奏
奏 — Play music
play music, speak to a ruler, complete
On’yomiソウ (sou)
Kun’yomiかなでる (kanaderu)
Stroke order (9 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 奏
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 演奏 | えんそう ensou | musical performance |
| 協奏曲 | きょうそうきょく kyousoukyoku | concerto |
| 奏者 | そうしゃ sousha | instrumentalist; player |
| 伴奏 | ばんそう bansou | accompaniment |
| 四重奏 | しじゅうそう shijuusou | instrumental quartet |
| 演奏会 | えんそうかい ensoukai | concert; recital |
Study notes
奏 is a JLPT N1 kanji written with 9 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 6), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #1067 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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