Te To

Katakana 1

Chapter 8 · Te To

🌿 Finishing the T Row — テ ト

Two characters complete the T row: テ (te) and ト (to). With them you can read words like test, coat and toast, and the characters you have so far already give you a lot of vocabulary. Romaji is shown for everything.

✨ Your Two New Characters — テ ト

テ
te
like "te" in ten ("teh")
3 strokes · stroke order ▸
Memory hook: a telephone pole: two crossbars at the top and a long post with a bend at the bottom. Hiragana twin: て.
ト
to
like "to" in tomato, short ("toh")
2 strokes · stroke order ▸
Memory hook: a totem pole with one branch: a tall post and a small arm pointing out. Hiragana twin: と.
KatakanaHiragana twinRomaji
te
to

🔤 The Complete T Row

tachitsuteto

Top row katakana, bottom row hiragana: say each pair aloud.

Look-Alikes: テ and チ テ (te) has two bars across the top with a long bent stroke below, while チ (chi), which you met last chapter, has a short slanted stroke on top of one bar. Both have three strokes, so look at the top. As for ト, it's a simple post with a small arm, a shape that rarely gets confused with anything.

📖 Read It — Real Words

#WordRomajiEnglishNote
1tesutotestte-su-to
2tekisutotext; textbookte-ki-su-to
3kōtocoat; (tennis) courtko-o-to
4tōsutotoastto-o-su-to: four beats
5sutātostartsu-ta-a-to: four beats
6tōkutalkto-o-ku
7kosutocostko-su-to
8toitoyto-i
Adding Vowels The English words test, text, toast, cost and start all contain a consonant cluster, and Japanese has no way to pronounce one. Each gets vowels dropped in: te-su-to, te-ki-su-to, to-o-su-to, ko-su-to, su-ta-a-to. Notice the pattern: the vowel Japanese adds after "t" is almost always o (ト), and after "s" it's u (ス).

✍️ Try It Yourself — れんしゅう

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

1. Read aloud: · · · ·

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te · to · ta · chi · tsu

2. Read aloud and translate: ·

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tesuto (test) · kōto (coat; court)

3. Read aloud and translate: ·

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tōsuto (toast) · sutāto (start)

4. Read aloud and translate: · ·

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tōku (talk) · kosuto (cost) · toi (toy)

5. Which katakana does Japanese usually add after a final "t" in an English word, as in test and start?

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ト (to): te-su-to, su-ta-a-to.

6. Write in katakana: tesuto · tōsuto · sutāto (check the stroke order).

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· ·

Coming Up in Chapter 5 The N row begins: ナ ニ ヌ (na, ni, nu). You'll read ツナ (tuna), ナース (nurse) and テニス (tennis), and meet the look-alike pair ヌ and ス.