Letters · 4 min
How to tell シ ツ ソ ン apart for good
It is not about how many dots. It is about which direction you draw — and the matching hiragana tells you.
Stroke direction is the whole answer
In print, シ (shi), ツ (tsu), ソ (so) and ン (n) really do look alike: a couple of dots and a sweep. But there is exactly one rule. Does the final long stroke go upward from the bottom, or downward from the top?
That direction also sets the angle of the dots. Characters drawn upward take nearly horizontal dots; characters drawn downward take nearly vertical ones.
Use the hiragana partner
Recall how the hiragana with the same sound finishes, and the katakana follows.
| Katakana | Hiragana partner | Final stroke | Dots |
|---|---|---|---|
| シ | し — ends sweeping upward | bottom → top | stacked on the left |
| ツ | つ — starts at the top | top → bottom | side by side on top |
| ソ | そ — starts at the top | top → bottom | one on top |
| ン | ん — flicks upward | bottom → top | one on the left |
し and ん end going up, so シ and ン are drawn upward. つ and そ start from the top, so ツ and ソ are drawn downward.
The dots, once more
- シ — two dots stacked vertically on the left. The last stroke sweeps up from lower left to upper right.
- ツ — two dots side by side across the top. The last stroke comes down from upper right to lower left.
- ソ — one short dot on top, one long stroke downward.
- ン — one short dot on the left, one long stroke upward.
Other lookalike pairs
- ク (ku) vs タ (ta) — タ has one extra short stroke inside.
- ス (su) vs ヌ (nu) — in ヌ the horizontal sticks out to the left.
- チ (chi) vs テ (te) — チ starts with a slanted stroke; テ has two parallel horizontals.
- ウ (u) vs ワ (wa) vs フ (fu) — only ウ has the dot on top, and フ has no left vertical.
- エ (e) vs 工 (the kanji for "craft") — identical shapes, told apart by context.
- ロ (ro) vs 口 (the kanji for "mouth") — also identical; the katakana is usually written a little flatter.
Writing them is the fastest fix
Looking at them will keep failing you. Direction is something your hand stores, so writing each one ten times in the correct order usually settles it permanently.
Try the writing practice here with katakana selected. You are shown the sound and have to produce the character, so you cannot avoid recalling the direction.