し — shi

し is written in one continuous stroke, starting at the top and curving left at the bottom. Beginners often add a second stroke — resist it. The curve is what separates し from the katakana シ, which is written with three.

The sound is closer to English she than see: Japanese has no plain si syllable, which is why Hepburn romanisation spells it shi while the older Kunrei system spells it si.

Don’t confuse it with つ

し and つ are both single strokes, but they run in opposite directions: し hangs downward and hooks to the left, つ sits at the top and hooks to the right. Write them one after the other a few times and the difference stops being subtle.