The term tanto (kanji: 短刀) means "short sword" in English. It is written たんとう in hiragana. It may also be rendered in English as tantō or tantou. It's pronounced roughly like "tahn-toe".
The first kanji, on its own, is used as the adjective mijikai (短い), which means short (in duration or in dimensions). The second kanji, on its own, is read as katanaKATANA 刀 "sword" learn more.... Literally, then, tanto means short katana. The word can also be used to refer to the knives that the yakuza carry, though nowadays the Japanese will use the English loanword knife (ナイフ, naifu).