曽
formerly, once, before, ever, never, ex-
Readings
On'yomi
- ソウ
- ソ
- ゾウ
Kun'yomi
- かつ
- かつて
- すなわち
Meaning
曽 centers on past time: something that happened formerly, once, or before now. The negative sense 'never' and the prefix 'ex-' are natural extensions of referring to a past state that no longer applies.
Most common words using 曽
- 曽祖父そうそふ
great-grandfather; great-granddad; great-grandad
- 伊曽保物語いそほものがたり
Aesop's Fables (published initially by the Jesuits in 1593)
- 大白檜曽おおしらびそ
Maries' fir (Abies mariesii)
- 曽我物語そがものがたり
Soga Monogatari (war chronicle)
- 曽祖父母そうそふぼ
great-grandparents
- 木曽路きそじ
Kiso valley section of the Nakasendo
- 木曽馬きそうま
Kiso horse (Japanese indigenous horse breed); kisouma
- 白檜曽しらびそ
Veitch's silver fir (Abies veitchii)
Study
Etymology
曽 is a simplified variant of 曾. The older form 曾 is thought to combine 八 (division) with 曰 (speak) and a lower element, possibly representing layered speech or past events. The modern 曽 form reduces the upper strokes.
Meaning mnemonic
The top 丷 looks like a past marker, the middle 田 like a field of memories, and the bottom 日 like a day that has passed. Together, 曽 represents something that happened once, in the past.
Reading mnemonic
For ソウ, imagine a soul (ソウ) remembering its former life: soul -> ソウ, and the soul recalls what happened once before.