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Kotomora

疎

alienate, rough, neglect, shun, sparse, penetrate

JLPTN1StatusJōyō · secondary schoolFrequencyTop 2,000Strokes12

Readings

On'yomi

  • ソ
  • ショ

Kun'yomi

  • うと.い
  • うと.む
  • まば.ら

Meaning

疎 centers on a lack of closeness or density: being alienated or shunned, neglecting ties, or something sparse and rough. The penetrate sense is a less common extension of passing through a sparse or loosely connected space.

Most common words using 疎

20 of 68
  • 過疎かそ
    N1

    underpopulation; low population density; depopulation

  • 疎かおろか

    not to mention ...; needless to say ...; not to speak of ...; not only ...

  • 疎通そつう
    N1

    (mutual) understanding; communication

  • 疎いうとい

    distant (from someone); aloof; estranged

  • 疎遠そえん
    N1

    estrangement; alienation; neglecting to stay in contact

  • 疎開そかい

    evacuation (to the country)

  • 疎外そがい
    N1

    alienation; estrangement; leaving (someone) out; casting out; cutting off; avoiding; giving the cold shoulder

  • 疎かおろそか
    N2

    negligent; neglectful; careless; remiss

  • 疎らまばら
    N1

    sparse; thin; scattered; straggling; sporadic

  • 疎むうとむ

    to shun; to avoid; to ostracize; to neglect; to distance oneself from; to give the hard shoulder

  • 疎おろ

    incompletely; insufficiently; partially; somewhat

  • 疎そ

    sparse

  • 疎水そすい

    canal; drainage

  • 疎ましいうとましい

    disagreeable; unpleasant; adverse; unsympathetic

  • 空疎くうそ

    empty (e.g. argument); insubstantial; hollow; fruitless

  • 意思疎通いしそつう

    (reciprocal) communication; (coming to a) mutual understanding

  • 世事に疎いせじにうとい

    inexperienced; unrealistic; knowing but little of the world

  • 人間疎外にんげんそがい

    dehumanization; dehumanisation

  • 共同疎開きょうどうそかい

    community evacuation

  • 内疎外親ないそがいしん

    superficially cordial but actually uninterested

Explore all words using 疎 →

Study

Etymology

疎 is the modern Japanese simplified form of 疏. The older form combines ⺪ (a foot-related component) with 㐬, which likely contributed the sound and the idea of clearing or separating. The modern right side 束 is a simplification and should not be taken as the original historical component.

Meaning mnemonic

The left side ⺪ suggests stepping away, and the right side 束 looks like a tied bundle. Picture a person stepping away from a group, becoming distant and sparse like a loosely tied bundle falling apart.

Reading mnemonic

For ソ, imagine a person feeling so alienated that they sew a rough patch onto their sparse social life: sew -> ソ, and the rough stitching mirrors the neglect.