Katakana 2: telling look-alikes apart (シ/ツ, ソ/ン)
Stroke direction, and one extra stroke, are the whole trick.要点The idea
Stroke direction separates シ from ツ and ソ from ン; for the other look-alikes, look for an extra stroke.| Pair | How to tell them apart |
|---|---|
| シ shi · ツ tsu | シ: dots on the left, long stroke sweeps up. ツ: dots on top, long stroke falls down. |
| ソ so · ン n | ソ looks like ツ with one dot: its short stroke stands upright, and the long stroke falls down steeply from the top right. ン looks like シ with one dot: the dot lies nearly flat, and the long stroke sweeps up at a shallow angle from the bottom left. |
| ク ku · タ ta · ケ ke | タ is ク with an extra stroke inside. ケ has a straight crossbar that runs on past its third stroke to the right; ク's top bends down at a corner into the long sweep. |
| ヌ nu · ス su | Both have a short second stroke. In ヌ it cuts across the long sweep; in ス it starts on the sweep and kicks out to the right without crossing. |
| ワ wa · ウ u · フ fu | ウ is ワ with a dot on top. フ has no left-hand stroke at all. |
| ノ no · メ me | メ is ノ with a second stroke crossing it. |
シャツshatsushirtBoth in one word: シ shi sweeps up, ツ tsu falls down.
ツナtsunatuna (usually canned)
ソックスsokkususocksソ: the long stroke falls from the top.
ロンドンrondonLondonン twice, each sweeping up from the bottom.
Aシールshiirusticker
Bツールtsuurutool