宗
宗 — Religion
religion, sect, denomination, main point, origin, essence
On’yomiシュウ (shuu)
On’yomiソウ (sou)
Kun’yomiむね (mune)
Stroke order (8 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 宗
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 宗教 | しゅうきょう shuukyou | religion; religious affiliation; belief |
| 宗 | しゅう shuu | sect; denomination; tenets (of a religious sect) |
| 宗門 | しゅうもん shuumon | (religious) denomination; sect |
| 宗派 | しゅうは shuuha | sect; denomination; school (e.g. of poetry) |
| 浄土真宗 | じょうどしんしゅう joudoshinshuu | Jōdo Shinshū (offshoot of the Jōdo sect); True Pure Land School |
| 宗主国 | そうしゅこく soushukoku | suzerain state |
Study notes
宗 is a JLPT N1 kanji written with 8 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 6), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #997 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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