Kanji N2

署: signature, govt office, police station

署 is a JLPT N2 kanji meaning signature, govt office, police station, written with 13 strokes. It is read ショ (on), and has no common kun reading. Children in Japan learn it in grade 6. You will see it in 署名 (しょめい, signature) and 消防署 (しょうぼうしょ, fire station).

署

Meanings

  • signature
  • govt office
  • police station
Strokes13
JLPT levelN2
School gradeGrade 6
Frequency#725 of 2,500

On reading · Kun reading

On reading
  • ショ

On'yomi: from Chinese, written in katakana. Used in compound words.

Kun reading
  • None in common use

Kun'yomi: native Japanese, in hiragana. The faint part is the okurigana, written in kana after the kanji.

Watch the stroke order

Every stroke in order, the live one in vermilion. Replay as often as you like.

12345678910111213

Now draw it

Trace each stroke in order. Wrong direction or wrong order gets flagged right away.

123456789101112130 / 13

Your turn: draw stroke 1 of 13. Start at the dot.

Common words with 署

The most useful words written with it, easiest first. Every other kanji in them opens its own page.

  • 署名しょめい

    signature; autograph

    JLPT N3
  • 消防署しょうぼうしょ

    fire station

    JLPT N2
  • 税務署ぜいむしょ

    tax office

    JLPT N1
  • 署員しょいん

    staff member; station employee; official

  • 部署ぶしょ

    one's post; one's station; department; bureau

  • 署長しょちょう

    chief (of police); head (of office)

  • 警察署けいさつしょ

    police station

  • 支署ししょ

    substation

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Stroke order from KanjiVG © Ulrich Apel, CC BY-SA 3.0. Readings, meanings and words from KANJIDIC2 and JMdict, names from JMnedict, © EDRDG, CC BY-SA 4.0, and Wikidata, CC0; the Spanish meanings they lack, translated by Naraio from their English, are shared under the same licence. Example sentences from Tatoeba, CC BY 2.0 FR. JLPT lists after Jonathan Waller (tanos.co.uk), CC BY. Sentences split into words with IPADIC © NAIST and IPA, through Lindera.