曹 means “sergeant, official”

そう · sou

Also: office, comrade, fellow

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

ソウ, ゾウ

JLPT N1 · Taught in secondary school · 11 strokes

The story

A doubled shape over a speaking mouth (曰): the Shuowen reads 曹 as the two sides of a lawsuit before an official. 法曹 is still the legal profession, 軍曹 is a sergeant, and 重曹, baking soda, borrows the old spelling of soda, 曹達.

Used in 法曹 (housou, legal profession), 軍曹 (gunsou, sergeant), and 重曹 (juusou, baking soda)

More from Samurai & Soldiers

• 尉 junior officer
• 隷 slave
• 帥 commander-in-chief
• 佐 aide
• 士 warrior
• 隊 troop
• 塁 base (baseball)
• 陣 battle camp
• 幕 curtain
• 准 associate
• 庶 common people
• 班 squad

Learn 曹 and more kanji free on Fuji Learning · All kanji

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