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This is a two part question.

1.) When spelling out a word in kana, what is the correct way to call the
small つ (for example the small っ in ちっちゃい)?

I only have experience with my Japanese friends using the informal sounding

> 小さい『つ』

or

> ちっちゃい『つ』

Is there a formal grammatical term for this "character"?

2.) If there is, but in reality it sounds too academic, which term would be
the most immediately understandable in an informal setting?
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2013-05-11T18:32:35.980
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2013-05-11T19:23:39.333
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question
kana spelling
What is the correct way to say 小さい『つ』?
[It appears](http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%81%A3) that one more-formal way
to describe characters like 「っ」 is to use the phrase 「小書{こが}き」文字{もじ} or
simply「小書{こが}き」。 So, in the case of 「っ」, it would be something like:
小書{こが}きの「つ」.

_But in an informal context, something like「小さい『つ』」would probably get the
point across._

For more information, there is [a more detailed
writeup](http://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q1163793136)
by a user named "nullstrings27" that further explains 小書{こが}き文字{もじ} in
general.
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