Wikipedia's [Tsu (kana)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsu_%28kana%29) page
says

[![tsu](https://i.stack.imgur.com/lLfL2.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/lLfL2.png)

> つ/ツ
>
> hiragana origin 川
>
> katakana origin 川

  * How Is つ/ツ origin 川?
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-08-09T07:12:54.240
27263
2022-12-27T09:39:11.943
2020-06-17T08:18:27.500
-1
5518
question
etymology kana
How Is つ/ツ origin 川?
That is because the cursive script of the kanji 「川」 kind of looks like 「つ」. It
should look even more like 「ツ」.

[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/jn3d6.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/jn3d6.jpg)  
(source: [netdna-ssl.com](https://bcpzone-tsttechnology.netdna-ssl.com/wp-
content/uploads/2011/10/figure_3_4_hiragana_tsu-horz.jpg))
CC BY-SA 4.0
2015-08-09T08:41:26.177
27266
2022-12-27T09:39:11.943
2022-12-27T09:39:11.943
18772
27263
answer
There are actually three candidates for the origin of つ and ツ.

One is 州, which in the [Jiankang dialect](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Go-on)
was pronounced "zhōu". Zhōu → tsu (origin of kana) → shuu (modern on'yomi).

The next is 川, which is generally pronounced "chuan" in Chinese. Chuan → tsuan
→ tsu (origin of kana) → sen (modern on'yomi).

Yet another argument is that the kana are derived from the kun'yomi of 州,
which today is pronounced "su".

The way the hiragana is written might be a calligraphic form of either 州 or 川.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-08-10T12:24:10.723
27301
2015-08-10T12:24:10.723
583
27263
answer