Kanji Kaisen

漢字Kanji · in Textiles, Plants & Food

素: elementary, principle

Also: naked, uncovered

JLPT N110 strokesGrade 5Your ink: 白 Not met

糸 carries the meaning · 龶 is drawn in

10 strokes
  • Small seal · Qin
  • Today

Small seal: Wikimedia Commons, public domain. Today’s form: KanjiVG, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Two readings, and the words that use each

ソso · on'yomi · in compounds

  • 要素ようそelement
  • 酸素さんそoxygen
  • 素材そざいraw materials
  • 素朴なそぼくなsimple, artless
  • 簡素なかんそなsimple, plain
  • 質素なしっそなfrugal

スsu · on'yomi

  • 素晴らしいすばらしいwonderful, splendid
  • 素足すあしbare feet
  • 素敵なすてきなlovely, beautiful
  • 素直なすなおなobedient, docile

Special readingsThese words are read as a whole, not from the readings above.

  • 素人しろうとamateur, novice

Also read もと, with no example words in our sources. Words: Kanji alive, CC BY 4.0.

Learn it 4 steps
Print sheet Present
成り立ち

Where it comes from

Memory story · made up to help you remember

“Everything is connected! This radical represents the invisible threads that tie us together—our relationships, the fine "silk" of our words, and the intricate weaving of our personal histories.”
More in the 糸 thread story
繋がり
Ink shades, lightest to darkest: 白 Not met, 淡 Met, 中 Learning, 濃 Familiar, 印 Mastered
龶

Also built on 龶

糸

Also built on thread (糸)

All 71

Also read ソ

16 kanji share this on'yomiAll 16

Also read ス

12 kanji share this on'yomi

Easy to confuse

The difference, side by side
素 elementary · 龶
vs索 cord · 十 + 冖
素 has 龶 where 索 has 十 + 冖.
In ChineseSame character in simplified and traditional · sù

Same form: 素 is written the same way in mainland China (simplified) and in Taiwan and Hong Kong (traditional).

Simplified
素 mainland China, Singapore
Traditional
素 Taiwan, Hong Kong

Pinyin sù most common reading

Forms and pinyin: Unicode Unihan database (Unicode License v3). Pinyin lists the most common reading, not every reading.

One click tells us. No sign-up.