Katakana s row: サ シ ス セ ソ

The idea

サ シ ス セ ソ are read sa, shi, su, se, so in Hepburn romanization. Their hiragana counterparts are さ し す せ そ. Each full-size sign represents one mora; the chart pairs both scripts with the same readings.

Examples

• サラダとトマトを食たべます。I eat salad and tomatoes.
• テニスをします。I play tennis.
• ツナのサンドイッチを食たべます。I eat a tuna sandwich.
• ソファに座すわります。I sit on the sofa.
• シールを貼はります。I stick on a sticker.
• セーターを買かいます。I buy a sweater.

Watch out

シ is shi, not si in Hepburn. Do not confuse シ with ツ: compare the direction of the short strokes and the long stroke.

Try it yourself

1. Write the katakana counterpart of し.

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   シ

   シ and し represent the same sound, shi; the katakana form is シ.

2. Fill the blank with one katakana character: ＿ーター (sētā).

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   セ

   セ represents se and completes セーター, read sētā.

3. Fill the blank with one katakana character: ＿ファ (sofa).

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   ソ

   ソ represents so and completes ソファ, read sofa.

Use it today

Cover the chart, read two example sentences aloud and write the target kana from memory. Then check the forms and sounds against the chart.