# 奏 — play music

奏 means “play music”. It is a JLPT N1 kanji written with 9 strokes. On'yomi: ソウ (sou). Kun'yomi: かな(でる) (kanaderu). You'll see it in words such as 奏でる (kanaderu, “to play an instrument”).

- Meaning: play music
- On'yomi: ソウ (sou)
- Kun'yomi: かな(でる) (kanaderu)
- Strokes: 9
- Level: JLPT N1 · set Arts & pastimes 1

## How to remember 奏

Parts: 三 three · 人 person; roof · 天 heaven

## Words with 奏

| Word | Reading | Meaning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 奏でる | かなでる (kanaderu) | to play an instrument |

## Don't confuse it with

[春](https://moji.ninja/n4-kanji/spring/) · [奉](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/offer-reverently/) · [券](https://moji.ninja/n2-kanji/ticket/) · [棒](https://moji.ninja/n2-kanji/stick/)

## More in the “Arts & pastimes 1” set

[響](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/echo/) · [幕](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/curtain/) · [描](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/draw/) · [撮](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/take-a-photo/) · [奏](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/play-music/) · [唱](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/chant/) · [俳](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/haiku/) · [詩](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/poem/) · [棋](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/shogi/)

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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/play-music/. Last updated 2026-11-01.