僧 means “monk, priest”

そう · sou

Also: Buddhist priest

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

ソウ

JLPT N1 · Taught in secondary school · 13 strokes

The story

A person (亻) beside 曽, which lends its sound: someone who has stepped out of ordinary life into the temple. 僧 is a Buddhist monk, also 僧侶, and since the Meiji era Japanese monks have been free to marry, so many temples pass from parent to child.

Used in 僧侶 (souryo, Buddhist monk), 高僧 (kousou, eminent priest), and 修行僧 (shugyousou, monk in training)

More from Temple & Zen

• 尼 nun
• 禅 Zen
• 刹 temple
• 宗 religion
• 戒 guard against
• 聖 holy
• 浄 pure
• 悟 realize
• 仰 look up

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Readings from KANJIDIC2, © EDRDG, CC BY-SA.