん, why おう is read as a long o, and how the same idea gives you ありがとう, せんせい and とうきょう.