T
タチツテト — The T Row
01
Why the T row matters
The T row — タ チ ツ テ ト — adds a “t” to the vowels, with two irregular readings to remember: チ is “chi” and ツ is “tsu.” ツ is also the partner of シ in katakana's most famous look-alike pair, so this is where that distinction finally clicks into place.
Remember: ツ (tsu) sits its marks ALONG THE TOP and sweeps down; シ (shi) stacks them DOWN THE LEFT and sweeps up. And mind the readings: チ = “chi,” ツ = “tsu” — never “ti” or “tu.”
02
Pronunciation at a glance
03
Loanwords built on the T row
The T row opens a wide field of everyday loanwords. Here are two for each character.
タクシーtakushītaxi
タオルtaorutowel
チーズchīzucheese
チケットchikettoticket
ツアーtsuātour
スーツsūtsusuit
テレビterebitelevision
テストtesutotest
トマトtomatotomato
ノートnōtonotebook
04
What's next
Next is the ナ-row (ナ ニ ヌ ネ ノ) — the “n” family. With vowels, K, S, and T behind you, you can already read a large share of katakana loanwords.