How to write て (te) in hiragana
て (te) turns into で (de) with the voicing marks. It grew out of the cursive form of the kanji 天 (“heavens”). One flowing stroke draws it: it starts at the top left and runs rightwards then down and left then downwards, ending at the bottom right. Words that start with it include 手 (“hand”), 程度 (“degree”), 寺 (“temple (Buddhist)”) and 停止 (“stoppage”).
- Romaji
- te
- Strokes
- 1
- From
- 天
- Katakana
- テ
Stroke by stroke
- 1
- top leftrightwards → down and left → downwards
Where て comes from
Here both scripts start from the same kanji, 天 (“heavens”).
Look-alikes
- そ, 1 stroke
Trace it
Follow the numbers. Tracing help
With voicing marks
Base kana first, then the marks at the top right.
Words with て
928 common JMdict words with it; ten shown.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 手 | て te | hand; arm |
| 程度 | ていど teido | degree; amount |
| 寺 | てら tera | temple (Buddhist) |
| 停止 | ていし teishi | stoppage; coming to a stop |
| 提案 | ていあん teian | proposal; proposition |
| 定数 | ていすう teisuu | fixed number; quorum (for an assembly) |
| 停戦 | ていせん teisen | armistice; ceasefire |
| 撤退 | てったい tettai | evacuation; withdrawal |
| 手続き | てつづき tetsuzuki | procedure; process |
| 展開 | てんかい tenkai | development; evolution |
Practice sheet
Print at 100%. Several kana: worksheet maker.
Keep going
Hiragana, in chart order: