庶 — “Commoner / All / Bastard” in Japanese

Master (高手)しょ

Radical ⼴ · radical 53 The building block this kanji is filed under

“Commoner / All / Bastard” in Japanese is 庶, read sho (しょ). It is a Jōyō kanji taught in Japanese secondary school (junior & senior high) — the 高手 · Master tier beyond the grade 1–6 Kyōiku set, and appears in words such as 庶民 (common people).

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What does 庶 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	庶
Meaning	Commoner / All / Bastard
Readings	しょ
Grade	Master (高手 · secondary school)
Curriculum	Jōyō kanji · Japanese secondary school (JLPT N1–N2)
Example	庶民 (common people)

How to read 庶

庶 is read sho (しょ) depending on the word.

Words with 庶

庶民

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Kanji read the same way as 庶

Same sound, different character — the classic trap. Compare them side by side:

Updated: 2026-08-28