字 Kanji Decipher

Meaning & readings

association, braid, plait, construct, assemble, unite, cooperate, grapple

On’yomi ソ
Kun’yomi く.む、くみ、-ぐみ

Origin

This character combines the thread radical 糸 on the left, which signals that the character is about fiber or thread work, with the component 且 on the right, which serves as a sound hint for pronunciation. The idea of braiding or plaiting threads together naturally extended to mean assembling or organizing things more broadly. Over time, the character came to represent any kind of grouping, association, or construction—whether you're literally weaving threads or figuratively putting elements together.

組 11 strokes

Components

  • 糸 radical left
  • 且 sound hint right

A sound hint component points at the character’s pronunciation, not its meaning — don’t read a meaning into it.

Common words

  • 改組 かいそ reorganization; reorganisation
  • 組む くむ to cross (legs or arms); to link (arms)
  • 組閣 そかく formation of a cabinet
  • 組曲 くみきょく suite
  • 組合 くみあい association; union
  • 組織 そしき organization; organisation
  • 組成 そせい composition; constitution
  • 組長 くみちょう boss (esp. yakuza); foreman

Related kanji

Same sound component 且
Same radical

Reference

Strokes
11
Kangxi radical
120
Formation type
Phono-semantic (meaning + sound hint)
Grade
Grade 2 (Kyōiku)
Frequency rank
#204 (newspapers)
Former JLPT
level 2
Unicode
U+07D44