社 kanji: meaning, readings and stroke order

社

社 means “company, shrine”. It is written with 7 strokes and is a JLPT N5 kanji.

On’yomi: シャ (sha). Kun’yomi: やしろ (yashiro).

How to write 社 (stroke order)

Write 社 in 7 strokes, following the numbers. Each small box adds one stroke; the red line is the stroke to draw.

1234567
  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7

General rules: top before bottom, left before right, horizontal before a vertical that crosses it, and a closing bottom stroke last. Writing in the right order makes handwriting readable and helps you count strokes when you look a kanji up.

Practice writing 社

Trace 社 over the faint model with your finger or mouse, following the stroke order above. Turn the model off to write it from memory.

Readings of 社

On’yomi (Chinese reading)シャ (sha)
Kun’yomi (Japanese reading)やしろ (yashiro)

The on’yomi is usually used in compound words, the kun’yomi when 社 stands alone or is followed by hiragana. A dot (.) marks where the hiragana ending starts.

Example words with 社

WordReadingMeaning
かいしゃ
kaisha
company
じんじゃ
jinja
Shinto shrine

会社 (kaisha) means “company”. Also in this word: 会

神社 (jinja) means “Shinto shrine”.

FAQ

What does 社 mean in Japanese?

社 means “company, shrine”. Common words with it are 会社 (kaisha, “company”) and 神社 (jinja, “Shinto shrine”).

How many strokes does 社 have?

社 has 7 strokes. Follow the stroke-order diagram on this page from stroke 1 to 7.

How do you read 社?

The on’yomi is シャ (sha) and the kun’yomi is やしろ (yashiro). Which one is used depends on the word.

Is 社 on the JLPT N5?

Yes. 社 is kanji number 100 of the 101 N5 kanji on this site.

Related N5 kanji

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