て

See also: で, ح‎, ج‎, خ‎, and Շ

て U+3066, て
HIRAGANA LETTER TE
← づ
[U+3065] 		Hiragana で →
[U+3067]

Japanese

Stroke order

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [te̞]

Etymology 1

Derived in the Heian period from writing the man'yōgana kanji 天 in the cursive sōsho style.

Syllable

て (romaji te)

  1. The hiragana syllable て (te). Its equivalent in katakana is テ (te). It is the nineteenth syllable in the gojūon order; its position is た行え段 (ta-gyō e-dan, “row ta, section e”).
Derived terms
See also

Etymology 2

Noun

て (rōmaji te)

  1. 手: hand

Etymology 3

From the continuative form (連用形) of the auxiliary verb つ.

Particle

て (rōmaji te)

  1. Links two or more phrases.
    1. Links actions that happen successively.
      家 (いえ)に帰 (かえ)って、テレビを見 (み)た。
      Ie ni kaette, terebi o mita.
      Returned home and watched TV.
    2. Indicates reason.
      説明 (せつめい)が上 (じょう)手 (ず)で、よくわかった。
      Setsumei ga jōzu de, yoku wakatta.
      The explanation was great so I understood it well.
    3. Indicates method.
      歩 (ある)いて
      aruite
      on foot
    4. Lists things in parallel.
      大 (おお)きくて甘 (あま)いりんごを食 (た)べました。
      Ōkikute amai ringo o tabemashita.
      I had a big, sweet apple.
    5. (…て…て) Shows emphasis or repetition.
  2. Request maker sentence-final particle.
    助 (たす)けて！
    Tasukete!
    Help!
  3. Alternative form of って, used after an ん／ン sound.
    こまちゃんて言 (い)うな――!!
    Koma-chan te iuna――!!
    Don't call me Koma-chan!
Usage notes
  • Attaches to the continuative form (連用形) of verbs and adjectives, and adverbs. For godan (Group I) verbs, contraction rules might apply, and the て might subsequently become a で. For na-adjectives (形容動詞), one simply changes the copula だ to で, which is a contraction of に＋て. Textbooks intended for non-native speakers might treat “continuative + て” as a conjugated form for verbs (and adjectives) called the te-form (て形/テ形) or the conjunctive form. What applies to the particle て in “school grammar” applies to the te-form in alternate grammar systems.
  • In formal writing, one often drops the phrase linker て (along with any contraction) and uses the continuative form to make pauses mid-sentence, except when the て carries a meaning such as reason or condition. This is called 連用中止.
  • The verb before て does not indicate tense. However, there are two ways to show negativity: なくて and ないで.
  • The particle (or the te-form) is also used in many grammatical expressions.
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