素
素 — Elementary
elementary, principle, naked, uncovered
On’yomiソ (so)
On’yomiス (su)
Kun’yomiもと (moto)
Stroke order (10 strokes)
Watch the strokes draw themselves in the correct order — numbers mark where each stroke starts. Diagram from KanjiVG (CC BY-SA).
Common words using 素
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 素材 | そざい sozai | ingredient; (raw) material; resource |
| 要素 | ようそ youso | component; factor; item (e.g. in list) |
| 素直 | すなお sunao | obedient; meek; docile |
| 炭素 | たんそ tanso | carbon (C) |
| 酸素 | さんそ sanso | oxygen (O) |
| 簡素 | かんそ kanso | simple; plain; modest |
Study notes
素 is a JLPT N1 kanji written with 10 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 5), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #660 of the 2,500 most frequent kanji in newspapers. On’yomi (音読み) are Chinese-derived readings mostly used in compound words; kun’yomi (訓読み) are native Japanese readings, with any highlighted part written in hiragana after the kanji (okurigana).
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