商
商 — Make a deal
make a deal, selling, dealing in, merchant
On’yomiショウ (shou)
Kun’yomiあきなう (akinau)
Stroke order (11 strokes)
Watch the strokes draw themselves in the correct order — numbers mark where each stroke starts. Diagram from KanjiVG (CC BY-SA).
Common words using 商
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 商品 | しょうひん shouhin | commodity; article of commerce; goods |
| 商業 | しょうぎょう shougyou | commerce; trade; business |
| 商社 | しょうしゃ shousha | trading company |
| 通商 | つうしょう tsuushou | commerce; trade |
| 商店 | しょうてん shouten | shop; store; firm |
| 商売 | しょうばい shoubai | trade; business; commerce |
Study notes
商 is a JLPT N3 kanji written with 11 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 3), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #413 of the 2,500 most frequent kanji in newspapers. On’yomi (音読み) are Chinese-derived readings mostly used in compound words; kun’yomi (訓読み) are native Japanese readings, with any highlighted part written in hiragana after the kanji (okurigana).
🔊 Tap the big kanji, any reading or any example word to hear it.