# 曽 — formerly; great-

曽 means “formerly; great-”. It is a JLPT N1 kanji written with 11 strokes. On'yomi: ソウ (sou), ソ (so). It has no common kun'yomi.

- Meaning: formerly; great-
- On'yomi: ソウ (sou), ソ (so)
- Kun'yomi: —
- Strokes: 11
- Level: JLPT N1 · set Family 1

## How to remember 曽

Parts: 八 eight; spreading legs · 田 rice field · 日 sun; day

## Don't confuse it with

[増](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/increase/) · [層](https://moji.ninja/n2-kanji/layer/) · [憎](https://moji.ninja/n2-kanji/detest/) · [僧](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/buddhist-monk/)

## More in the “Family 1” set

[氏](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/family-name/) · [遺](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/bequeath/) · [養](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/nourish/) · [誕](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/birth/) · [孝](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/filial-piety/) · [曽](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/formerly/) · [妊](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/pregnant/) · [稚](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/immature/) · [嫁](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/bride/)

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From Moji Ninja (https://moji.ninja/), a free app for learning hiragana, katakana and the JLPT kanji from N5 to N1 with spaced repetition. Page: https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/formerly/. Last updated 2026-11-01.