っ

Etymology

Small form of the hiragana character つ (tsu).

Pronunciation

If preceding a consonant, results in the following consonant being geminate; an English example is cattail – see Gemination: English for further discussion.

If ending a word, results in the word ending in a glottal stop.

In no case is it pronounced like the full-size つ (tsu).

Combining form

っ

1. The sokuon: a small form of つ (tsu). In romanization, this is represented by doubling the following consonant. The equivalent in katakana is ッ.

   いっぱい — ippai

   もっと — motto

   すっぱい — suppai

   おっぱい — oppai

2. A glottal stop or “choked sound”.

   あっ！

   Ah!

Infix

っ

1. (colloquial) very, super. Inserted after the first syllable of an adjective, an adverb, or an ABAB-type onomatopoeia.

   でかい → でっかい

   (please add an English translation of this usage example)

   とても → とっても

   (please add an English translation of this usage example)

   ぽかぽか → ぽっかぽか

   (please add an English translation of this usage example)

   あつあつ → あっつあつ

   (please add an English translation of this usage example)