署
署 — Signature
signature, govt office, police station
On’yomiショ (sho)
Kun’yomi—
Stroke order (13 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 署
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 署名 | しょめい shomei | signature; autograph |
| 署員 | しょいん shoin | staff member; station employee; official |
| 警察署 | けいさつしょ keisatsusho | police station |
| 税務署 | ぜいむしょ zeimusho | tax office |
| 部署 | ぶしょ busho | one's post; one's station; department |
| 署長 | しょちょう shochou | chief (of police); head (of office) |
Study notes
署 is a JLPT N2 kanji written with 13 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 6), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #725 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).
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