Lesson 3 · Hiragana

The T-row — and the word that gets you around Japan

Five characters, two of them sneaky. By the end you'll read ちかてつ — subway — entirely on your own.

Mission check: ちかてつ (subway), たかい (expensive), くつ (shoes). This row is pure getting-around-and-shopping fuel.

1 · The row

Same s/k pattern — but like し last lesson, two of these don't say what you'd guess.

ち = "chi", つ = "tsu" — same family as し

Just like Japanese has no clean "si" (so し = shi), it has no clean "ti" or "tu". The tongue slides: ち comes out "chi" (as in "cheese") and つ comes out "tsu" (the "ts" of "cats" + "oo"). That's three of the four irregulars in all of hiragana — you've nearly seen them all.

2 · Memory hooks

3 · New words (and the big one)

Sound out ちかてつ slowly: chi · ka · te · tsu. Now say it at speed. That's a word you'll see on signs the moment you land.

4 · Recall — interleaved

Today's T-row mixed with everything before it. Watch the two trick sounds.

5 · Go deeper

• Primary source: Tofugu — Learn Hiragana (T-row mnemonics + quiz).
• The map: the T-row in the full hiragana chart — you're halfway down the grid.
• Previous: Lesson 2 — S-row.