Easiest way to distinguish シ, ツ, ン, and ソ in Japanese

What is the difference between ソ so ,ン n and シ shi, ツ tsu

Ever get シ (shi) & ツ (tsu) or ン ( n) & ソ (so) mixed up?
Here are some fun ways to finally tell them apart:

シ (shi) & ツ (tsu):

🔹シ (shi) → Like し

🔹ツ (tsu) → Like つ

Both follow the same stroke direction as their hiragana twins (see the image for visualization)

ン ( n ) & ソ (so):

🔹At the start of a word, it’s definitely ソ (so)

🔹At the end of a word, it’s usually ン ( n )

Or you can remember a story for 4 of them:
シ (shi) = A girl looking up into ツ (tsu)’s eyes

ツ (tsu) = A boy looking down into シ (shi)’s eyes

ソ (so) = Winking & flirting → “So~, wanna come back to my place?”

ン ( n ) = Hesitating & thinking → “Nnn… I don’t think so.”

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