Writing system · Foundation
Small っ / ッ: the consonant catch
Understand what small tsu does in words such as きって and ベッド.
In short
Small っ or ッ marks a brief closure before the next consonant. In romanization this is often shown by doubling that consonant.
How it works
Compare きて (kite, “come”) with きって (kitte, “stamp”). In katakana, ベッド has the same small-ッ principle before ド.
Useful contrast
This is different from the full kana つ/ツ, which is pronounced tsu.
Examples
きって
postage stamp
ちょっと
a little / a moment
Common pitfall
Do not pronounce a separate “tsu” sound for small っ. Its job is to change the transition into the following consonant.