Kanji N2

掃: sweep, brush

掃 is a JLPT N2 kanji meaning sweep, brush, written with 11 strokes. It is read ソウ, シュ (on) and はく (kun). It is one of the jōyō kanji taught in secondary school. You will see it in 清掃 (せいそう, cleaning) and 掃除 (そうじ, cleaning).

掃

Meanings

  • sweep
  • brush
Strokes11
JLPT levelN2
School gradeSecondary school
Frequency#1255 of 2,500

On reading · Kun reading

On reading
  • ソウ
  • シュ

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

Kun reading
  • はく

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.

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Now draw it

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

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Your turn: draw stroke 1 of 11. Start at the dot.

Common words with 掃

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

  • 清掃せいそう

    cleaning; clean-up; garbage collection

    JLPT N2
  • 掃除そうじ

    cleaning; sweeping; dusting; scrubbing

    JLPT N5
  • 掃くはく

    to sweep; to brush; to clean

    JLPT N2
  • 掃海そうかい

    sweeping the sea for mines; dragging for mines

  • 掃討そうとう

    cleaning up (enemy remnants)

  • 掃除機そうじき

    vacuum cleaner; vacuum; hoover

  • 大掃除おおそうじ

    major cleanup; spring cleaning

  • 一掃いっそう

    clean sweep; purging; doing away with

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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. JLPT lists after Jonathan Waller (tanos.co.uk), CC BY.