存 — “to exist” in Japanese

Grade 6そん, ぞん

Radical ⼦ · radical 39 The building block this kanji is filed under

“to exist” in Japanese is 存, read son, zon (そん, ぞん). It is a Grade 6 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 6 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 存在 (existence).

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What does 存 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	存
Meaning	to exist
Readings	そん, ぞん
Grade	Grade 6 (Hardest)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	存在 (existence)

How to read 存

存 is read son (そん) or zon (ぞん) depending on the word.

Words with 存

存在そんざい
保存ほぞん
既存

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Kanji read the same way as 存

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Updated: 2026-08-28