typing tzu in kana

[CKuzushi]

Hi everyone, stupid question here.

How do I type tzu in hiragana on my mac? I tried "tzu" and "zu" already with no luck.

Thanks a million!

[chryuop]

Try typing du.

[CKuzushi]

やった！

本当にありがとうね！日本語の四年生はそんなことを知 るはずだけど、僕はちょっとばかだ。ハハハ！

:d

[chryuop]

長い時間日本語を勉強するから、コンピューターが上手 だと言えません （笑）。

[KyleGoetz]

To be fair, it's called "dzu" not "tzu." Or, if you're a leet linguist, "du."

[CKuzushi]

Really? Every textbook I have used over the past several years (and all the other ones I have ever looked at) all used the romaji tzu.

This also seems to be much closer to the correct pronunciation, to my barbarian ears at least.

[Tsuwabuki]

I am convinced it is dzu. The t sound becomes a d, and the s sound becomes z. That's how I hear it, it's how I pronounce it, and I've never been told I'm wrong.

[CKuzushi]

Interesting! I will start listening more carefully and see if I can hear it!

Thanks for the help, everyone.

[KyleGoetz]

Originally Posted by CKuzushi

Really? Every textbook I have used over the past several years (and all the other ones I have ever looked at) all used the romaji tzu.

This also seems to be much closer to the correct pronunciation, to my barbarian ears at least.

1. you're using some crummy textbooks then because nobody says /t/ at the beginning of づ (see the link to Wikipedia's Yotsugana entry to see what I mean)
2. this shows why you should move from romaji quickly (seems you already have, so good for you!)
3. it doesn't sound like tzu—a native will tell you that づ and ず in most of Japan are now pronounced the same.

Yotsugana - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

All of the green and yellow in the map pronounce ず and づ exactly the same.

[Sashimister]

Originally Posted by KyleGoetz

3. it doesn't sound like tzu—a native will tell you that づ and ず in most of Japan are now pronounced the same.

Yotsugana - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

All of the green and yellow in the map pronounce ず and づ exactly the same.

This is true. If OP is learning the standard Japanese, which he should be, there is absolutely no difference in pronunciation between ず and づ. The same rule applies to Tokyo dialect (as OP appears to live in Tokyo.)

Since over 95% of us live in the yellow and green areas on that map, this fact about the pronunciation should not be taken lightly. If you pronounce ず and づ differently, you will sound strange to most Japanese. In fact, I, as a native speaker, don't even know how to pronounce those two syllables differently.