Copyright © 2026 Kotomora. All Rights Reserved.
総理 (そうり) Japanese meaning | Kotomora
Common word JLPT N1 Freq. Frequency Top 5,000 Conjugation Meanings 1
noun
prime minister ; premier
abbreviation
Common abbreviation of 内閣総理大臣. Used in news, politics, and ordinary speech for the head of a cabinet government, especially Japan's prime minister.
See also: 内閣総理大臣
。
The prime minister explained the new policy at a press conference.
2
noun, noun or participle which takes 'suru', transitive verb
overall supervision ; to oversee ; leader ; president
Original sense: managing or supervising affairs as a whole, or the person in such a position. This use is rare in everyday Japanese and is mostly formal, institutional, or historical; 総理する takes an object such as 会務 or 業務.
Written forms 総そう 理り Usage 100%
Standard modern spelling; very common as the short form of 内閣総理大臣, the prime minister.
綜そう 理り
out-dated kanji form
Outdated kanji variant given; mainly useful for older texts or searching.
Kanji 理 logic, arrangement, reason Similar words 内ない 閣かく 総そう 理り 大だい 臣じん The full official title for the prime minister; 総理 is its common abbreviation.
首しゅ 相しょう Also means prime minister and is common in news; 総理 is tied more directly to the Japanese official title 内閣総理大臣.
総そう 裁さい Means president or governor-general of an organization or party; it does not by itself mean prime minister.
Etymology A Sino-Japanese compound of 総, meaning overall or whole, and 理, meaning to manage, order, or administer. The modern political sense is a shortened form of 内閣総理大臣; the older sense is closer to 'overall administration' or 'supervision.'