つ vs す (Tsu vs Su)

Languages differ not only in what kind of consonants and vowels they will allow, but also what kinds of combinations of consonants and vowels they will allow. The combination of a consonant and a vowel corresponding to a beat is sometimes called syllable. In Japanese, the syllable ‘tsu’ つ is allowed; in fact, ‘tsu’ つ is one of the syllables that you saw in the Hiragana chart. However, in other languages, like English and Korean, the ‘tsu’ , which consists of a consonant ‘ts’ and vowel ‘u’ is not allowed as a syllable, so speakers of those languages sometimes say ‘su’ す instead of ‘tsu’ つ. Watch the videos below to enhance your knowledge of Japanese ‘tsu’ つ versus Japanese ‘su’ す. After watching the videos, you can complete the Lesson Quiz on Tsu vs. Su.