This site will be taken down March 31st, 2026.

This was not an easy decision to make. For the last couple years, I have been struggling to find motivation for this site and to keep up with basic maintenance and security updates. With the rise of AI and more sophisticated tools, the usefulness of sites like this is questionable and traffic has nose-dived. I just don't have it in me to keep doing this. Thank you all for 10 years of support!

Zach

Reading

Kana: ソウ
Romaji: sou
Kana
Romaji

Meanings

Buddhist priest, monk

Stroke Diagram

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Kanji Info

Stroke Count:  13
Radical Number:  9
Frequency:  1724
Grade:  8
Skip Pattern:  1-2-11
Korean Reading:  seung
Chinese Reading:  seng1
Unicode:  50e7
JIS:  414E

Indexes

Halpern Index: 159
Nelson Index: 536
New Nelson Index: 300
Spahn Hadamitzky Index: 2a11.7
Four Corner Index: 2826.6
Guide to Remembering Index: 1525
Gakken Index: 1423
Japanese Names Index: 1829
Daikanwanjiten Index: 1076X
Daikanwanjiten Index and Page: 1.0920
Remembering the kanji Index: 982
Kanji Flashcards Index: 1070
Kodansha Compact Index: 131
Kanji in Context Index: 1430
1999 Kanji Learners Index: 119
2013 Kanji Learners Index: 138
French Remembering the Kanji Index: 991
Remembering the Kanji 6th Index: 1057
Essential Kanji Index: 1007
Kodansha Kanji Index: 180
Roo 2001 Kanji Index: 2178
Tuttle Kanji Cards Index: 1609

Words

(そう)
monk; priest
小僧 (こぞう)
youngster; young Buddhist priest; young shopboy; errand boy; apprentice
僧正 (そうじょう)
high Buddhist priest
僧院 (そういん)
monastery; temple
大僧正 (だいそうじょう)
high priest
僧侶 (そうりょ)
priest; monk
高僧 (こうそう)
high priest; virtuous priest
尼僧 (にそう)
nun; priestess
禅僧 (ぜんそう)
Zen priest
僧都 (そうず)
Buddhist priest
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