Meaning & readings
general, whole, all, full, total
On’yomi ソウ
Kun’yomi す.べて、すべ.て、ふさ
Nanori うさ、ずさ
Origin
This character combines the thread radical 糸 on the left with a phonetic component 忩 on the right that hints at the pronunciation. The thread radical suggests something woven or bound together, which connects to the idea of gathering many strands into one unified whole. The meaning "total" or "all" likely developed from this image of separate threads combined into a single fabric or bundle. Over time, the character came to represent the broader concept of something complete or comprehensive in scope.
Components
- 糸
- 忩
A sound hint component points at the character’s pronunciation, not its meaning — don’t read a meaning into it.
Common words
Reference
- Strokes
- 14
- Kangxi radical
- 120
- Formation type
- Phono-semantic (meaning + sound hint)
- Grade
- Grade 5 (Kyōiku)
- Frequency rank
- #129 (newspapers)
- Former JLPT
- level 2
- Unicode
- U+07DCF