| 68 | A Guide To Reading and Writing Japanese (Florence Sakade) |
| 117 | A Guide To Reading and Writing Japanese 3rd edition (Henshall, Seeley and De Groot) |
| 106 | A Guide To Remembering Japanese Characters (Kenneth G. Henshall) |
| 328 | A New Dictionary of Kanji Usage |
| 275 | Classic Nelson (Andrew Nelson) |
| 106 | Essential Kanji (P.G. O’Neill) |
| 121 | Japanese Kanji Flashcards (Max Hodges and Tomoko Okazaki) |
| 60 | Japanese Names (P.G. O’Neill) |
| 2.10 | Japanese for Busy People |
| 137 | Kanji and Kana (Spahn and Hadamitzky) |
| 137 | Kanji and Kana, 2nd Edition (Spahn and Hadamitzky) |
| 245 | Kanji in Context (Nishiguchi and Kono) |
| 141 | Kodansha Compact Kanji Guide |
| 2428 | Kodansha Kanji Dictionary (Jack Halpern) |
| 1226 | Kodansha Kanji Learner’s Dictionary (Jack Halpern) |
| 1690 | Kodansha Kanji Learner’s Dictionary, 2nd Edition (Jack Halpern) |
| 59 | Les Kanjis dans la tete (Yves Maniette) |
| 1340 | Morohashi |
| 1929 | New Japanese English Character Dictionary (Jack Halpern) |
| 343 | New Nelson (John Haig) |
| 59 | Remembering The Kanji (James Heisig) |
| 63 | Remembering The Kanji, 6th edition (James Heisig) |
| 408 | The Kanji Way to Japanese Language Power (Dale Crowley) |
| 89 | Tuttle Kanji Cards (Alexander Kask) |
Jōyō kanji, taught in grade 2
JLPT level N4
192 of 2500 most used kanji in newspapers
Stroke order
On reading compounds
- 元 【ゲン】 unknown (e.g. in an equation), element (of a set), yuan (monetary unit of China), New Taiwan dollar, Yuan dynasty (of China; 1271-1368), Yüan dynasty, Mongol dynasty
- 原価 【ゲンカ】 cost price
- 中元 【チュウゲン】 15th day of the 7th lunar month, (last day of) Bon lantern festival, mid-year gift, summer gift, Bon Festival gifts
- 抗原 【コウゲン】 antigen
- 元祖 【ガンソ】 originator, pioneer, inventor, founder, progenitor, primogenitor, founder of a family line
- 元日 【ガンジツ】 New Year's Day
Kun reading compounds
- 元 【もと】 origin, source, beginning, basis, base, foundation, root, cause, (raw) material, ingredient, base, mix (e.g. for a cake), (soup) stock, (one's) side, capital, principal, cost price, root (of a plant), (tree) trunk, part (of a brush, chopsticks, etc.) one holds (with the hand), first three lines of a waka, counter for plants or trees, counter for falcons (in falconry)
- 元 【もと】 former, ex-, past, one-time, earlier times, the past, previous state, formerly, previously, originally, before
- 家元 【いえもと】 head of a school (of music, dance), head family of a school
- 胸元 【むなもと】 breast, chest, pit of the stomach, solar plexus, epigastrium
Readings
- Japanese names:
- ちか、 はじめ、 はる、 ゆき、 よし
- Korean:
- weon
Spanish
- comienzo
- principio
- origen
- jefe
Portuguese
- começo
- tempo anterior
- origem
French
- commencement
- origine
- ancien temps
| 3057 | 2001 Kanji |
| 0a4.5 | The Kanji Dictionary |
| 2-1-3 | SKIP code |
| 1021.1 | Four corner code |
| 1-24-21 | JIS X 0208-1997 kuten code |
| 5143 | Unicode hex code |
ancestor, pioneer, founder
- On:
- ソ
Jōyō kanji, taught in grade 5
JLPT level N3
1226 of 2500 most used kanji in newspapers
Stroke order
On reading compounds
- 祖 【ソ】 ancestor, forefather, progenitor, originator, pioneer, inventor, founder, grandfather
- 祖国 【ソコク】 homeland, motherland, fatherland, native country
- 元祖 【ガンソ】 originator, pioneer, inventor, founder, progenitor, primogenitor, founder of a family line
- 教祖 【キョウソ】 founder of a religious sect
Readings
- Japanese names:
- い
- Korean:
- jo
Spanish
- antepasado
- pionero
- fundador
Portuguese
- antecessor
- pioneiro
- fundador
French
- ancêtre
- pionnier
- fondateur
| 657 | A Guide To Reading and Writing Japanese (Florence Sakade) |
| 758 | A Guide To Reading and Writing Japanese 3rd edition (Henshall, Seeley and De Groot) |
| 736 | A Guide To Remembering Japanese Characters (Kenneth G. Henshall) |
| 1325 | A New Dictionary of Kanji Usage |
| 3243 | Classic Nelson (Andrew Nelson) |
| 540 | Essential Kanji (P.G. O’Neill) |
| 772 | Japanese Kanji Flashcards (Max Hodges and Tomoko Okazaki) |
| 850 | Japanese Names (P.G. O’Neill) |
| 622 | Kanji and Kana (Spahn and Hadamitzky) |
| 632 | Kanji and Kana, 2nd Edition (Spahn and Hadamitzky) |
| 824 | Kanji in Context (Nishiguchi and Kono) |
| 1423 | Kodansha Compact Kanji Guide |
| 1145 | Kodansha Kanji Dictionary (Jack Halpern) |
| 617 | Kodansha Kanji Learner’s Dictionary (Jack Halpern) |
| 823 | Kodansha Kanji Learner’s Dictionary, 2nd Edition (Jack Halpern) |
| 1795 | Les Kanjis dans la tete (Yves Maniette) |
| 24664P | Morohashi |
| 914 | New Japanese English Character Dictionary (Jack Halpern) |
| 4083 | New Nelson (John Haig) |
| 1779 | Remembering The Kanji (James Heisig) |
| 1918 | Remembering The Kanji, 6th edition (James Heisig) |
| 701 | Tuttle Kanji Cards (Alexander Kask) |
| 673 | 2001 Kanji |
| 4e5.4 | The Kanji Dictionary |
| 1-4-5 | SKIP code |
| 3721.0 | Four corner code |
| 1-33-36 | JIS X 0208-1997 kuten code |
| 7956 | Unicode hex code |