Meaning & readings
elementary, principle, naked, uncovered
On’yomi ソ、ス
Kun’yomi もと
Origin
This character combines a thread or strand (糸, the bottom part meaning textile fibers) with a component suggesting something raw or unfinished at the top. Together, they depict thread in its most basic, unprocessed state—not yet dyed, woven, or finished into cloth. From this image of raw material comes the broader sense of something elementary or fundamental, stripped down to its simplest essence, like bare principles or naked truth. The character essentially shows what comes before refinement, capturing the idea of something in its original, unadorned form.
Components
- 龶
- 糸
Common words
Reference
- Strokes
- 10
- Kangxi radical
- 120
- Formation type
- Compound ideographic (combined meanings)
- Grade
- Grade 5 (Kyōiku)
- Frequency rank
- #660 (newspapers)
- Former JLPT
- level 1
- Unicode
- U+07D20